Odddlc5 "n? THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY B WkfS ^mm mm r riiiT«o Tire L.vfT Day-* op tiik Mxnrn 73' YIII. Skpauation and IUhsiox . H6 IX. Our Nkw IIomk at Fort Lincoln W X. Incidextu of Evert DAT Life . . IW XI. TuE Burning of our Quabter«l— Carrting the Mail 115 XII. PERrLEXlTIKJS AND Pi 1 - OF DoMEtoTlC Lin 124 XIII. A •• Strong Heart" IUn. .131 XIV. Garrison Life. 138 XV. General Cubter's Litolvut \Suuk .140 XVI. Indian Depredations .... .154 XVII. A Day of An-xiety and Terror 159 XVIII. ImTROVEMENTS at the POflT, AND Gardf^'ino . 1C7 XIX. General Custer's Libr.vry 174 XX. The Summer of the Bl.vck Hills ExrEomoN . 181 8 CONTEXTS. ciurreR PACK XXI. Domestic Trl^ls 104 XXII. CArxuiiE xsT> Escape of Rsjn-ix-tiie-face . . . 20:? XXIII. Garrison Amtsemexts 21G XXIV. An Indlvn Council 225 XXV. Breaking Up op the Missouri 229 XXVI. Curious Characters and Excursionists among us 240 XXVII. Religious SER^^CES. — Lea^'e op Absence . . . 247 XXVIII. A Winter's Journtiy across the Plains . . . 253 XXIX Our Life's Last Ch^vpter 201 APPENDIX: Wrrn Extracts op Gen-eilvl Custer's Let- ters 271 BOOTS AND SADDLES. ClIAPTEU I. CHANGE OF STATION. General CVbteb fn^laatcd at West Point jnpt in time to tako part in the battle of Bull Kiin. He served with liis repinent — the 5th Cavalry — for a time, l)iit eventually w;u» apjHiinteil aiJede-camp to General McClellan. lie aime to his sister's home in my native town, ^lonroo, Michi^n, during the winter of 1S()3, and there I lirst met him. In the spring; he returned to the army in Virginia, and was promoteil that summer, at the age of twenty-three, from eaptain to brigadier- general. During the following autunm ho eame to Monroe to recover from a fle«h-wound, which, though not serious, disabled hiuj somewhat. At that time wc became engagcl. When his twenty days' leave of ab- sence had expired he went back to duty, and did not return until a few days before our marriage, in Febru- ary, 1S(»-1. We had no sooner reached Washington on our wed- ding-journey than telegrams came, following one another in quick succession, asking him to give up the rest of 1* 10 BOOTS AND SADDLES. his leave of absence, and liasten without an hour's dehiy to the front. I begged so hard nut to be left behind that I finally prevailed. The result was tliat I found myself in a few hours on the extreme wing of the Army of the Potomac, in an isolated Virginia farm-house, finishing my honeymoon alone. I had so besought him to allow me to come that I did not dare own to myself the desolation and fright I felt. In the preparation for the hurried raid which my husband had been ordered to make he had sent to cavalry head-<^iuarters to provide for my safety, and troops were in reality near, although I could not see them. The general's old colored servant, Eliza, comforted me, and the Southern family in tlie house took pity upon my anxiety. It was a sudden plunge into a life of vicissitude and danger, and I hardly rememlicr the time during the twelve years that followed when I was not in fear of some immetliate ]K'ril, or in dread of some danger that threatened. After the raid was ended, we spent some delightful weeks together, and when the regular spring campaign began I returned to Washington, where I remained until the surrender and the close of the war. After that we went to Texas for a year, my liusband still acting as major-general in command of Volunteers. In ISGG we returned to Michigan, and the autumn of the same year found us in Kansas, where the general assumed charge of the 7th (Kcgiilar) Cavalry, to which he had been assigned, with the rank of lieutenant-colo- nel in the Regular Army. We remained in Kansas five years, during which time I was the only oiiicer's wife CHANGE OF STATU LV. 11 who always followed the regiment. Wc were then or- dered, with the regiment, to Kentucky. After being stationed in Elizabcthtown for two years, we went to Dakota in the spring of 1873. AVhen orders came for the 7th Cavalry to go into the lield again, General Custer was delighted. The regi- ment was stationed in various jiarts of the South, on the very disa^^recahle duty of breaking up illicit dibtillcries and supprciifeing the Kuklux. Fortunately for us, being in Kentucky, we knew very little of this service. It seemed an unsoldicrly life, and it was certainly uncon> genial ; for a truo cavalryman feels that a life in the saddle on the free o|)cn plain is his legitimate exist- ence. Not an hour clapf^d aiicT liic official «! nt an- nouncing our change of station had arrive^ itimic our house w:is torn up. In the confusion I nri" "" -1 to re- lire to a corner with an atlas, and surrept y look up the territory to whicli we were going. I hardly liked to own that I had forgotten its location. When my finger traced our route from Kentucky almost up to the border of the British Possessions, it seemed as if we were going to Lapland. From the tinjt days of our marriage. General Custer celebrated every order to move with wild demonstra- tions of joy. His exuberance of spirits always found expret»sion in soiuo boyish pranks, before he could set to work seriously to prepare for duty. As soon as tho officer announcing the order to move had disappeared, all sorts of wild hilarity began. 1 had learned to take np a safe position on top of the table; that is, if I had 12 BOOTS AND SADDLES. not already been forcibly placed tbcrc as a spectator. The most disastrous result of the proceedings was pos- sibly a broken chair, which the master of ceremonies would crash, and, perhaps, throw into the kitchen by way of informing the cook that good news had come. We had so few household effects that it was something of a loss when we chanced to be in a country where they could not be replaced. I can sec Eliza's woolly head now, as she thrust it through the door to repri- mand her master, and say, " Chairs don't grow on trees in these yere parts, gen'l." As for me, 1 was tossed about the room, and all sorts of jokes were played u})on me before the frolic was ended. After such particij)a- tion in the celebration, I was almost too tired with tlio laughter and fun to begin packing. I know that it would surprise a well-regulated mover to see what short work it was for us to prepare fur our journeys. We began by having a supply of gunny- sacks and hay brought in from the stables. The Siuldler appeared, and all our old traps that had been taken around with us so many years were once more tied and sewed up. The kitchen utensils were plunged into bar- rels, generally left uncovered in the hurry; rolls of bedding encased in waterproof cloth or canvas were strapped and roped, and the few pictures and books were crowded into chests and boxes. When these pos- sessions were loaded upon the wagon, at the last mo- ment there always appeared the cook's bedding to sur mount the motley pile. Her property was invariably tied up in a flaming quilt representing souvenirs of her friends' dresses. She followed that last instalment CUAXGE OF STATION*. 18 witli anxions eves, and, true to licr carlj trainincr, gras|X)d her red bandanna, containing a few last thing?, wliilc the satchel she scorned to osc hung empty on her arm. In all this confusion no ono was cross. Wo rnshed and gasped through the one day given us for prepara- tion, and I had only time to be glad with my husband that he was going back to the life of activity that he so loved. His enforced idleness made it seem to him that lie was cuml>ering the earth, and he rejoiced to feel that ho was again to have the chanco to live up to his idea of a soldier. Had I dared to stop in that hurried day and think of myself all the courage would have gone out of mo. This removal to Dakota meant to my iius- band a reunion with his regiment and summer cam- paigns against Indians; to me it meant months of lone- liness, anxiety, and terror. Fortunately there was too much to do to leave leisure for thought. Steamers were ready for us at Memphis, and we went thither by rail to embark. When the regiment was gathered together, after a separation of two years, there were hearty greetings, and exchanges of troublous or droll experiences ; and thankful once more to be re- united, we entered again, heart and soul, into the mi- nutest detail of one another's lives. We went into cainj) for a few days on the outskirts of Memphis, and ex- changed hospitalities with the citizens. The bachelors found an elysium in the society of many very pretty girls, and love-making went on either in luxurious par- lors or in the o|>en air as they rode in the warm spring weather to and from our camp. Three steamers were 14 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. at last loaded and we went on to Cairo, where wc found the trains prepared to take ns into Dakota. The regiment was never np to its maximum of twelve hundred men, but there may have been eight or nine hundred soldiers and as many horses. The property of the companies — saddles, equipments, arms, ammunition, and forage — together with the pereonal luggage of the olHccrs, made the trains very lieavy, and we travelled slowly. We were a week or more on the route. Our days were varied by the long stops necessary to water the horses, and occasionally to take them out of the cars for exercise. My hus- band and I always went on these occasions to loose the dogs and have a frolic and a little visit with our own horses. The youth and gamins of the village gathered about us as if we had been some travelling show. Wiiile on the journey one of our family had a birthday. This was always a day of frolic and fun, and even when we were on the extreme frontier, pres- ents were sent for into the States, and we had a little dinner and a birthday cake. This birthday that came during the journey, though so inopportune, did not leave utterly without resources the minds of those whose ingenuity was quickened by affection. The train was delayed that day for an unusually long time; our colored cook, Mary, in despair because we ate so little in the " twenty-minutes-for-refreshments" places, determined on an impromptu feast. She slyly took a basket and tilled it at the shops in the village street. She had already made friends with a woman who had a little cabin tucked in between the rails and the em- cnANT.E OF STATION. 15 bankincnt, and there the nes'cr absent "enreka'' cofiee- pot was produced and most delicious coffee dripped. Iteturning to the car stove, which she had discovered was filled with a deep bed of coals, she broiled us a steak and baked some potatoes. The general and I were made to sit down opposite each other in one of the compartments. A board was brought, covered with a clean towel, and we did table-legs to this impnuiiptn tiible. We did not dare move, and scarcely ventured to giggle, for fear we should overturn the laden board in our laps. For dessert, a large plate of macaroons, which were an especial weakness of mine, was brought a|K?r parcel. "Miss Libbie,** she said, ** they thought a sure enough gen'l always went on liorscback and r .» r;i..] bis sword in his hand.'* Wo were so hungry we scarcely realized that wo were anything but the embodiment of picturesque grace. No one could bo otherwise than awkward in trying to cut food on such an uncertain base, while Mary had taken the last scrap of dignity away from the generaKs appearance by enveloping him in a kitchen towel as a substitute for a napkin. With their usual indepen- dence and indifference to ceremony, troops of curious citizens stalked through the car to stare at my husband. Wo went on eating calmly, unconscious that they thought the picture hardly in keeping with their pre- conceived ideas of a commanding; officer. When we 16 B(X>TS AND SADDLES. thanked Mary for our feast, her face beamed and shone with a coiiibination of joy at our delight and heat from the stove. AVhen she lifted up our frugal board and set ns free, we had a long stroll, talking over other birthdays and those yet to come, until the train w.-ii? readv to start. A BLIZZARD. 17 CHArrKU II. A I5I.IZZARD. After so many days in the car, wc were glad to stop on an open plain about a mile from the town of Yank- ton, where tlie road ended. The three chief considerations for a camp are woo<1, water, and good ground. The latter we had, but wo were at some distance from the water, and neither trees nor brushwood were in sight. The long tniins were unloaded of their freight, and the plains about us scomeer story di- vided off by beams; over theeo Mary and I stretched blankets and shawls and so made two roon)s. It did not take long to settle our few things, and when wood and water were brought froiu a distance wo were quite ready for house-keeping, except that wo lacked a stove and some supplieii'. Mary walked into the town to hire or buy a small cooking-stove, but she could not induce the lucrchant to bring it out that night. She was thoughtful enough to take along a basket and brought with her a little marketing. Before she had come within sight of our cabin on her return, the snow was falling so fast it was with dilBculty that she found her way. Mciiii while the general had returned completely ex- hausted and very ill. Without his knowledge I sent for the surgeon, who, like all of his profession in the army, came promptly, lie gave me some powerful medicine to administer every hour, and forbade the 40 COOTS AND SADDLES. general to leave his bed. It was growing dark, and we were in tlie midst of a Dakota blizzard. The snow was so fine that it penetrated the smallest cracks, and soon we found white lines appearing all around us, where tiie roof joined the walls, on the windows and under the doors. Outside the air was so thick with the whirling, tiny particles that it was almost impossible to see one's hand held out before one. The snow was fluffy and thick, like wool, and fell so rapidly, and seem- ingly from all directions, that it gave me a feeling of euHocation as I stood outside. Mary was not easily discouraged, and piling a few light fagots outside the door, she tried to light a fire. The wind and the muf- fling snow put out every little blaze that started, how- over, and so, giving it up, she went into the house and found the luncheon -basket we had brought from tlie car, in which remained some sandwiches, and these composed our supper. The night had almost settled down upon us when the adjutant came for orders. Knowing the scarcity of fuel and the danger to the horses from exposure to the rigor of such weather after their removal from a warm climate, the general ordered the breaking of camp. All the soldiers were directed to take their horses and go into Yankton, and ask the citizens to give them shelter in their homes, cow-sheds, and stables. In a short time the camp was nearly deserted, only the laundresses, two or three officers, and a few dismounted soldiers remain- ing. The towns-people, true to the unvarying western hospitality, gave everything they could to the use of the regiment; the oflicers found places in the hotels. A HLIZZARD 21 The Bounds of the hoofs of the hurrying horses flying by our cabin on their way to the town had hardly died out before the black night closed in and left us alone on that wide, deserted plain. The servants, Mary and llain, did what they could to make the room below- stairs comfortable by stopping the cracks and barricad- ing the frail door. The thirty-six hours of our impris- onment there seems now a frightful nightmare. The wind grew higher and higher, and shrieked about the little house dismally. It was built without a founda- tion, and was so rickety it seemed as it rocked in a great gust of wind that it surely would be unroofed or overturned. The general was too ill for me to venture to find my usual comfort from his re-assuring voice. I dressed in my heaviest gown and jacket, and remained under the blankets as nmch as I could to keep warm. Occasionally I crept out to shake off the snow from the counterpane, for it sifted in between the roof and claj)- boards very rapidly. I hardly dared take the little phial in my benumbed fingers to droj) the precious med- icine for fear it would fall. I realized, as the night ad- vanced, that we were as isolated from the town, and even the camp, not a mile distant, as if we had been ou an island in the river. The doctor had intended to re- turn to us, but his serious face and impressive injunc- tions made me certain that he considered the life of the general dependent on the medicine being regularly given. During the night I was startled by hearing a dull sound, as of something falling heavily. Flying down the stall's 1 found the servants prying open the frozen and 22 BOOTS AND SADDLES. siiow-packed door, to admit a half dozen soldiers who, becoming bewildered by the snow, had been saved by the faint light we had placed in the window. After that several came, and two were badly frozen. We were in despair of finding* any way of warming them, as there was no bedding, and, of conrse, no tire, until I remembered the carpets which were sewed np in bun- dles and heaped in one corner, where the bo.xes were, and which we were not to use until the garrison was reached. Spreading them out, we had enough to roll up each wanderer as he came. The frozen men were in so exhausted a condition that they required immediate at- tention. Their sufTerings were intense, and I could not forgive myself for not having something with which to revive them. The general never tasted li(|U()r, and we were both so well always we did nut even keep it fur use in case of sickness. I saw symptoms of that deadly stupor which is the sure precui-sor of freezing, when I fortunately remem- bered a bottle of alcohol which had been brought for the spirit-lamps. Mary objected to using the only means by which we could make coffee for ourselves, but the groans and exhausted and haggard faces of the men won her over, and we saw them revive under the intluence of the liery li(piid. Poor fellows! They af- terwards lost their feet, and some of their fingers had also to be amputated. The first soldier who had reached us unharmed, except from exhaustion, explained that they had all attempted to find tlieir way to town, and the storm had completely overcome them. Fortunately one had clung to a bag of hard-tack, which was all they A I5L1ZZARD. 23 li:ul had to eat. At last the day came, but so darkened by the enow it seemed rather a twilight. The drifts were on three sides of us like a wall. The long hours dragged themselves away, leaving the general too weak to rise, and in great need of hot, nourishing food. I grew more and more terrified at our utterly desolate condition and his continued illness, though fortunately he did not suffer. He was too ill, and I too anxious, to eat the fragments that remained in the luncheon-basket. The snuw continued to come down in great swirling sheets, wliile the wind shook the loose window-cjisings and sometimes broke in the door. When night camo again and the cold increased, I believed that^r hours were numbered. I missed the voice of the Oouraj^eous Mary, for she had sunk down in a corner e.xliausted for want of skH;|), while Ham had l>ecn completely demoral- ized from the first. Oecaisionally I inelteti a little place on the frozen window-pane, and saw that the drifts were almost level with the upj>er windows on either side, but that the wind had swept a clear space Ijefore the door. During the night the sound of the tramping of many foot rose above the roar of the storm. A grciit drove of mules rushed up to the sheltered side of the house. Their brays had a sound of terror as they pushed, kicked, and crowded themselves against our little cabin. For a time they huddled together, hoping for warmth, and then despairing, they made a mad rush away, and were soon lost in the white wall of snow beyond. All night long the neigh of a distressed horse, almost hu- man in its appeal, came to us at intervals. The door was pried o]>en ouce, thinking it might be some sufler- I 24 BOOTS AND SADDLES. iiig fellow-creature in distress. The strange, wild eyes of the horse peering in for help, haunted me long af- terwards. Occasionally a lost dog lifted up a howl of distress under our window, but before the door could be opened to admit him he had disappeared in the darkness. When the night was nearly spent I sprang again to the window with a new horror, for no one, until he hears it for himself, can realize what varied sounds animals make in the excitement of j)eril. A drove of hogs, squealing and grunting, were push- inir aerainst the house, and the door which had with- stood so much had to be held to keep it fruni being broken in. It was almost unbearable to hear the groans of the soldiers over their swollen and painful feet, and know that we could do nothing to ease them. To be in the midst of such suffering, and yet have nu way of anjel- iorating it ; to have shelter, and yet to be surrounded by dumb beasts appealing to us for help, was simply terri- ble. Every minute seemed a day ; every hour a year. When daylight came I dropped into an exhausted slum- ber, and was awakened by Mary standing over our bed with a tray of hot break fiist. I asked if help had come, and finding it had not, of course, I could not understand the smoking food. She told me that feeling the neces- sity of the general's eating, it had come to her in the night-watches that she would cut up the large candles she had pilfered from the cars, and try if she could cook over the many short pieces placed close together, so as to make a lari'e dame. The result was hot cofleo aud souic bits of the steak she had brought from town. A BLIZZARD. 25 fried with a few slices of potatoes. Siic could not re- sist telling me how much better she could have done had I not given away the alcohol to the frozen men ! The breakfast revived the general so much that he began to make light of danger in order to quiet me. The snow had ceased to fall, but for all that it still seemed that we were castaways and forgotten, hidden under the drifts that nearly surrounded us. IIel|) was really near at hand, however, at even this darkest hour. A knock at the door, and the cheery voices of men came up to our ears. Some citizens of Yankton had at last found their way to our relief, and the oflicers, who neither knew the way nor liow to travel over such a country, had gladly followed. They told us that they had made several attempts to get out to us, but the snow was so soft and light that they could make no headway. They floundered and sank down almost out of bight, even in the streets of the town. Of course no horse could travel, but they told me of their intense anxiety, and said that fearing I might be in need of immediate help they had dragged a cutter over the drifts, which now had a crust of ice formed from the sleet and the moisture of the damp night air. Of course I declined to go without the general, but I was mor^J touched than I could express by their thought of me. I made some excuse to go up-stairs, where, with my head buried in the shawl partition, I tried to smother the sobs that had been su})pressed during the terroi-s of our desolation. Here the general found me, and though comforting me by tender words, he still reminded me that he would not like any one to know that I had lost 2 20 BOOTS AND SADDLES. my pluck when all the danger I had passed through was really ended. The officers made their way over to camp, for they were anxious and uncertain as to what might have hap- pened to the few persons remaining there. I had been extremely troubled, for each of the soldiers for whom we liad been caring had, with a trooper's usual love of the sensational, told lis of frozen men and of the birth of babies to the laundresses. These stories had reached town through stragglers, until we imagined from the ex- aggeration that enough newly -born children might be found to start a small orphan asylum. The officcre soon returned with the story reduced to one little stranger who had come safely into this world in the stormy night, sheltered by a tent only. No men were frozen, fortunately, though all had suffered. The soldier de- tailed to take care of the general's horses found his way back with them, and in his solemn voice tuld us that in spite of every effort, sharing his blankets and holding the little things through the storm, the thoruugh-bred pup- pies had frozen one by one. There was one little box- stove in camp which the officers brought back, accom- panied by its owner, an old and somewhat infirm officer. In the midst of all this excitement, and the reaction from the danger, I could not suppress my sense of the ludicrous when I saw the daintiest and most exquisite officer of **ours," whom last I remembered careering on his perfectly equipped and prancing steed before the admiring eyes of the Memphis belles, now wound up with scarfs and impromptu leggings of flannel; his hat tied down with a woollen comforter; buffalo gloves on A BU2ZXRD. 27 Lis liaiids ; and clasping a stovc-pipc, necessary for tho precious stove. Sonic of tlie oflSccrs Iiad bronght out parcels contain- ing food, while our brother, Colonel Tom Custer, had struggled with a large basket of supplies. In a short time another officer appeared at our door with a faco full of anxiety about our welfare. lie did not tell us what we afterwards learned from othei-i?, that, fearing the citizens would give up going to us, and knowing that he could not find the way alone over a country from which the snow had obliterated every landmark, he had started to go tho whole distance on the railroad. Coming to a long bridge he found the track so covered with ico that it was a dangcrou.. footing ; the wind blew the sleet and snow in his face, almost blinding him, but nothing daunted, he crawled over on his hands and knees, and continuing to use the track as his guide, stopped when he thought he might bo opposite our cabin, and ploughed his way with difficulty through tho drifts. When the officers had returned to town, wo made a firo in the little stovo which had l>een put up-stairs, as t^io pipe was so short. Wo ensconced our visitor, to whom *ho stove belonged, near by. He was a capital fireman ; M'O divided our bedding with him, and put it on the floor, as close as possible to the fire. The shawl and blanket partition separated our rooms, but did not seem to deaden sound, and at night I only lost consciousness of tho audible sleeping of our guest after I had dropped the point of a finger in my car. He was the one among us who, being the oldest of our circle, and hav- 28 BOOTS AND SADDLES. ing had a varied experience, was an authority on many subjects. He liad peculiar and extreme ideas on some questions. "We listened out of respect, but we all drew the line at following some of his advice, and over one topic there was general revolt. lie disbelieved entirely in the external or internal use of water, and living as we did in countries where the rivers were flowing mud, and the smaller streams dried up under the blazing sun, his would iiave been a convenient system, to say the least. Unfortunately, our prejudices in favor of cleanliness in- creased with the scarcity of water. Lathing became one of the luxuries as well as one of the absolute neces- sities of life. From being compelled to do with very little water, wc had learned almost to take a bath in a thimble, and to this day I find myself pouring the wa- ter out of ft pitcher in a most gingerly manner, so strong is the power of habit — even now with the generous rush of the unstinted Croton at my disposal. The the- ory of our venerable friend on the danger of bathing was fortiHed with many an earnest argument, and the advantages of his improved system of dry rubbing set out elaborately in his best rhetoric. Nevertheless, tak- ing a bath with the palm of the hand was combated to the last by his hearers. When I had heard him arguing previously I had rather believed it to be the vagary of the hour. I had proof to the contrary the next morn- ing after the storm, for I was awakened by a noise of vigorous friction and violent breathing, as of some one laboring diligently. I suddenly remembered the doc- trine of our guest, and realized that he was putting the- ory into practice. As softly as I awakened my liusband. A BLIZZARD. 39 and tried to whisper to liim, Le was on nettles initant- ly, bearing the quiver of laughter in my voice. lie feared I might be heard, and that the feelings of the man for whom he bad such regard mif'ht be wounded, lie promptly requested me to smotlier my laughter in the blankets, and there I shook with merriment, per- haps even greater because of the relief I experienced in finding something to counteract the gloom of the preceding hours. And if I owned to telling afterwards that the old oflicer's theory and practice were one, it could not be called a great breach of hospitality, for ho gloried in what he called advanced ideas, and strove to wear the martyr's crown that all ])ioneers in new and extreme beliefs crowd on their heads. Our friend remained with us until the camp was in- habitiible and the regular order of military duties was nisumed. Paths and roads were made through the snow, and it was a great relief to bo again in the scenes of busy life. We did not soon forget our introduction to Dakota. After that we understood why the frontiers- man builds his stable near the house; we also compre- hended then when they told us that they did not dare to cross in a blizzard from the house to the stable-door without keeping hold of a rope tied fast to the latch as a guide for their safe return when the stock was fed. Afterwards, when even our cool-headed soldiers lost their way and wandered aimlessly near their quarters, and when found were dazed in speech and look, the remembrance of that first storm, with the density of the down-coming snow, was a solution to us of their be- wilderment. aO BOOTS AND SADDLES. CHAPTER III. WESTEKN IIOSriTALTTY. TnE citizens of Yankton, endeavoring to make up for tlic inhospitable reception the weatlier had given us, vied with one another in trying to make tlie regiment welcome. The hotel was iilled with the families of the officers, and after the duties of the day were over in camp, the married men went into town. We were called upon, asked to dine, and finally tendered a ball. It was given in the public hall of the town, which, being decorated with ilags and ornamented with all the mili- tary paraj)hcrnalia that could be used eflectively, was really very attractive. AVe had left gas far behind us^ and we had not the mellow, becoming light of wax- candles, but those AVestern people were generous about lamps, as they are about everything else, and the hall was very bright. The ladies liad many trials in endeavoring to make themselves presentable. AVe burrowed in the depths of trunks for those bits of finery that we had supposed would not be needed again for years. "We knew the officers would do us credit. Through all the sudden changes of fashion, which leave an army lady when she goes into the territories quite an antediluvian in toilet after a few months, the officer can be entirely serene. WESTERN UOSPITALITV. 01 lie can be conscious that he looks his best in a perfect- ly fitting uniform, and that he is never out of date. The general and I went into the hotel and took a room for the niglit of the ball. Such good-humor, con- fusion, and jolly preparations as wo had, for the young ollicers came to borrow the corner of our glass to put on the finishing touches, carrying their neckties, studs, Bleeve-buttons, and gloves in their hands. The aigret had been taken from the helmet and placed across their broad chests, brightening still more their shining new uniforms. I remember with what pride the "plebs" called our attention to the double row of buttons which the change in the uniform now g:ive to all, without regard to rank. The lieutenants had heretofore only been allowed one row of buttons, and they declared that an Apollo even could not do justice to his figure with a coat f;istenc'»l In ><> in,.n..riinn!i> nn.l Ktral-lit tjp-and-down a manner. Yankton, like all new towns, was chiefly settled with newly - married i)eoplc, who ornamented their bits of front yards with shining new jKTambulaturs. The mothers had little afternoon parades, proud enough to trundle their own babies. If any one's father ever came from the States to a Western town, we all felt at liberty to welcome his gray haii*s. There were but few young girls, but that night must have been a memoni- ble one for them. All the town, and even the country people, came to the ball. The mayor and common council received us, and the governor opened the fes- tivities. We crossed to the hotel to our supper. AVe were asked to sit down to the table, and the abundance 32 BOOTS AND SADDLES. of substantials proved that our hosts did not expect us to nibble. The general was, of course, taken pos- session of by the city fathers and mothers. Finding among them a woman he knew I would appreciate, he placed me beside her at supper. I had but little time to eat, for she was not only clever and brave, but very interesting in her description of the dangers and hardships she liad endured during the ten years of her pioneering. The railroad had been completed but a short time, and before that the life was wild enough. She sat quietly among these people in her simple stutl gown, honored and looked up to. Though not even elderly, she was still almost the oldest citizen and an authority in the history of the country. All classes and conditions came to the ball, for Yankton was not yet large enough to be divided into cliques; besides, the rough and hazardous life these people had shared endeared them to one another. The days after this passed very rapidly. Tiie oflicers were already getting the command into condition to begin the long march of five hundred miles that lay be- fore us. Before we left, the general, desiring to return some of the civilities of the citizens, gave the governor and his staff a review. The wide plain on which our camp was located was admirably adapted to the display of troops, !^^y heart swelled with pride to see our grand regiment all together once more and in such fine condition. AVhen the review was closing, and that part came where the officers leave their companies and, join- ing, ride abreast to salute the commanding ofticer, the general could hardly maintain the stereotyped, motion- WESTERN UOSPITALITY. 33 less qniet of the soldier — the approach of this fine body of men made hini bo proud of his command. All were well mounted ; the two years' station in the South liad given them rare opportunities to purchase horses. Tlie general, being considered an excellent judge, had, at the request of the officers, bought several from the stables of his Kentucky friends, lie told me that if a colt failed a quarter of a second in making certain time expected, the owner was disappointed and willing to sell him at a merely nominal sum. So it came about that even the lieutenants, with tlieir meairro pay, owned horses whose pedigree was unending. There were three officers belonging to each of the twelve com- panies; some were detailed on duty elsewhere, but those remaining, with the adjutant, surgeon, quarter- master, and commissary, made a long lino of brilliantly caparisoned and magnilicently formed men mounted on blood-horses. No wonder that the moment they saluted the general, he jumped from the saddle to congratulate them, and show them his pride in their soldierly ap- ]>carancc. The governor and his staff were not chary in their expressions of admiration. It was a great event in the lives of the citizens, and the whole town was present. Every sort of vehicle used on tlie frontier came out, filled to overflowing, and many persons walked. The music of the band, the sun lighting up the polished steel of the arms and equipments, the hundreds of spirited horses going through the variety of evolutions which belong to a mounted regiment, made a memora- ble scene for these isolated people. Besides, they felt 2* 34 BOOTS AND SADDLES. the sensation of possession when they knew that these troops liad come to open the country and protect those more adventurous spirits who were ah'eady finding that a place into which the raih'oad ran was too far East for them. One day we were all invited to take luncheon on board the steamer that had been chartered to take the regimental property up the river to Bismarck. The owner of the boat was very hospitable, and champagne flowed freely as he proposed old-fashioned toasts. The officers and ladies of tlie regiment received with pleas- ure all this politeness, and since these occasions were rare in the lives of those of us who lived always on the outskirts of civilization, we were reluctant to go home. My horse had been sent away by some mistake, and tlie general accepted the offer of the host to drive me out to camp, he riding for a time beside the carriage, and then, with his usual restlessness, giving rein to his horse for a brisk gallop. It was not long before I discovered that the uncertain swaying of the vehicle from side to side, and the hazardous manner in which we skirted the deep gullies, was due to the fact that our friend was overcome with hospitality. Trying to talk intelligently, and to appear not to no- tice the vagaries of the driver, and at the same time to control my wandering eyes as they espied from afar a dangerous bit of road, I spent a very uncomfortable liour. Fortunately the " dear Polly " was most demure in harness, and possibly having been left before that to find her own way under similar circumstances, she did Bot attempt to leap with the carriage over ditches, as WESTERN HOSPITALITY. 35 her gay owner invited her to do. When we came up within shouting distance of the general, I cried out, in what I meant to seem like playful menace ; but he had taken in the situation, and seeing that Polly was to be trusted, he mischievously laughed back at me and flew over the country. Finally we neared our little cabin, and my last fear came upon me. Mary had spread the clothes-line far and wide; it was at the rear of the house, but my escort saw no door, and Polly soon wound us hopelessly up in the line and two weeks' washing, while she quietly tried to kick her way through the packing-boxes and wood-piles! Mary and Ham extri- cated me, and started the old nag on the road home- ward, and I waved a relieved good-bye to the retreating carriage. Only such impossible wives as one reads of in Sun- day-school books would have lost the opportunity for a few wrathful words. I was not dangerous, though, and the peals of laughter from my husband, as he de- scribed my wild eyes peering out from the side of the carriage, soon put me into a good-humor. Next day I was called to the steps, and found that Polly's owner had discovered that we had a door. lie said an off-hand "How d'ye?"* and presented a peace-offering, adding, "My wife tells me that I was hardly in a condition to deliver a teniperance lecture yesterday. As what she Bays is always true, I bring my apologies." Ilam car- ried in the hamper, and though I urged our guest to remain, he did not seem quite at ease and drove away. While we were at Yankton, something happened that 86 BOOTS AND SADDLES. filled US -with wonder. The Indians from the reserva- tion near brought in reports that came through other tribes of the Modoc disasters. It was a marvel to the general to find that at that distance north news could come to us throu2:h Indian runners in advance of that we received by the telegraph. CAVALRY OX TUE MARCH. 87 CHAPTER IV. CAVALRY ON TUE MARCH. When the day came for us to begin onr march, the Biin shone and the towns -people wished ns good -luck witli their good-bye. The length of cacli day's march varied according to the streams on wliich we relied for water, or the arrival of the boat. The steamer that carried the forage for the horses and the supplies for the command was tied up to the river-bank every night, as near to ns as was possible. The laundresses and ladies of the regiment were on board, except the gcnerars sister, Margaret, who made her first march with her husband, riding all the way on horseback. As usual, I rode beside the general. Our first few days were ple;isant, and we began at once to enjoy the plover. The land was so covered with them that the hunters shot them with all sorts of arms. "We counted eighty birds in the gunny-sack that three of the soldiers brou2:ht in. Fortunatelv there were several shot-guns in the possession of our family, and the little things, therefore, were not torn to pieces, but could be broiled over the coals of tlie camp-fire. They were so plump that their logs were like tiny points coming from beneath the rounded outline that swept the grass as they walked. No butter was needed in cooking them, for 38 BOOTS AND SADDLES. they were yery fat. Some of the ofSecrs had not left behind them all of their epicurean tastes, and preferred to have the birds cooked when they were decidedly "gamy." In this way they secured the privilege of taking their odoriferous luncheon quite apart from the' others. The general had invited two officers besides his brother Tom, and his brother-in-law, Mr. Calhoun, to mess with him. We had a tableful, and very merry we were, even in the early morning. To joke before day- light seems impossible, but even at breakfast peals of laughter went up from the dining-tent. One of the officers was envied, and we declared he got more to cat than the rest, because he insisted upon "carving the hash;" while to cut meat for all our hun- gry circle, as the general did at the other end of the table, took many precious moments. One of our number called us the "Great Grab Mess," and some one slyly printed the words in large black letters on the canvas that covered the luncheon-hamper, which was usually strapped at the back of our travelling-carriage. How gladly we gathered about that hamper when the com- mand halted at noon ! How good the plover and sand- wiches tasted, while we quenched our thirst with cold coffee or tea ! Since we were named as we were, wc all dared to reach over and help ourselves, and the one most agile and with the longest arms was the best fed. Ko great ceremony is to be expected when one rises before four, and takes a hurried breakfast by the light of a tallow-candle ; the soldiers waiting outside to take down the tent, the servants hastily and suggestively rattling the kettles and gridiron as they packed them. CAVALRY ON THE MARCU. 30 made it an irresistible temptation for one Imngry to '' grab.'' AVc had a very satisfactory little cook -stove. It began its career with legs, bnt the wind used to lift it lip from the ground with such violence it was finally dismembered, and afterwards placed flat on the ground. Being of sheet-iron it cooled quickly, was very light, and could be put in the wagon in a few monjents after the morning meal was cooked. AVhen we came out from breakfast the wagon stood near, partly packed, and bristling with kitchen utensils; buckets and baskets tied outside the cover, axe and spade lashed to the side, while the little stove looked out from the end. The mess- chest stood open on the ground to receive the dishes we had used. At a given signal the dining-tent went down with all those along the line, and they were stowed away in the wagons in an incredibly short time. The wagon-train then drew out and funned in order at the rear of the column. At the bugle-call, " boots and middles,'' each soldier mounted and took his ])lace in line, all riding two abreast. First came the general and his staff, with whom sister Margaret and I were permitted to ride; the private orderlies and headquartei"s detail rode in our rear; and then came the companies according to the places as- signed them for the day ; finally the wagon-train, with the rear-guard. AVe made a long drawn-out cavalcade that stretched over a great distance. When we reached some high bluff, we never tired of watching the com- mand advancing, with the long line of supply wagons, with their white covers, winding around bends in the 40 BOOTS AND SADDLES. road and climbing over the hills. Every day the break- ing of camp went more smoothly and quickly, until, as the days advanced, the general used to call me to his side to notice by his watch how few moments it took after the tents were ordered down to set the whole ma- chinery for the march in motion ; and I remember the regiment grew so skilful in preparation that in one cam- paign the hour for starting never varied five minutes during the whole summer. The column was always halted once during the day's march to water the horses, then the luncheons were brought forth. They varied decidedly ; sometimes an officer took from his pocket a hard biscuit wrapped in his handkerchief; the faithful orderly of another took Lis chiefs sandwiches from liis own liavcrsack and brought them to him, wherever he was. Often a prov- ident officer, as he seated liimsclf to Iiis little "spread" on the grass, was instantly surrounded by interested visitors, who, heedless ever of any future, believed that the world owed them a living and they were resolved to liave it. "When the stream was narrow, and the hundreds of horses had to be ranged along its banks to be watered, there was time for a nap. I soon acquired the generars habit of sleeping readily, lie would throw liimself down anywhere and fall asleep instantly, even with the sun beatinc: on his head. It onlv takes a little traininjr to learn to sleep without a pillow on uneven ground and without shade. I learned, the moment I was helped out of the saddle, to drop upon the grass and lose myself in a twinkling. No one knows what a privilege it is to TAVALKY (»V THE MAHrn 41 be Stretched out after being cramped over the horn of a lad v's saddle for hours, until she has experienced it. I tliink I never got quite over wishing for tlie shade of a tree ; but there was often a little strip of shadow on one side of tlie traveHing wagon, which was always near us on the journe}'. I was not above selfishly appropriating tlie space under the wagon, if it had not been taken by somebody else. Even then I had to dislodge a whole collection of dogs, who soon find the best places for their comfort. We had a citizen-guide with us, who, having been long in the country, knew the streams, and the general and I, following his instructions, often rode in advance as we neared the night's camp. It was always a mild excitement and new pleasure to select camp. The men who carried the guidons for each company were sent for, and places as>igned them. The general delighted to unsaddle his favorite horse, Dandy, and turn him loose, for his attachment was so strong he never grazed far from us. lie was not even tethered, and after giv- ing himself the luxury of a roll in the grass, he ate his dinner of oats, and browsed about the tent, as tame as a kitten, lie whinnied when my husband patted his sleek neck, and looked jealously at the dogs when they all followed us into the tent afterwards. After tramping down the grass, to prevent the fire from spreading, my husband would carry dry sticks and underbrush, and place them against a fallen tree. That made an admirable back-log, and in a little while we had a glorious fire, the general having a peculiar gift of start insf a flame on the wildest da v. The next thing 42 BOOTS AND S.\J)DLES. was to throw liimsclf down on the sod, cover his eyes with his white felt liat, and be sound asleep in no time. Ko matter if the sun beat down in a perfect blaze, it never disturbed him. The dogs came at once to lie be- side him. I have seen them stretched at his back and curled around his head, while the nose and paws of one rested on his breast. And yet lie was quite unconscious of their crowding. They growled and scrambled fur the best place, but he slept jilacidly through it all. AVhcn the command arrived, the guidons pointed out the location for each company ; the hoi*ses were unsad- dled and picketed out; the wagons unloaded and the tents pitched. The hewing of wood and the hauling of water came next, and after the cook-lires were lighted, the air was full of savory odors of the soldiers' dinner. Sometimes the ground admitted of pitching the tents of the whole regiment in two long lines fac- ing each other; the wagons were drawn up at cither end, and also at the rear of the two rows of tents; they were placed diagonally, one end overlapping the other, so as to form a barricade against the attack of Indians. Down the centre of the company street large ropes were stretched, to which the horses were tied at night; our tents were usually a little apart from the rest, at one end of the company street, and it never grew to be an old story to watch the camp before us. After I had changed my riding-habit fur my one other gown, I came out to join the general under the tent-fly, where he lay alternately watching the scene and read- ing one of the well-thumbed books that he was never without. I always had sewing — either a bit of needle- CAVALRY ON THE MARCH. 43 work that was destined to make our garrison qnartci*8 more attractive, or more often some necessary stitches to take in our hard-worn clothes. As we sat there it would have been diilicult for a stranger seeing us to believe that it was merely the home of a day. Our camps along the river were much alike, and each day when we entered the tent our few things were placed exactly as they were the day before. The only articles of furniture we had with us were two fold- ing-chaii*s, a bed, a wash-bowl, with bucket and tin dijv per, and a little mirror. This last, fiistcncd to the tent- pole, swayed to and fro with the never-ceasing wind, and made it a superfluous luxury, for wo learned to dress without it. The camp-chairs were a great comfort: they were made by a soldier out of oak, with leather back, scat and arms, the latter bo arranged with straps and buckles that one could recline or sit upright at will. I once made a long march and only took a camp- stool for a seat ; I knew therefore what an untold bless- ing it was to have a chair in which to K an, aftor having been sitting in the saddle for hours. AVe had tried many inventions for cot-beds that fold- ed, but nothing stood the wear and tear of travel like the simple contrivance of two carjxjnter's horses placed at the right distance apart, with three boards laid upon them. Such a bed was most easily transported, for the supports could bo tied to the outside of the wagon, while the boards slipped inside before the rest of the camp equipage was packed. An ineffaceable picture remains with me even now of those lovely camps, as we dreamily watched them by 44 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. the fading light of the afternoon. The general and I used to think tliere was no bit of color equal to the del- icate blue line of smoke which rose from the camp-fire, where the soldiers' suppers were being cooked. The cfft'ct of light and shade, and the varying tints of that perfect sky, were a great delight to him. The nicHuw air brought us sounds that had become dear by long and happy association — the low notes of the bugle in the hands of the musician practising the calls ; the click of the currycomb as the soldiers groomed their horses; the whistle or song of a happy trouper. And even the irrepressible accordeon at that distance made a melody. It used to amuse us to find with what i)er- fistent ingenuity the soldiers smuggled that melancholy instrument. No matter how limited the transporta- tion, after a few days* march it was brought out from a roll of blankets, or the teamster who had been bribed to keep it under the soat, produced the prized possession. The bay of the hounds was always music to the general. The bray of the mules could not be included under that head but it was one of those '* sounds from home " to which we had become at- tached. Mingling with the melodies of the negro serv- ants, as they swung the blacking - brushes at the rear of the tents, were the buoyant voices of the officers ly- ing under the tent-flies, smoking the consoling pipe. The twilight almost always found many of us gath- ered together, some idling on the grass in front of the camp-fire, or lounging on the buffalo robes. The one with the best voice sang, while all joined in the chorus. We all had much patience in listening to what must CAVALRY OX TUE MARCH. 45 necessarily bo "twice-told tales," for it would have taken the author of "The Arabian Nights" to supply fresh anecdotes for people who had been so many years to- gether. These stories usually varied somewhat from time to time, and the more Munchausen-like they be- came the more attentive was the audience. The territories are settled by peoi)le who live an iu- tensc, exaggerated surt of existence, and nothing tame attracts them. In order to compel a listener, I myself fell into the habit of adding a cipher or two to stories that had been first told in the States with moderate numbers. If the family overheard me, their nn(|uench- ablc spirit of mischief invariably put a quietus on my eloquence. In fact I was soon cured of temptation to amplify, by the repeated asides of my deriding family, " Oil, I say, old lady, won't you come down a hundred or two il" Sometimes, when wo were all gathered to- gether at evening, we improved the privilege which belongs to long-established friendships of keeping si- lent. The men yielded to the soporific intluence of tobacco, in quiet content, knowing that nothing was expected of them if they chose not to talk. My hus- band and I sometimes strolled through the camp at twilight, and even went among the citizen teamsters that are employed for the marcli. when thev were pre- paring their evening meal. These teamsters mess together on the march as the ollioers do, with rarely more than four or five in the cir- cle. One of the immber buys the supplies, takes charge of the rations, and keeps the accounts. The sum of expenses is divided at the end of the month, and each 46 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. pays his portion. Tbej take turns in doing the cook- ing, which, being necessarily simple, each can bear a share of the labor. Sometimes we found a more ambi- tious member of the mess endeavoring to rise superior to the tiresome hard-tack ; he had bared his brawny arms and was mixing biscuit on the tail-board of the wagon, let down for the pui'pose. lie whistled away as he mould- ed the dough with his liorny liands, and it would have seemed that he had a Dchnouico supper to anticipate. AVe had not left Yankton far behind us before we were surprised to see one of its most hospitable citizens drive up; he acknowledged that he had missed us, and described the tamencss of life after the departure of the cavalry as something quite past endurance. We were eo stupid as not to discover, until after he had said the second good-bye, that he really wanted to join us on the march ; still, had he kept on, I am sure his endurance would have been tested, for while I do not remember ever to have been discouraged before in all our cam- paigning, I was so during the storm that followed. The weather suddenly changed, and we began our march with a dull, gray morning and stinging cold. The gen- eral wound me up in all the outside wraps I had until I was a shapeless mass of fur and wool as I sat in fhe saddle. "\Ve could talk but little to each other, for the wind cut our faces and stiffened the flesh until it ached. My hands became too numb to hold my horse, so I gave him his own way. As we rode along like automatons, I was keeping my spirits up with the thought of the camp we would make in the underbrush of a sheltered valley by some stream, and the coming camp-lire rose CAVALRY OX THE MARCH. 47 brightly in my imagination. "We went slowly as the usual time a cavalry command makes is barely four miles an liour. It was a discouraging spot where we finally halted ; it was on a stream, but the ice was thick along the edges, and all we could see was the opposite bank, about thirty feet high, so frozen over that it looked like a wall of solid ice. It was difficult to pitch the tent, for the wind twisted and tore the canvas; the ground was already so frozen that it took a long time to drive in the iron pins by which the ropes holding the tents are secured. All the tying and pinning of the opening was of little avail, for the wind twisted off the tapes and flung the great brass pins I had brought on purpose for canvas far and wide. No camp-firo would burn, of course, in such a gale, but I remembered thankfully the Bibley stovo that wo always carried. The saddler had cut a hole in the roof of the tent for the pipe, and fastened zinc around it to make it safe from fire. I shall never think about a Sib- ley stove without gratitude, nor cease to wonder how so simple an invention can be the means of such comfort. It is only a cone of sheet-iron, open at the top and bot- tom ; the broader part rests on the ground, while the little pipe fits ou the top. The wood is put through a door cut in the side ; only billets can be used, for the aperture is of course small. It requires almost constant ' attention to keep the insatiable little thing filled, but it never occurs to one, where half a dozen are huddled together, to ask who shall be the fireman, and there is equal division of labor. The stove is so light that, in marching, the pipe is removed and a rope run through 48 BOOTS AND SADDLES. tbe openings, ^vllich enables it to be tied underncatli tlie wagon, beside the bucket which is always suspended there to be used to water the horses. The general was busy in the adjutant's tent, so I sent for the sergeant, who was our factotum, and asked him to hunt up the Sibley stove. I felt disheartened when lie told me it had been forgotten.* I could have gone to the next tent where a provident officer had put his up, but I felt in too disagreeable a humor to inllict my- self on any one, and so crept into bed to keep warm. It was an unmistakable fit of sulks, and I w;is in the valley of humiliation next morning, for I knew well how difficult it is to have ladies on the march, and how many obstacles the general had surmounted to arrange for my coming. My part consisted in drilling myself to be as little trouble as I could. I had really learned, by many a self-inflicted lesson, never to be too cold or too hot, and rarely allowed a thought of hunger if we were where no supplies could be had. It was a long struggle, but I linally learned never to drink between meals, as it is always diflicult to get water on a march. I can re- member being even mortified at dropping my whip, for I wished to be so little trouble that every one would be unconscious of my presence, so far as being an incon- venience was concerned. The cold of Dakota overcame me on that one day, but it was the last time I succumbed to it. ♦ It was aflcnvanla recovered. CAMPING AMONG TQE SIOUX. 48 CHAPTER V. CAMriNO AMONG THE 6I0UX. Ovu inarch took us through the grounds set apart by the Government for tlio use of the Sioux Indians at jKjace with our country. We had not made much prog- ress before we began to sec their graves. They do not bury tlieir dead, but place them on boards lashed to tho limbs of trees, or on high i»I:t forms raised from tho ground by f«>ur poles perhaps twenty feet. The body is wound round and round with clothing or blankets, like a mummy, and inside tho layers are placed iiro- anns, tobacco, and jerked beef, to supply them on tho imaginary journey to tho happy hunting-grounds. In the early morning, when it was not quite light, as wo tiled by these solitary sepulchres, it was uncanny and weird, and the sun, when it came, was doubly welcome. Our first visitor from Agency Indians was Fool-dog, a ^ioux chief. He was tall, commanding, and had really u fine face. AVhen he was ready to go homo he invited ns to come to his village before wo left on our next march. At twilight my husband and I walked over. Tho village was a collection of teixjes of all sizes, tho largest being what is called the Medicine Lodge, where the councils are held. It was formed of tanned buf- falo - hides, sewed together with buckskin thongs, and 50 BOOTS AND SADDLES. stretched over a collection of tliirtj-six j^olcs. These poles are of great value to the Indians, for in a sparsely timbered country like Dakota it is ditiicult to find suit- able trees. It is nocessary to go a great distance to pro- cnrc the kind of sapling that is light and pliable and yet sufficiently strong for the purpose. The poles are lashed together at the tops and radiate in a circle below. The smoke was ]x>uring out of the opening above, and the only entrance to the tepee was a round aperture near the ground, sufficiently large to allow a person to crawl in. Around the lodge were pides from which were suspended rags; in these were tied their medi- cines of roots and lierbs, supposed to be a charm to keep off evil spirits. The sound of music came from within ; I crept tremblingly in after the general, not entirely quieted by his keeping my hand in his, and whispering something to calm my fears as I sat on the buffalo robe beside him. In the lirst place, I knew how resolute the Indians were in never admitting one of their own wom- en to council, and their curious eyes and forbidding ex- pressions towards me did not add to my comfort. The dust, smoke, and noise in the fading light were not re- assurinc:. Fool-dosr arose from the circle of what com- posed their nobility, and solemnly shook hands with the general ; those next in rank followed his example. The pi|X) was then smoked, and the general had to take a whiff when it came his turn. Fortunately we escaped the speeches, for we had not brought an interpreter. Cominir out of the liiirht into this semi-darkness, with the grotesque ligures of the plebeians, as they danced around their chiefs and contorted their bodies to the CAMPING AMONG THE SIOUX. 51 sound of the Indian drum and minor notes of the sinf^crs, made it somctliiii^ nncartlily in ai>pearance ; their painted faces, grunts and grins of serious mirth as tlicy wheeled around the tepee, made me sliiver. How relieved I felt when the linal pipe was smoked and the good-bye paid ! The curious eyes of the squaws, who stood in the vicinity of the lodge, followed us, as they watched me clinging to the general's arm while we dis- appeared, in the direction of camp, through the thicken- ing gloom. As we went farther north the twilii^hts became lunirer, and I was greatly deceived by having so much daylight. Every niorning, when the reveille sounded, in attempt- ing to obey its summons I found myself actually mysti- fied from excessive drowsiness, and I announced my resolve to go to bed at dark — as was often my custom on previous marches — when I was informed that we had marched into a land where daylight continues into the night hours. The general, who was always looking at the- curious effects in the heavens, delighted in the clear- ness of the atmosphere and the myriads of stars that seemed to far outnumber all we had ever seen in other skies. All the strange phenomena of northern climea revealed themselves to us day by day. The sun and moon dogs, the lunar rainbows, and sometimes three perfect arcs of brilliant color formed directly above us in the heavens as we made our dav's march throu;;h spring showers. The storms came down in great belts of rain sometimes, and if the countrv were level enouirh wo could look ahead on the plain and see where the storm was crossing. This enabled us to halt in time to escape 50 BOOTS AND SADDLES. a perfect sheet of pouring rain wliicli fell like a wall of water directly before us. Once wo found ourselves in the midst of it, and nut knowing then the peculiari- ties of such storms, we took our drenching ])hilosophi- cally, and believed that it was like too many others that liad kept us soaked to the skin fur hours. Seeing the sun shining in advance on the plain, the general and I put spurs to our horses and rode out of the storm to perfectly dry ground. The sun came down on us so hotly that we were soon enveloped in a halo of steam from our drying clothes. The history of one day's march was that of many ; they were varied by small misfortunes over which we amused ourselves, but which were very serious affairs to the melancholy Ilam. lie had cooked by iireplaces \n Kentucky, but never having lived out-doors before, he gained his experience by hard trials. The little slieet- iron cooking-stove which we considered such a treasure, was placed in the kitchen-tent on stormy nights, and the bit of }>ipe, put through a hole in the canvas, had an elbow so that it could be turned according to the direc- tion of the wind. One day, after camp was re-established, the general saw the smoke pouring out of the opening of the kitchen- tent, and hurried to see what was the matter. It was one of those da^'s when the Dakota winds, like those of Kansas, blow in all directions; poor Ham was barely visible in the dense smoke inside the tent. "Why don't you turn the pipe?'' the general called, above the tempest; and Ilam shouted back, "Giniril, I did; sec whar she's p'intiif now?" His master's sides shook CAMPIVG AMONT, TITE ?IOrX. 53 with laughter, fur sure enough the pipe Would have been right if there had been anv uniformity in the course of the wind. The general was hungry, hut he did not stop to complain ; he found a place somewhat sheltered, and digging a hole in the ground, taught the discouraged darkey how to build a lire outside. At last wc sat down to a burned, smoky meal, and had to go to bed hungry. Another day, wlien there was a small tornado, wo began to wonder why dinner was delayed ; we looked out, to find the cook-tent blown tlat to the ground. Tbo general ran to the rescue, and found Ham intended, as the old-time child stones buried their heroes, *' in a pot of grease." He had been thrown among skillets and kettles, and the half-cooked dinner was scattered over liim. The general helped him out, and was too much exhausted with laughter over the old fellow's exasiKT- atcd remarks about "such a low-down country," to mind the delay of the dinner. Indeed, he soothed him by tellinj; him to wait and begin ivj^ixin when the wind went down, as it usually does when the sun sets. One day wo caught sight of our American flag on the other side of tho river, floating over a little group of buildings inside a stockade. When they told mo that it was a military post, I could hardly believe it possible; it seemed that no spot could be more utterly desolate. Then I remembered having met an ofticer at Yanicton who had told nie that was his station. As I looked at his tine face and figure, I could not help thinking how thoroughly some woman would appreciate him. Think- ing aloud, I said that I hoped he had " improved each 51 BOOTS AND SADDLES. shining hour'' of his leave of absence, and was already engaged. lie replied that I would see his post as wc went up the river, and then might comprehend why ha did not dare ask any woman to be his wife. I argued that if some girl grew fond of him, it would little mat- ter to her where she went, if it were oidy by her hus- band's side. I confess, however, that when I saw that lonely place, I thought that it would require c.xtraordi- narv devotion to follow him there. It was an infantrv station, and the soldiers' barracks, ofKccrs' cpiarters, and storehouses were huddled together inside a wall made of logs placed perpendicularly and about tiftecn feet high. The sand was so deep about this spot that noth- ing could be made to grow. Constant gusts of wind over the unprotected plain kept little clouds of line alkaline dust whirling in the air and filling the eyes and mouth; not a tree was near, as the Missouri — that most uncertain of rivers — kept constantly changing its chan- nel, and the advancini; water washed awav trreat hollows in the banks. The post would then have to be moved farther back for safetv. The soldiers would be oblii^ed to take up the stockade, and bury the logs as deep as they could to keep them from blowing over. The frail build- ings, " built upon the sand," rocked and swayed in the wind. Beside the forlorn situation of this garrison, no one could go outside to ride or hunt without peril. The warlike Indians considered that side of the river theirs, and roamed up and down it at will. They came in- cessantly to the small sliding panel in the gates of the stockade, and made demands, which, if not con- CAMPIN'G AMONG THE SIOUX. 55 sentcJ to, were folluwcd by Iiowls of rage and threaten- ing gestures. All that the handful of men could do was to conciliate them as best they could. The company was not full, and possibly, all told, there were but fifty white men against hundreds of Indians. The only variety in their lives was the passing of an occasional steamer in the brief summer. Then settled down the pitiless win- ter, burying them in snow which never left the ground until late in the spring. The mail only reached them at irregular intervals. They were compelled to live almost entirely on commissary stores, for though living in the midst of game it was too hazardous to attempt to hunt. When wo found that one regiment had been seven years on the river, and some of the officers liad never taken leave of absence, it seems strange that any one stationed at such a |>ost had not gone stark mad. It makes me proud of women when I recall the fact that the wife of an officer did live in that wretched little post afterwards, and did not complain. The cavalry, turning to look their last at that garrison, thanked the good-fortune that had placed them in a branch of the service where there w:is the active duty of campaigns to vary a life otherwise so monotonous. — ^ The dogs had almost as hard a time to become accna- tomed to the vagaries of a Dakota climate as we did. We had to be their nurses and surircons. In our larjrc pack of hounds there were many that had marked indi- viduality of character. Xot many days could be passed in their company before we were noticing new peculi- arities not previously observed. The general had a droll fiishion, as we rode along, of putting words into 56 BOOTS AND SADDLES, their months when they got into tronblc, fonght among themselves, or tried to lord it over one another. One of them had been given ns, and had been called by her former owner "Lucy Stone." In vain did we try, out of respect for the life of the useful woman for whom she was named, to rcchristen the dog. She would neither listen nor obey if called anything else. I can see her now, sitting deliberately down in the road directly in front of us, and holding uj> a paw full uf cactus thorns. The general would say, *' There sits Lucy Stone, and she is saying, *If you please, sir, since you chose to bring me into a land of bristling earth like this, will you please get down immediately and attend to my footr'' Her howls and upturned eyes meant an aj)- peal, certainly, and her ma.stcr would leap to the ground, sit down in the road, and taking the old creature in his arms, begin the surgery. lie carried one of those knives that had many adjuncts, and with the tweezers lie worked tenderly and long to extract the tormenting cactus needles. Lucy was a complaining old dame, and when the ireneral saw her sit d«jwn, like some fat old woman, he used to sny that the old madam was telling him that she " would like to drive a bit, if you please." So it often happened tliJ^t my travelling-wagon was the hos- pital for an ill or foot-sore dog. The general had to stop very often to attend to the wounded paws, but experi- ence taught the dogs to make their way very skilfully where the cactus grew. A dancing -master, tripping the steps of instruction, could not have moved more lightly than did they. If there were no one near to whom they could appeal in the Tftiman way those dumb CAMPINT, AMON'G THE SIOL'X. 57 things have, Uicy kariicd to draw out the offending tliorns with their teeth. AVhile wc were all getting accustomed to the new climate, it was of no use to try to keep the dogs out of my tent. They stood around, and eyed me with such reproachful looks if I attempted to tic up the entrance to the tent and leave them out. If it were very cold when I returned from the dining-tent, I found dogs under and on the camp-bed, and so thickly scattered over the floor that I had to step carefully over them to avoid hurting feet or tails. If I secured a place in the bed I was fortunate. Sometimes, when it had rained, and all of them were wet, I rebelled. The steam from their shaggy coats was stifling; but the general begged so liard for them that I taught myself to endure the air at last. I never questioned the right of the half-grown puppies to everything. Our struggles to raise them, and to avoid the distemper which goes so much harder witii blooded than with cur dogs, endeared them to us. When I let the little ones in, it was really comical to hear my huslxand's arguments and cunningly-devised reasons why the older dogs should follow. A plea was put up for "the hound that had tits;'' there was always another that **had l>een hurt in hunting;*' and so on until the tent would hold no more. Fortunately, in pleasant weather, I was let off with only the ill or injured ones for perpetual companions. We were so surrounded with dogs when they were resting after the march, and they slept so soundly from fatigue, that it was difficult to walk about without stepping on them. My favorite, a great cream-colored stag-hound, was 3* 58 BOOTS AND SADDLES. named '' Cardi«;an.-' lie never gave up trying to be my lap-dog. lie was enormous, and yet seemingly iin- eonscions of his size, lie kept up a perpetual struggle and scramble on his hind-legs to get his whole body up on my lap. If I pieced myself out with a camp-stool to support liim, he closed his eyes in a beatific state and sighed in content while I held him, until my foot went to sleep and I was cramped with his weight. One thing that made mc so fond of him was that on one occasion, when he was put in the kennel after an absence, he was almost torn to pieces by tlie other dogs, lie was a brave hound, but he was at fearful odds against so many. Great slices of flesh were torn from his sides, and gaping wounds made by the fang-like teeth showed through his shaf^gy coat. It was many months before they healed. Though the stag-hound is gentle with human beings he is a terrible lighter. They stand on their hind-legs and, facing each other, claw and tear like demons. It was always necessary to watch them closely when a new dog, or one that they had not seen for some time, was put in their midst. I will anticipate a moment and speak of the final fate •>f Cardiiran. When I left Fort Lincoln I asked some «ne to look out for his welfare, and send him, as soon as possible, to a clergyman who had been my husband's friend. My request was complied witli, and afterwards, when the poor old dog died, his new master honored him by having his body set up by the taxidermist, and a place was given him in one of the public buildings in Minneapolis. I cannot help thinking that he was worthy of the tribute, not only because of the testimony thus CAMPING AMONG TOE SIOLX. r,9 given to the friendship of the people for his master, but because he was the bravest and most faithful uf animals. Most of the country passed over in our route belonged to the Indian Reservations, and the Government was endeavoring to teach the tribes settled there to culti- vate the soil. They had hunted off most of the game; an occasional jack-rabbit, the plover, and a few wild ducks were all that were left. I must not forget the maddening curlew. It was not good eating, but it was always exciting to see one. There never was a more exasperating bird to shoot. Time and again a successful shot was prophesied, and I was called to be :i witness, only to sec finally the surprise of the general when the wily bird soared calmly away. I believe no jxjrson WAS able to bring one down during the entire trip. As we approached an Indian village, the chiefs came out to receive us. There were many high-sounding words of welcome, translated by our guide, who, having lived among them many years, knew the different dia- lects. The Government had built some comfortable Io£:- houses for them, in many of which I would have lived gladly. The Indians did not care for them, complaining that they had coughs if they occupied a house. A tepee was put up alongside, in which one or two families lived, while little low lodges, looking like the soldiers' shelter-tents, were used for the vounE: men of the circle to sleep in. Tlie tools and stores given by the Govern- ment were packed away in the otherwise empty houses. CO BOOTS AND SADDLES. CHAPTER VI. A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF " TWO BEARS." A Sioux chief, called Two IJears, had the most ])ict- urcsquc village that we saw. The lodges were placeil ill a circle, as this was judged the most defensive posi- tion ; the ponies were herded inside the enclosure at night. This precaution was necessary, for the neighhor- ing tribes swept down on them after dark and rail of! the stock if they were not secured. As we disinonnted, wc saw an old man standing alone in the circle, appar- ently unconscious of everything, as he recounted some war tale in loud, monotonous tones. He had no listen- ers — all were intently watching the approaching regi- ment; still the venerable Siou.x went on as persistently as if he were looking "upon a sea of upturned faces." He was the "medicine-man," or oracle, of the tril)e, or possibly the " poet-lanreate" of the village, for the guide told us he sang of the deeds of valor of his peo- ple far back in history. Just outside of the village, the chiefs sat in a circle awaiting us. Two Jjcars arose to welcome the general, and asked him to go with him to his lodge. I was asked to go also and be presented to Miss Two Bears ; for she was too royal in birth to be permitted outside, and it was not in keeping with the dignity of her rank to A VLSIT TO TOE VILLAGE OF "TWO BEARS.' «1 mingle with the otliers, the guide afterwards explained to us. The honor of going alone into the tepee was one that I could have foregone, for my courage was much greater if I did my Indian sight-seeing surrounded hy the regi- ment. The general, fearing their amour propre might be offended if I declined the invitation, whispered an encouraging word, and we dipped our heads and cre|>t into the tepee. The chief was a dignified old man, wrapped in his blanket, without the usual addition of Some portion of citizen's dress which the Inen jxirasol, brought to her, doubtless, as a present by st»nic Indian returning from a council at Washington. She lield it with dignity, as if it might be to her as much an insignia of state as the mace of the lord-ma3*or. Fortunately they did not ask us to sit down and par- take of jerked beef, or to smoke the never-ending pijx?, so wo soon got tiirough our comj)liments and returned to the outer entrance of the village. Here the tribe were assembled, and evidently attired in irala-dress in our honor. We were most interested in the village belle, and the placid manner in which she permitted us to walk around her, gazing and talking her good points over, showed that she expected homage. 63 BOOTS AND SADDLES. She sat on a scarlet blanket spread on the ground, and over her, stretched from poles, was another for an awn- ing. She was loaded with ornaments, row after row of beads about her neck, broad armlets and anklets of bi*ass, pinchbeck rings, and a soft buckskin dress and leggings, heavily embroidered. Her cars were pierced twice — on the side as well as in the lobe — and from these holes were suspended circles of gilt. Ilcr bright eyes, the satin smoothness of her hair, and the clear brown of the skin made a pretty picture. There was no at- tempt to blend into the brown the bright patch of car- mine on each cheek. Only extreme youth and its ever attractive charms can make one forget the heavy square shape of Indian faces and their coarse features. It was surprising to see all the other srpiaws giving up the iicld to this one so completely. They crouched near, with a sort of "every- dog-must-have-its-day '' look, and did not even dispute lier sway by making coy eyes as we spoke to them. There were but few young men. Their absence was always excused by the same reason — they were out hunt- ing. We knew how little game there was, and surmised ■—what we afterwards found to be true— that they had joined the hostile tribes, and only came in to the dis- tribution of supplies and presents in the fall. A few rods from the village a tripod of poles was set in the ground, and lashed to it the Indian's shield, made of the hide of the buffalo where it is thickest about the neck. There were rude paintings and Indian hieroglyphics covering it. The shield is an heirloom with the Indian, and the one selected to hang out in this manner lias al- A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF "TWO BE-UIS." C3 ways the greatest war record. One of their supersti- tions is that it keeps away enemies. These nomads had some idea of luxury, for I recollect seeing some of them reclining on a kind of rest niado of a framework of pliable rods, over which was stretched buckskin. After- wards I found Iiow comfortable such contrivances were, for one was given ine. The sloj>c is so praok- ing off over the bluffs we saw a largo body of Indians approaching on ponies, while s^piaws and children ran l>esido them. It was the prtjmpt rcs{>onso of Two IJeara to the generars invitation to return his call. The war- riors 6tup|)ed near camp, and dismounting advanced to- wards us. The wjnaws unbridled and picketed the po- nies, and made themselves comfortable by arranging impromptu shades of the bright blanketft. They 6t;iked down two curners closely to the ground, and propj)cd up the others with )>ole6 stuck in the S4^hJ. When the Indians came up to us, the council was, as usual, begun. The pij)c being smoked, Two IJears gave us a eulogy of himself. He then demanded, in behalf of the tribe, payment for the use of the ground on which we were encamped, and also for the grass consumed, though it wjis too short to get more than an occasional tuft. He ended, as they all do, with a request for food. The general in reply vaguely referred them to the Grciit Father in payment for the use of their land, but pre- sented them with a beef in return for their hospitality. 04 BOOTS AND SADDLES. Only half satisfied, tlie}^ stalked away one by one. AVo watched them at a distance kill and divide the beef. It surprised us to see how they despatched it, and that hardly a vestige of it was left. Many of the Indians coming from reservations carried papers which they valued and carefully guarded. After burrowing under roI)e and shirt, something was j^roduced wrapped in layers of soiled cotton cloth. It was a rec- ommendation of them obtained from some officer or Indian agent. Tliis was presented on entering, as their letter of introduction. Most of these papers read very much tlic same wav. Givin^^ the Indian's name, it stat- cd that he had been living on the reservation for a cer- tain k'ngtli of time, tliat he was friendly to the whites, etc. One of our guests that day carried something a little different, lie was called "Medicine Jo." Lini^erinfr behind the rest, he presented his letter with perfect good faith and great pomposity. Sume wag had composed it, and it read something like this : "^Mcdiciac Jo says he is a good Indian, that yon can trust hirn. If he is, he is tlie fii-st I have ever seen, and in my opinion he, like all the rest, will bear watching." It was all the general could do to keep his face straight as he handed back to the unconscious owner this little libel on himself. The interpreter kept constantly before us the fine post that we were approaching, and the last day before we reached there it was visible for a long distance. The atmosphere of Dakota was so deceptive that we imag- A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF "TWO BEARS." 65 ined ourselves within a few miles of the garrison, when, in reality, there was a march of twenty-nine long miles before us. Our road led up from the river valley on the high blufEs, and sometimes followed along the backbone of hills from which on either side we looked down a great distance. There was barely room for the travelling- wagon. Occasionally I had been obliged to take rcfugu from the cold for a little while and drive. Our lead- mules were tiny, quick -moving little dots, and I soon discovered that they were completely demoralized at the sight of an Indian. They could see one in advance lon<2: before the driver could. A sudden shvin": and quick turning of these agile little brutes, a general tan- gle of themselves in the harness and legs of the wheelers, loud shouts of the driver, and a quick downfall of his foot on the brake, to keep us from overturning, made an exciting melee. Nothing would get them righted and started again. They wuuld liave to be unharnessed, and the rebellious pair tied to the rear of the wagon until we had gone far beyond the object of terror. Part of the day that we were followini; the wanderinelonging to the regiment, the thought of being walled in with snow, and completely isolated for eight months of the year, made me shudder. The j)0st was niidway between Yankton and Ijismarck, each tho termination of a railroad, and each two hundred and fifty miles away. The wife of the connnanding officer was known throughout the department for her lovely Christian chamcter, and the contented life she led under all cir- cumstances. I was much amused at her account of her repeated trials in trying to secure a permanent govern- 72 BOOTS AND SADDLES. CSS. She said all the posts along the river seemed to know intuitively when a new one arrived from the East. The young oflicers fuund more imperative du- ties calling them to Fort Sully than they had dreamed of in a year. Before long the governess began to be abstracted, and watch longingly for the mails. A ring would next appear on the significant first linger, and be the forerunner of a request to allow her to resign her ])lace. This had lia])pcned four times when I met our liostess, and though she was glad to furnii^h the officers with wives, she rather sighed for a woman who, though possessing every accomplishment, might still be 60 antiquated and ugly that she could he sure to keep her for a time at least. The commandant had some fino greyhounds, and joining the general with his packs of stag and fox hounds, they had several hunts in the few days that remained. Of course, after so bright a visit and such a feast, it was hard to begin again on the march with baking-powder biscuit and tough beef. The cattle that supplied us with meat were driven along on the march, and killed every other day, and could not be expected to be in very good condition. The interest of our journey, however, made us soon forget all dc])rivation8. Grateful sentiments towards those who had been so kind to us as strangers remained as a memory. .U)VENTURES— TUE LAST DAYS OF TUE M.U1CU. CHAPTER VII. ADVENTURES DURING THE LAST fW^ . t- iMK MAKCn. My husband and I kept up our little ddoura by our- selves »as we ncarcd tlio hour fur canipini^ each day. One day one of the oliicers accompanied us. Wo left the higher ground to go down by the water and have the luxury of wandering through the cuttunwood-trecs tiiat sonietinics fringed the river for several niiles. As usual, we had a number of dogs leaping and racing around us. Two of them started a deer, and the general bounded after them, encouraging the others with his voice to follow, lie had left his friend with me, and we rode leisurely along to sec that the younger dogs did not get lost. AVithuut the least warning, in the dead stillness of that desolate sjKit, wo suddenly came u|>on ft group of young Indian warriors seated in their ujotionless way in the underbrush. I became i>erfectly "•^Id and numb with terror. My danger in connection with the Indians was twofold. I was in peril from death or capture by the savages, and liable to be killed by my own friends to prevent my capture. During the live years I had been with the regiment in Kansiis I had marched many hundred miles. Sometimes I had to join my husband going across a dangerous country, and the exposure from Indians all those years had been con- 4 74 BOOTS AND SADDLES. stant. I had been a subject of convei'sation among the officers, being the only woman who, as a rule, fullowed the regiment, and, without discussing it much in my presence, the universal understanding was that any one having me in charge in an emergency where there was imminent danger of my capture should shout me in- stantly. AVliilc I knew that I was defended by strong hands and brave licarts, the thought of the double danger always Hashed into my mind when we were in jeopardy. If time could liavc been measured by sensations, a cycle seemed to liavc jxisscd in those few seconds. The Indians snatched up their guns, leaped upon their j>onics, and prepared fur attack. The officer with me was jKM'fectly calm, S]x>kc to thcni coolly without a change of voice, and rode quickly beside mc, telling me to advance. My horse reared violently at fii-st eight of the Indians, and started to run. Gladly would I liave put him to his mettle then, except for the instinct of obedienco, which any one following a regiment acquires in all that pertains to military directions. The gen- eral was just visible ascending a blufl beyond. To avoid showing fear when every nerve is strung to its utmost, and your heart leaps into your throat, requires super- human effort. I managed to check my horse and did not scream. No amount of telling over to myself what I had been told, that all the tribes on this side were peaceable and that oidy those on the other side of the river were warlike, could quell the throbbing of my pulses. Indians were Indians to me, and I knew well that it was a matter of no time to cross and recross on ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAi.- Ln THE MAKCII. 75 their little tub-like boats that shoot madly down the tide. AVhiit made mo sure that these warriors whom we had just met were from the flighting bands was the rccollec- tiun of some signiticant signs we had come u\X)n in the road a few days previous. Stakes had been set in the ground, with bits of red llannel fastened on them j>ecul- iurly. Til is, the guide explained, meant warnings from the tribes at war to frighten us from any further ad- vance into their country. Whether because of the cool- ness of the oiKcer, or because the warriors knew of the size of the advancing column, we were allowed to pro- ceed unharmed. Iluw interminable the distance seemed to where the general awaited us, unconscious of what wo had encountered ! I was lifted out of tho saddle a very limp and unconscious thing. Encouraged by references to other dangers I had lived through without flinching, I mounted again and followed the leader closely. He took us through some rough country, where the ambitious horses, finding that by bending their heads they could srjueeze through, forgot to seek o{K*nings high enough to admit those sitting in tho saddle. We crashed through underbrush, and I, with habit torn and hands scratched, was sometimes almost lifted up, Absalom-like, by the resisting branches. Often we had no path, and the generaFs horse, " Vic," would start straight up steep banks after we had forded streams. It never occurred to his. rider, until after the ascent was made, and a faint voice arose from the valley, tiiat all liorses would not do willingly what his thorough-bred did. lie linally turned to look back and tell me how to manage 70 BOOTS A^'D SADDLES. my horse. I abandoned the bridle when we canie to those ascents, and wound my hands in the horse's luano to keep from sliding entirely off, while the animal took his own way. All this was such variety and excitement I was delighted, and forgot my terror of the morning. AVe found a bit uf lovely road, which only those who go hundreds of miles under a blazing sun can appreci- ate fullv. The sunshine came llickerin*' down throu'rh the branches of the trees and covered the short grass with checkered light and shade. Here we dawdled, and enjoyed looking up at the patches of blue sky through great grown-up tree-tops. It was like a bit of woods at home, where I never thought to be grateful for foliage, but took it as a matter of course. My husband remem- bered my having put some biscuit in the leather pocket on my saddle, and invited himself to luncheon at once. Wo dismounted, and threw ourselves on the ground to cat the very frugal fare. After resting, we gave oui*selvcs the privilege of a Bwift galloj) over the stretch of smooth ground before us. AVo were laughing and talking so busily I never noticed the surroundings until I found we were almost in the midst of an Indian village, quite hidden under a bluff. My heart literally stood still. I watched the general furtively. lie was as usual perfectly unmoved, and yet he well knew that this was the country where it was hardlv considered that the Indian was overburdened with hospitality. Oh, how I wished ourselves safely with the column, now so far away! There were but few occupants of the village, but they glowered and growled, and I could see the venomous glances they ADVENTURES—THE LAST DAYS OF THE MAilCH. 77 cast on ns as I meekly followed. I trembled so I conld barely keep my scat as we slowly advanced, for the gen- eral even slackened his speed, to demonstrate to them, I suppose, that we felt ourselves perfectly at home, lie said "JIow," of course, which was liis usual saluta- tion to them. An echoing "how" beside him proved that I still had power of utterance. AVhen we came to one Indian, who looked menacingly at ns and doggedly stood in our road, the officer with us declared that I accompanied my **how" with a salaam so deep that it bent my head down to the pommel of my saddle! At all events, I meant, if politeness would propitiate, not to be deficient in that quality at such a critical moment. In a few moments, which seemed however a lifetime, wo saw the re:isun why the village appeared so empty. Men, women, and children had gone nearly to the top of the bluff, and there, with their bodies hidden, were looking off at a faint cloud of dust in the distance. My husband, appreciating my terror, quickly assured me it was the Tlh Cavalry. Kven then, what a stretch uf country it seemed between us and that blessed veil of sand, through which wc perceived dimly that succor was at hand. My horse was rather given to snuggling, and pressed 80 against the general that he made his leg very uncom- fortable sometimes. But then, in my terror, it seemed to me an ocean of space was dividing us. I longed for the old Puritan days, when a wife rode on a pillion be- hind her liege as a matter of course. 1 found courage to look back at last. The bluff was crowned with little irregularities, so still they seemed 78 BOOTS AND SADDLES. like tufts of grass or stones. They represented many pairs of bead-like eyes, that peered over the country at the advancing troops. The next day the general thought I might rather not go with liini than run the risk of such frights; but I well knew there was something far worse than fears fur my own personal safety. It is infinitely worse to be left behind, a prey to all the horrors of imagining what may be happening to one we love. You cat your heart slowly out with anxiety, and to endure such suspense is simply the hardest of all trials that come to the sol- dier's wife. I gladly consented to be taken along every day, but there never seemed a time when it was not necessary to get accustomed to some new terror. However, it is only the getting used to it that is so bad. It is the unexpected things that require fresh relays of courage. AVhen a woman has come out of danger, she is too utterly a coward by nature not to dread enduring the same thing again ; but it is something to know that she is equal to it. Though she may tremble and grow faint in antici- pation, having once been through it, she can count on rising to the situation when tlic hour actually comes. The rattlesnakes were so numerous on this march that all Texas and Kansas experience seemed to dwarf in contrast. My horse was over sixteen hands high, but I would gladly have exchanged him for a camelopard when I rode suddenly almost upon a snake coiled in the grass, and looked down into the eyes of the upraised head. ^We counted those we encountered in one day's journey until we were tired. Tiie men became very ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH. 79 expert and systematic in clearing the camp of these reptiles. If we halted at night in the underbrush, they cut and tore away the reeds and grass, and began at once to beat the ground and kill the snakes. "When I say that as many as forty were killed in one night, some literal person may ask if I actually saw the bodies of all those ^' lately slain !'' It is not an exaggerated story, Jiowever, and one only needs to see hundreds of men pounding and clearing such a place to realize that many snakes could be disposed of in a short time. After that, when the ground was selected for our camp in the low part of the valley, I was loath to lie down and sleep until the soldiers had come up to prepare the ground. My husband used to indulge this little prejudice of mine against making my head a reproduction of Medusa's, and we often sought the high ground for a rest until the command came up. The guide rode often at the head of the column, and we found him full of information about the country. AVe began also to listen for a new domestic disclosure every time we approached an Indian village. He was the most married of any man I ever saw, for in every tribe he had a wife. Still this superfluity did not burden him, for the ceremony of tying a marital knot in the far AVest is simple, and the wives support themselves. Sometimes he gave us new points about making our- selves comfortable in camp. One day I was very grate- ful to him. AVe were far in advance of the wagon-train containing the tents ; the sun was scorching; not a tree, nor even a clump of bushes was near. In a brief time, however, the guide had returned from the stream, where 80 BOOTS AND SADDLES. he had cut some willow saplhigs, aud sticking them in the groinvd made what he called *' wik-a-up.'' lie wove the ends loosely together on top, and over this oval cover he threw the saddle blankets. There was just room enough to crawl into this oven-like place, but it was an escape from the heat of the sun, and I was soon asleep. After I emerged the general took my place. When he had taken his nap the dogs crept in ; so a very grateful family thanked the guide for teaching us that new device. The bends in the Missouri Kiver are sometimes so long that the steamer with supplies would have to make a journey of si.xty miles while we had perhaps only live to march across the peninsula. All the soldiers, officers' servants, teamsters, and other citizen employes took that time to wash their clothes, for we were two days in camp. The creek on which we halted was lined with bending figures, their arms moving vigorously back and forth as they wrung out each article. Later on the camp looked like an animated laundry. From every tent-rope and bush floated the apparel. I had only a small valise for my summer's outfit, but Mary had soon taken out our few things, and around the kitchen-tent "was suspended the family linen. As soon as this was dry she folded and pressed it as best she could, and laid it between the mattresses as a substitute for ironing. All the way up the river the guide was constantly in- terviewed as to the chances for lishing. He held out promises that were to be realized upon reaching Choteau Creek. "We arrived there on one of the resting -days, ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH. 81 and camp was no sooner made, and food and water brought, than a great exodus took place. Tlie general called me to the tent -dour to sec the deserted camp, and wondered how the soldiers could all have disappeared so quickly. Another problem was, where the iishing-tuckle came from ! Some had brought rods, even in the restricted spaco allotted them, but many cut them from the bushes along the river, attaching hooks and lines, while some bent pins and tied them to strings. The soldiers shared so generously with one an- other that one pole was loaned about while the idle ones watched. 1 never cared for lishing, but my husband begged me to go with him always, and carried my book and work. 1 sat under a bush near liim, which ho covered with a shawl to protect nio from the sun, and there we stayed for hours. Oliieers and men competed alike for the best places by the quiet pools. The gen- eral could hardly pay attention to his line, he was so in- terested watching the men and enjoying their pleasure. His keen sense of the ludicrous took in the comical ligures as far as we could see. In cramped and uncom- fortable positions, with earnest eyes fixed steadily in one place for hours, they nearly fell into the water with excitement if they chanced to draw out a tiny iish. The other men came from all along the bank to observe if any one was successful. One of the men near us was a member of the band. He was a perfect reproduction of the old prints of Izaak AValton. The fixedness of his gaze — his whole soul in his eyes — while he was utterly unconscious of any one being near, was too much for the general's equanimity. 4^^ 83 UOOTS AND SADDLES. lie put bis head iiiulor the canopy made by my sliawl, not daring to laugh aloud, for fear be might be heard by the man, and said it was more fun to see that soldier fish than to hear him play on the violin. No wonder the men enjoyed the sport, for even these little bull-fish, fairly gritty from the muddy water in which they lived, were a great addition to their pork and hard-tack fare. For once the sun overcame me, and 1 knew the ig- nominy of being.comj)elled to own that I was dizzy and faint. I had not been long in military life before I was as much ashamed of being ill as if I had been a real sol- dier. The troops pride themselves on being invulnera- ble to bodily ailments. I was obliged to submit to being helped back to camp, and in the cool of the evening watched the return of the fishers, who were as j)roud of the strings of ugly little things they carried as if they had been pickerel or bass. Then the blue flame and soft smoke began to ascend from the evening fires, and the odor from the frying supper rose on the air. In my indolent, weak condition I never knew how I was able to perform such agile pirouettes as I did ; but hearing a peculiar sound, I louked down and saw a huge rattlesnake gliding towards me. I had long ago learned to suppress shrieks, but I forgot all such self-control then. How I wished myself the Indian baby we had seen the day before — the veritable "baby in the tree- top," for it was tied by buckskin thongs to a limb! There I thought I could rest in peace. The snake was soon despatched. The men had left camp so hurriedly in the morning that the usual beating of the ground was omitted, and so I had this unwelcome visitor. ADVENTURES— TIIE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH. 83 When wc camped near a village, the Indians soon appeared. Groups of half a dozen on j)ouie3, with chil- dren running after, would corac. The ponies were, most of them, dull and sway-backed. It was no wonder, for I have seen four persons on one pony — an Indian and three half-grown boys. No hurse could keep its shajK* loaded down, as those of the Indians usually are, with game and property. These visitors grew to be great trials, fur they were inveterate beggars. One day an old Iiulian, called ''Thc-Man-with-the-Broken-Ear," came ridipg in, elaborately decorated and on a 6ha|>ely pony, lie demanded to see the chief. The general aj)peared, asfjbted him to dismount, and seated him in my camp- chair. The savage leaned back in a grand sort of man- ner and calmly surveyed us all. I was soon in agonies of anxiety, for Colonel Tom and the young ofliccrs lounging near entered the tent. They bowed low, took the hand of the old fellow with profound deference, and, smiling benignly, addressed him. In just as suavo a voice as if their words had been genuine flattery, they Slid, ** You confoui»dcd old galoot, why aro you liero l»egging and thieving, when your wretched old hands are hardly dry from some murder, and your miserable mouth still red from eating the heart of your enemy?'' Each one saluted him, and each vied with the other in ]>ouring forth a tirade of forcible expletives, to which ho bowed in acknowledgment and shook hands. My terror was that ho might understand, for we often found these people as cunning as foxes, sitting stolid and stupid, pretending not to know a word, while they understood the gist of much that was said. 84 BOOTS AND SADDLES. The officers gave this chief tobacco — Periqne I think it is called — and so strong that, though I was accustomed to all kinds, I rather avoided the odor of it. We had no \vhiskej, but if we had kept it, the general obeyed the law of the reservation too strictly to allow it to be given away. lie was called to the office -tent a few moments, and in a trice one of the others had emptied the alcohol from the spirit-lamp and offered the cup to the distinguished guest. Putting the great square of Perique into his moutl], with a biscuit beside, he washed it all down with gulps of the burning fluid. His eyes, lieretofore dull, sparkled at the sight of the iire-water. The officers said, "How," and he replied, "How." This did not surprise me, for that one word is the In- dian toast, and all tribes know it. Put my breath almost went out of my body when they asked him if he would have more, and he replied, " You bet." I was sure then that he had understood all the railing speeches and that he would plan a revenge. Loud cries of laughter greet- ed his reply; but matching their cunning against his, they eventually found that he knew no more English. lie had learned these words, without understandiiifr their meaning, at the trader's store on the reserva- tion. He waited around in the tent, hoping for more alcohol, until I was weary of the sight of him ; but I was too much afraid of him, limp as lie then was, to look bored. Finally he was lifted out, a tumbled up, disorganized heap of drooping feathers, trailing blanket, and demor- alized legs. When once, however, one drunken old foot was lifted over the pony for him, he swung himself into ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCn. 85 the saddle, and though swaying uncertainly, he man- aged to ride away. During the last days of our march we came upon an- other premonitory warning from the Indians. A pole was found stuck in the trail before us, with a red Hag, to which were fastened locks of hair. It was a chal- lenge, and when interpreted meant, that if we persisted in advancing, the hostiles were ready to meet the sol- diers and fight them. The officers paid little attention to this, but my heart was like lead for days afterwards. We encamped that night near what the Indians call "Medicine Kock ;'' my husband and I walked out to see it. It was a large stone, showing on the flat sur- face the impress of hands and feet made ages ago, be- fore the clay was petrilied. The Indians had tied bag8 of their herb medicine on poles about the rock, believ- ing that virtue would enter into articles left in the vicinity of this proof of the marvels or miracles of tho Great Spirit. Tin cans, spoons, and forks, that they had bought at the Agency, on account of the brightness of the metal, were left there as offerings to an unseen God. Everything pertaining to the Indians was new and interestini; to me. While we were in Kansas the tribes were at war, and we had not the opportunity to see their daily life as we did while passing through tho Sioux reservations on the march. I regretted each day that brought us nearer to tho conclusion of our journey, for though I had been fright- ened by Indians, and though we had encountered cold, storms, and rough life, the pleasures of the trip over- balanced the discomforts. 86 BOOTS AND SADDLES. CHAPTER VIII. SEl^UtATION AND KELNION. The (lay at last came for our march of live hundred miles to terminate. A rickety old ferryboat that took us over the river made a halt near Fort Kice, and there wc established ourselves. Strange to say, the river was no narrower there than it was so many hundred miles below, where wc started. Muddy and full of sand-bars as it was, we began Ijravely to drink the water, when the glass had been filled long enough fur the sediment partially to settle, and to take our bath in what at lirst seemed liquid mud. We learned after a time to settle the water with alum, and we finally became accustomed to the taste. The commandant at Fort Twice was most hospitable, and his wife charming. The quarters were very ordi- nary frame buildings, with no modern improvements. They were painted a funereal tint, but one warranted to last. The interior showed the presence of a tasteful woman. She met us as cheerfully as if she were in the luxurious home from which we knew she had gone as a girl to follow a soldier's life. Contrast often helps us to endure, and Dakota was not so bad as their last sta- tion in Arizona. The dinner was excellent, and our entertainers were the happy possessors of a good cook. SEPAILITIOX AND REUNION'. 87 Riirely do army |XJople have two good servants at the ftime time on the frontier. Our liost and Iiostess made no apologies, but quietly waited on the table them- oelvcs, and a merry time we had over the blunders of the head of the house, who was a distinguished general, in his endeavors to lind necessary dishes in the china closet. A steamer that arrived a day or two after wo had reached Fort Kice brought the regimental property, consisting of everything that was not used on the march. Our household effects and trunks were delivered to us in a very sorry condition. They had been carelessly stored on the wharf at Yankton, near the government warehouse, without any covering, during all the storms that drenched us coming up the river. Almost every- thing was mildewed and ruined. We tried to dry our clothing in the sun. Many a little bit of silken tinery that wo had cherished since our marriage days, fecliug sure that we should never attain to such grandeur again, was suspended from the tent -ropes, stained and dull. Our sister's husband helj>ed her to unpack her clothes and his own soaked uniform, lie was dignitied and re- served bv nature, but on tliat occasion the barriei"s were broken. I hoard him ask Mar^ret to excuse him while he went outside the tent to make some remarks to him- self that he felt the occasion demanded. There were furious peoj>lo on all sides, and 6:ivage speeches about the thoughtlessness of those who had left our property exjx)sed to snow and rain, when we were no longer there to care for it. I endured everything until my pretty wedding-dress was taken out, crushed and spotted 88 BOOTS AND SADDLES. with mildew. ' My husband had grcat control over him- self in the small anno^^anccs of life, and was able to re- peat again the proverb he had adopted in his boyhood, "Never cry for spilled milk.-' How he could submit so quietly, when he took out his prized books and the few pictures I knew that lie valued, was a myster}*. All tliouirlit bci^an now to centre on the coniin^r events of the summer. It was decided tbat the regiment was* to go out to guard the engineers of the Northern Pacilic Ilailroad while they surveyed the route from l>ismarck to the Yellowstone lliver. The ladies necessarily were to be left behind. Now began the summer of my dis- content. I longed to remain in Dakota, for I knew it would take much longer for our letters to reach us if we went East. Besides, it was far more comforting to stay at a military post, where every one was interested in the expedition, and talked about it as the chief toj>ie of concern. I remembered when I had gone East be- fore, during a summer when our regiment was fighting Indians, and my idea was that the whole country would bo almost as absorbed as we were, how shocked I wan to be asked, when I spoke of the regiment, "Ah, is there a campaign, and for what purix)sc has it gone out?'' I was willing to live in a tent alone at the post, but there were not even tents to be had. Then we all looked with envious eyes at the quarters at Fort Itice. The post was small, and there were no vacant rooms ex- cept in the bachelor quarters. These are so called when the unmarried men take rooms in the same house and mess together. No opportunity was given us to wheedle them into offering us a place. Our officere hinted to SEPARATION' AND PwEUXION'. 89 tlicin, but they socincJ Uj uc rumplctcly intimidiitcil re- garding^ women. They received an honest and emphatic "no" when tlicy asked if the ladies of the 7th Cavalry quarrelled. Even then these wary men eaid "they did not dare to offer to take in any women." They added that there were but three in the post, and no two of them spoke to each other. They thought if wo were asked to remain it might be the history of the Kilkenny cats repeated, and they were obdurate. There was nothing left for us, then, but to go liomc. It was a sore disappointment. We were put on the steamer that was to take us to Bismarck, a heart-broken Jittle group. I hated Dakota, the ugly river, and even my native land. Wo were nearly devoured with raoB- quitoes at once. Only the strongest ammonia on otir faces and hands served to alleviate the torment The journey was wretchedness itself. I had thrown myself on the iKTth in one of the little sufloc^iting state-rooms, exhausted with weeping, and too utterly overcome with the anguish of parting to know much of the surround- ings. I was roused by the gentle hand of a woman, who had forgotten her own troubles to como to mc. Ah, even now, when the tears rain down my face at the remembrance of those agonizing good-byes, whieh were like death each time, and which grew harder with each separation, I think of the sympathy shown me. The sweet, tender eves of the wives of oflicers come to mo now, and I feel the soft touch of their hands as they eamo to comfort me, even when their own hearts were wrung. Grief is so selfish, I wonder now that they could have been such rainisterinir anceh 90 BOOTS AND SADDLES. At last the slow, wearisome journey was over, and we went into the little town of Bismarck to take tlie cars. The Department Commander, returning to his hcadcrsonal stall. Another live hundred miles were before us, but in such luxury it hardly seemed tluit my sister and I were the same two who had been '' roughing it" on the march a few days before. The journey was very quiet and over an uninteresting country, but wo ladies had something to occupy our time, as we began to prejiare some of our meals, for the untidy eating-houses on the road were almost unendur- able. The stail of the Commanding General went out at the stations and foraged for what food they could find to add to our bill of fare. At St. Paul we bade them all good-bye, and soon found ourselves welcomed by dear father and mother Cubter, at Monroe. Their hearts were ever with the absent ones. For several slow, irksome months I did little else than wait for the tardy mails, and count each day that passed a gain. I had very interesting letters from my husband, sometimes thirty and forty pages in length, lie wrote of his delight at having again his whole regiment with him, his interest in the country, his hunting exploits, and the renewal of his friendship with General Ilosser. The 7th Cavalry were sent out to guard the engineers of the Northern Pacific, while they surveyed the route to the Yellowstone. This party SEPARATION AND REUNION. 91 of citizens joined the command a few days out from Fort liicc. The general wrote mo that he was lying on the buffalo-robe in his tent, resting after the march, when he heard a voice outside asking the sentinel which was General Custer's tent. Tlic general called out, *' Halloo, old fellow ! I haveirt heard that voice in thirteen years, but I know it. Come in and welcome!'' General Kosser walked in, and such a reunion as they had ! These two had been classmates and warm friends at West Point, and parted with sorrow when (Jeneral Ivosser went into the Southern army. Afterwards they liad fought each other in the Shenandoah Valley time and time again. Both of them lay on the robe for hours talking over the campaigns in Virginia. In the varying fortunes of war, sometimes one had got posses- sion of the wagon-train belonging to the other. I knew of several occ^isions when they had captured each oth- er's head-quarters wagons with the private luggage. If one drove the other back in retreat, before he went into camp ho wrote a note addressing the other aa "dear friend,'' and saying, "you may Lavo made mo take a few steps this way to-day, but I'll bo even with you to- morrow. Please accept my good-wishes and this little gift." These notes and presents were left at the Iiouso of some Southern woman, as they retreated out of the village. Once General Custer took all of his friend's luggage, and found in it a new uniform coat of Confederate gray. He wrote a humorous letter that night thanking General Rosser for setting him up in so many new things, but audaciously asking if he "would direct his ©9 DOOTS AND SADDLES. tailor to make the coat-tails of his next uniform a little shorter" as there was a difference in the height of the two men. General Custer captured his herd of cattle at one time, but he was so hotly pursued by General Kosser that he had to dismount, cut a whip, and drive them himself until they were secured. To return to the Yellowstone expedition. The liour for Btartinir never varied more than a few moments durini^ the summer, and it was so early the civilians connected with the engineering party could not be- come reconciled to it. In the afternoon my husband sometimes walked out on the outskirts of camp, and threw himself down in the gi-ass to rest with his dogs beside him. It w;is a source of amusement to him if he acciden- tally overheard the grumbling. His campaigning dress was so like that of an enlisted man, and his insignia of rank so unnoticeable, that the tongues ran on, indilTer- cnt to his presence. Sometimes, in their growling, the civilians accused him of having something on his con- science, and declared that, not being able to sleep him- Bclf, he woko every one else to an unearthly reveille. At this he choked with laughter, and to their dismay they discovered who he was. I remember his telling me of another occasion, when he unavoidably heard a soldier exclaim, " There goes taps, and before we get a mouthful to cat, reveille will sound, and * Old Curley ' will hike us out for the march." The soldier was slightly discomfited to find the subject of his remarks was within hearing. The enlisted men were constantly finding new names SErAllATIOX AND REUXIOK. 03 for tlic general, which I would never have known — thereby losing some anniscinent — if Mary had not occa- sionally told nic of them. A favorite was " Jack," the letters G. A. C on his valise having served as a sug- gestion. When the expedition returned from the Yellowstone, :i desj)atch came to me in Michigan, saying the regi- ment had reached Furt Lincoln in safety. Anuther soon followed, informing me that my hushand was on his way home. Tlie relief from constant anxiety and sus- pense, together with all tho excitement into which I was thrown, made mo almost unfit to make prepara- tion to meet him. There was to bo an army reunion in tho city nearest us, and in my impatience I took the first tniin, thinking to reach there in advance of General Custer. As I walked along tho street, looking into shop- windows, I felt, rather than saw, a sudden rush from a door, and I was taken ofl my feet and set dancing in air. Deforc I could resent what I thought was an indignity, I discovered that it was my 1ms- band, who seemed utterly regardless of the passers-by. JIo was sunburnt and mottled, for the flesh was quite ^''air where he had cut his beard, tho growth of the sum- mer. He told me the oflicers with whom he had trav- elled in the Pullman car had teased him, and declared that no man would shave in a car going at forty miles an hour, except to prepare to meet his sweetheart. I was deeply grateful, though, for I knew the fiery tint of tho beard, and infinitely preferred tho variegated flesh tints of his sunburnt face. W BOOTS AND SADDLEii CIIAin^ER IX. orn NEW iioMi: at voiir mncoi-V. In a few days wc were ready to return tu iJakuta, and very glad to go, except for leaving the old jxarents. The liarde.st trial of my husband's life was jxirting with his mother. Such partings were tlie only occa- sions when I ever saw him lose entire control of him- self, and I always looked forward to the hour of their separation with dread. For hours before we started, I have seen him follow his mother about, whispering some comforting word to her; or, opening the closed door of her own room, where, womanlike, she fought out her grief alunc, sit beside her as lunir as he could endure it. She had been an invalid for so many years that each parting seemed to lier the linal one. Jler groans and sobs were heart- rending. She clung to him every step when he started to go, and exhausted at last, was led back, half fainting, to licr lounge. The general would rush out of the house, sobbing like a child, and then throw himself into the carriage beside me completelv unnerved. I could onlv c never failed to make, of the reunion that he felt would soon come. After long deixites with her jxirent.*, we liad cnjitured a young lady who was to return with us, »She was a "joy forever,'' and submitted without a word to the ruugh j)art of our journey. After we left St. Paul, the usual struggle for decent f«jod began. Some of the of- ficers returning from leave of absence had joined us, and wo made as merr}' over our hardships as wo could. When we entered the eating houses, one young mem- ber of our party, whom wc called tljo " butter fiend,'' was made the exjH?rimenter. If he found the butter too rancid to e-at nndisguiijed, he gave us a hint by saying, under his breath, '*this is a donble-over place." Tiial meant that m'c must put a layer of bread on top of tho butter to smother the taste. The genend was so eensitire when living in civiliza- tion that tho heartiest apj)ctite would desert him if an allusion to anything nnple:isant or a reference to suffer- ing was made at the table. Ihit lie never seemed to be conscious of surroundings when ** roughing it." Of course I had learned to harden myself to almost any- thing by this time, but I can see the wide-open eyes of our girl friend when she saw us eat all around any foreign ingredients we found in our food. She nearly 08 BOOTS AND SADDLES. starved on a diet consisting of the interior of badly- baked potatoes and the inside of soggy rolls. One of the eating -places on the road was kept in a narrow little house, built on a flat car. Two men presided, one cooking and the other waiting on the table. Wc were laboriously spearing our food with two tined forks, and sipping the muddy coffee with a pewter spoon, when I heard with surprise the general asking for a napkin. It seemed as foreign to the place as a finger-bowl. The waiter knew him, however, and liked him too well to refuse him anything; so he said, *' I have nothing but a towel, general.'' '* Just the thing, just the thing,-' repeated my husband, in his quick, jol- ly way. So the man tied a long crash towel under his chin, and the general ate on, too indifferent to appear- ances to care because the tableful of travellers smiled. AVhen we finally reached the termination of the road at Eismarck, another train was about starting back to St. Paul. The street was full of people, wildly expost- ulating and talking loudly and fiercely. It appeared that this was the last train of the season, as the cars were not to run during the winter. The passengers were mostly Bismarck citizens, whose lawless life as gam- blers and murderers had so outraged the sentiments of the few law-abiding residents that they had forced them to depart. We could see these outlaws crowding at the door, hanging out of the windows, swearing and mena- cing, and finally firing on the retreating crowd as the cars passed out of town. I was inclined to remain a fixture in our car; to step down into such a 7nelee was too much for my courage. The general made allow- OUR NEW HOME AT FORT LLNXOLN. 87 ance for my fears, and we were quietly slipped out on the other side of the depot, hurried into the ambu- lance, and driven to the river. The ice was already thick enough to bear our weight part way over; then came a swift rushing torrent of water which had to bu crossed in a small boat. Some of the soldiers rowed, while one kept the huge cakes of floating ice from our frail boat with a long, iron- pointed pole. As I stepped into the little craft, I dropped upon the bottom and hid my eyes, and no amount of reference to dangers I had encountered be- fore induced me to look up. The current of tlie Mis- souri is so swift it is something dreadful to encounter. We were lifted out upon the ice again, and walked to the bank. Once more on shore, I said to myself, here will I live and die, and never go on that river again. Our brother, Colonel Tom, met us, and drove us to our new home. In the dim light I could see the great post of Fort Lincoln, where only a few mouths before we had left a barren plain. Our quarters were light- ed, and as we approached, the regimental band played "Home, Sweet Home," followed by the generaTs fa- vorite, " Garryowen.-' The general had completely settled the house before he left for the East, but he had kept this fact secret, as a surprise. Our friends had lighted it all, and built fires in the fireplaces. The garrison had gathered to welcome us, and Mary had a grand supper ready. How wo chattered and gloried over the regiment having a home at last. It seemed too good to believe that the 7th Cavalry had a post of its own, with room for the 98 BOOTS AND SADDLES. half of the regiment assigned to duty there. In other garrisons, when "sve had come in late in the fall from campaigns, the ofiicei*8, in order to get places for them- selves, had been obliiired to turn some one else out. There is a disagreeable, though probably necessary law in the army regulations, which directs officers to take their quarters according to rank. Fort l^incoln was built with quarters for six com- panies. The barracks for the soldiers were on the side of the parade-ground nearest the river, while seven de- tached houses for officers faced the river opposite. On the left of the parade-ground was the long granary and the little military prison, called the ** guard-house.'^ Op- posite, completing the square, were the quartermaster and commissiiry storehouses for supplies and the adju- tant's ullice. Outside the garrison ]»ropcr, near the river, were the stables for six hundred horses. Still farther beyond were the quarters for the laundresses, easily traced by the swinging clothes-lines in front, and dubbed for this reason "Suds Kow." Some distance on from there were the log huts of the Indian scouts and their families, while on the same side also was the level plain used for parades and drill. On the left of the l>06t was the sutler's store, with a billiard-room attached. Soon after the general arrived he permitted a citizen to put up a barber-shop, and afterwards another built a little cabin of cotton-wood, with canvas roof for a pho- tograi)her's establishment. The i>ost was located in a valley, while just Ixick of MS stretched a long chain of blulTs. On the summit of I hill, nearly a mile io the left, was a fcUiuU infantry OUR NEW UOME AT FORT LINCOLN. M garrison, which had been established some time, and now belonf^cd to our post. When we went to return tlio visits of the infantry ladies, the mules dni«rged the anj- bulance up the steep hill with difllculty. AVe found liv- ing in this bleak place — in small, shabbily built quarters, such as a day -laborer would consider hardly good enough for his family — delicate women and children, who, as usual, made no conij)laint about their life. Afterwards we were much indebted to one of the ladies, who, de- termined to Conquer fate, varied our lives and g:ivo us something to look forward to, by organizing a reading- club that met every week. She had sent to the East, before the trains ceased running, for the new books. This little post had been built before the railroad was completed, and the houses were put together with as few materials as possible. There was no plastering, but the ceilings and partitions were of thick paper made for the puri>osc. When narrow mouldings uf wood were tacked over the joined places, and all of it painted, the effect was very pretty. When it was torn and ragged it looked jwverty -stricken enough. In one set of quar- ters there chanced to be so many children and so little room that the parents had invented a three-story bed, where the little ones could be all stowed at night. While we were calling there one day, I sat talking with the cheer. 1. 1 little mother, and wondering how she could be so bright. Everything in garrison life was, of course, new to my girl friend, and I discovered she was trying to smother a laugh. She commanded a view of the in- ner door. One of the children, who had been beating the wall and crying to enter, liad finally made prelimi- 100 BOOTS AND SADDLES. iiary preparations. She bad thrust through a hole in the paper partition each article of her little wardrobe, even to her shoes, and was putting the first rosy foot throutrh after them. AVhen the mother discovered this she laughed heartily, and gave us thus an opportunity to join her. Our own post was somewhat sheltered by the bluils behind ; but thuugli our quarters were plastered, the un- seasoned lumber warped, and it was a struggle to keep warm. The wood with which we were provided was far from dry, and much of it of that kind that burns quickly but sends out little heat. It seemed to require the entire time of one man to keep up the fires. It was thus a blessed thing for the |)oor fellow whose duty it was, for he had never been able to remain long with his company at a time. lie had an uncontrollable habit of drinkinir. Most of the time he belonii^cd to the band of prisoners who are taken out of the guard-house every day, under a sentinel, to police the garrison and cut the wood. Mary gave them the coffee and whatever else was left from the table every day. This seemingly worth- less fellow told Mary that he believed he could *' keep straight" if Mrs. Custer would get the general to remit his sentence and let him come to us to keep the fires. So he came, and was occasionally sober for some time. He learned to go through the house with his arms full of wood when he was quite drunk. Ue really had too much heart to cause me trouble, and used to say, " Mary, I am pretty full, but don't let Mrs. Custer know it, for I told her I would not do so again, and I don't like to make her feel bad." So Mary spied out the land before OUR KEW HOME AT FORT LINTOLN' 101 him and opened his doors. After he had tried her pa- tience lonf^, she finally lost her temper on findini^ that ho had swallowed all the Worcestershire sauce and her bottle of pain-killer. She held out the can of kerosene oil to Iiim, and asked if lie Avould not add that to his dram, and began such a berating that lie hurried off to escape from the violence of her tongue. The soldiers asked the general's permission to put up a place in which they could have entertainments, and lie gave them every assistance lie could. They prepared the lumber in the saw-mill that belonged to the post. Tiio building was an ungainly looking structure, but largo enough to hold them all. The unseasoned cotton- wood wari>ed oven while tlic Iiousc was being built, but by patching and lining with old torn tents, they man- aged to keep out the storm. Tho scenery was painted on condemned canvas stretched on a frame- work, and was lifted on and oil as tho plays rcquireti. The foot- lights in front of the rude stage were tallow- candles that smoked and sputtered inside the clumsily cobbled casing of tin. The scats w*erc narrow benches, without backs. Tho officers and ladies were alwavs invited to take tho front row at every now performance, and after they entered, tho house filled up with soldiers. Some of tho enlisted men played very well, and used great in- genuity in getting up their costumes. The general ac- cepted every invitation, and enjoyed it all greatly. Tho clog- dancing and negro character songs between tho acts were excellent. Indeed, we sometimes had profes- sionals, who, having been stranded in the States, had enlisted. 102 BOOTS .VXD SADDLES. A rco-iment is recruited from all classes and condi- o tions of men. Occasionally accident revealed the secret that there were fugitives from justice in the ranks. If they changed their names, they found no place where they were so hidden from every one they ever knew as in a regiment that is always on duty in the territories. It came to pass sometimes that a man of title, who had *' left his country for his country's good," wore the gov- ernment blue as a disguise, and served as a trooper for want of anything better to do. Among the men who sent word they would be glad to help me about the house when we were settling — either as a carpenter, a 6:iddler to sew carpets, or a blacksmith to put up stoves — there were several with histories. Though they were strictly military with the general, observing the rule of never speaking unless spoken to, they sought the first opportunity to tell me their troubles. These were in- variably domestic difficulties, until I began to think our regiment was "a city of refuge" for outraged husbands. It would eventually be found out that these men had run away and enlisted under assumed names, when driven desperate by the scoldings of a turbulent wife. Time, and the loneliness of a sol- dier's life, would soften their woes, and they began at last to sigh even for the high-pitched voice of the de- serted woman. The general felt as badly as I did when I carried their stories to him, begging him to get them discharged. lie had a little fashion, however, of asking ine to remember that about this, as about every other sub- ject that we ever discussed, " there were always two sides to a question." My sympathy for the soldiers in trou- OUR NEW HOME AT FOKT LLNXOLiT. 103 ble was of little avail, for the law compelling tliem to serve the five yeai-s out was irrevocable. All I could do was to write letters at their solicitation, revealing their identity and asking for a reconciliation. My husband's duties extended over a wide range. If the laundresses had a serious difficulty, he was asked to settle it. They had many pugilists among them, and the least infringement of their rights provoked a battle in which wood and other missiles filled the air. Band- aged and bruised, they brought their wrongs to our house, where both sides had a hearing. The general bad occasionally to listen and arbitrate between husband and wife, when the laundress and her soldier husband could not agree. I was banished from the room, while he heard their story and gave them counsel. In the same way he listened to whatever complaints the sol- diers made. Some of them came into our quartei*s on one occasion with a tin cup of coflee for the general to taste, and determine whether he agreed with them that it was too poor to drink. From that time on, after ev- ery Sunday morning inspection, the general went with all the officers to visit the kitchens, as well as the bar- racks of each company, and every troop commander was called upon to pass criticisms on the cleanliness of the quarters and the wholesomcness of the food. 101 BOOTS Aij'D SADDLES. CHAPTER X. TvrTDFVT^ OF rvrnv-DAV ttff. TriK companies cacii ^avc a baii in uirn diirinpj the winter, and the j)rcj)aratiuns were bof^iin long in ad- vance. There was no place to buy anythinp^, save the sutler's store and the shops in the little town of VAs- niarck, but they were well ransacked for materials for the supper. Tiic bunks where the soldiers slept were removed from the barracks, and Hags festooned around the room. Arms wore stacked and guidons arranged in grou])s. A few pictures of distinguished men were wreathed in imitation laurel leaves cut out of green paper. Chandeliers and side brackets carved out of cracker -box boards into fantastic shapes were iilled with candles, while at cither end of the long room great logs in the wide lirc|>laces threw out a cheerful light. The ball opened, headed by the lirstsergeant. After this the officers and their wives were invited to form a set at one end of the room, and we danced several times. One of the men whose voice was clear and loud sang the calls. He was a comical genius, and impro- vised new ways of calling ull. AVhen the place came in the quadrille to ** Turn your partners,'' his voice rose above the music, in the notes of the old song, " Oh swing those girls, those pretty little girls, those girls you left behind yon T' This was such an inspiration to the fun- INCIDENTS OF FVrnV PAY MKE 105 lovers that tho swinging ii«uuiiy tiiiicU iii our being whirled in the air by the privileged members of our family. The soldiers were a superb lot of men physically. Tiie out-door life had developed them into j>erfect sjkjc- imens of vigorous manhood. After the company tailor had cut over their uniforms, they were often tho per- fection of good fitting. The older soldiers wore, on tho sleeves of their coats, tho rows of braid that designate the number of years in the service. Some had the army badges of the corps in which they fought during tho war, while an occasional foreign decora^' 'i -^..a.-.I that they had been bravo soldiers in the i \Ve were escorted out to tho supper-room in tho company- kitchen in advance of tho enlisted men. The general deliglited tho hearts of the sergeant and ball-man.agcrs by sitting down to a great dish of potato-sabd. It was always well flavored with the onion, as rare out there, and more appr * ! than pomegranates are in New York. We laU..^ i v.k cake, of course, l»"^ ""»nngly, for it was aUo a great luxury. AVhen we returned to watch tho dancing, the general was on nettles for fear we should be wanting in tact, and show our amusement by laughing at the costumes of tho women. There was but a sprinkling of them : several from Bismarck and a few while servants of the officers. Each company was allowed but three or four laundress- es. The soldier was obliged to ask |x?rmi6sion to mar- rv, and his en;ra;rement was a wearv waitin2^ sometimes. In order to get a vacancy for his sweetheart, he had to await the discharge of some other soldier from the com- 5* 100 BOOTS AND S.VDDLES. jKiM}', wliose wife held the appointment of lanndrcss. These women were at the ball in full force, and each one brought her babj. When we removed our wraps in the room of the first -sergeant we usually found his bed quite full of curly -headed infants sleeping, while tho laundress mothers danced. The toilets of these women were something marvellous in construction. In low neck and short sleeves, their round, red arms and well- developed figures wheeled around the barracks all night long. Even the tall Mexican laundress, hereafter spe- cially mentioned, would deck hci-self in pink tarletan and false curls, and notwithstanding her height and co- lossal anatomy, she had const^mt partners. The little Dutch woman, who loved her husband more devotedly after each beating, and did not dance with any one else, was never absent from the balls. Her tiny little figure was suspended between heaven and earth while her tall soldier whirled her around the long hall in the endless German waltz. Some ofiicer would whisper slyly in my car, as she bowed and smiled in passing, ** Do you sec tho get -up of * Old Trooblo Agin?*" She had long before earned this sobriquet, when coming to mo for help out of her misfortunes, beginning each story of woo with "Troo- blo agin.'' Wherever we were, when the orders were issued for a campaign, she soon appeared claiming sym- pathy. No one could feel at such a time more than I the truth of her preface, for if we were to be left bo- hind, it was, indeed, " Trouble again." The pack of hounds were an endless source of delight to the general. We had about forty : the stag-hounds INCIDENTS OF E^^:RY.DAY LU'E. 107 that run by sight, and arc on the whole the fleetest and most enduring dogs in the world, and tlie fox-hounds that follow the trail with their noses close to the ground. The first rarely bark, but the latter arc very noisy. The general and I used to listen with amusement to their attempts to strike the key-note of the bugler when he sounded the calls summoning the men to guard mount, stables, or retreat. It rather destroyed the military ef- fect to see, beside his soldierly figure, a hound sitting down absorbed in imitation. With lifted head and roll- ing eyes there issued from the broad mouth notes so doleful they would have answered for a misericord ia. The fox-hounds were of the most use in the' winter, for the Imnting was generally in the underbrush and timber along the river. I never tired of watching the stirt for the hunt. The general was a figure that would liave fixed attention anywhere. He had marked indi- viduality of appearance, and a certain unstudied care- lessness in the wearing of his costume that gave a pict* uresque effect, not the least out of place on the frontier. Ho wore troop -boots reaching to his knees, buckskin breeches fringed on the sides, a tfark navy blue shirt with a broad collar, a red necktie, whose ends floated over his shoulder exactly as they did when he and his entire division of cavalry had worn them during the war. On the broad felt hat, that was almost a sombrero, was fastened a slight mark of his rank. He was at this time thirty-five years of age, weighed one hundred and seventy pounds, and was nearly six feet in height. His eyes were clear blue and deeply set, his hair short, wavy, and golden in tint. His mustache 108 DOUTS AXD SADDLES. was long and tawny in color; his complexion was florid, except where his forehead was shaded by his hat, for the sun always burned his skin ruthlessly. lie was tlie most agile, active man I ever knew, and so very strong and in such perfect physical con- dition that he rarely knew even an hour's indisposi- tion. Horse and man seemed one when the general vaulted into the saddle. His body was so lightly poised and so full of swinging, undulating motion, it almost seemed that the wind moved him as it blew over the plain. Yet every nerve was alert and like finely tempered steel, for the muscles and sinews that seemed so pliable were equal to the curbing of the most liery animal. I do not think that he sat liis horse with more grace than the other officers, for they rode superbly, but it was ac- counted by others almost an impossibility to dislodge the general from the saddle, no matter how vicious the horse might prove. lie threw his feet out of the stir- rups the moment the animal began to show his inclina- tion for war, and with his knees dug into the sides of the plunging brute, he fcHight and always conquered. With his own horses he needed neither spur nor whip. They were such friends of his, and his voice seemed so attuned to their natures, they knew as well by its in- flections as by the slight pressure of the bridle on their necks what he wanted. By the merest inclination on the general's part, they either sped on the wings of the wind or adapted their spirited steps to the slow move- ment of the march. It was a delight to see them to- gether, they were so in unison, and when he talked to INCIDENTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. 109 them, as though they had been human beings, their in- telligent eyes seemed to reply. As an example of his horsemanship he had a way of escaping from the stagnation of the dull march, when it was not dangerous to do so, by riding a short distance in advance of the column over a divide, throwing him- self on one side of his horse so as to be entirely out of sight from the other direction, giving a signal that the animal understood, and tearing off at the best speed that could be made. The hoi"se entered into the frolic with all the zest of liis master, and after the race the animal's beautiful, distended nostrils glowed blood-red as he tossed his head and danced with delight. In hunting, the general rude either Vic or Dandy. The dogs were so fond of the latter, they seemed to liave little talks with him. The general's favorite dog, Dliicher, would leap up to him in the saddle, and jump fairly over the hoi*se in starting. The spirited liorses, mounted by officers who sat them so well, the sound of the horn used for the purpose of calling the dogs, their answering bay, the glad voices, and '* whoojv la" to the hounds as the party galloped down the valley, are impressions ineffaceable from my memory. They often started a deer within sound of the bugle at the post. In a few hours their shouts ontside would call me to the window, and there, drooping across the back of one of the orderlies' horses, wonld be a magnificent black-tailed deer. We had a saddle of venison hanijincj on the wood-house almost constantly during the winter. The officers', and even the soldiers', tables had this rari- ty to vary the monotony of the inevitable beef. 110 BOOTS AND SADDLES. After these hunts the dogs had often to be cared for. They would be hime, or cut in the chase, through the tangle of vines and branches. These were so dense it was a constant wonder to the general how the deer could press through with its spreading antlers. The English hounds, unacquainted with our game, used to begin with a porcupine sometimes. It was pitiful, though fur a moment at first sight amusing, to see their noses and lips looking like animated pin -cushions. There was nothing for us to do after such an encounter but to begin surgery at once. The general would not take time to get of! his hunting-clothes nor go near the lire until he had called the dog into his room and ex- tracted the painful quills with the tweezers from his invaluable knife. I sat on the dog and held his paws, but quivered even when I kept my head averted. The quills being barbed cannot be withdrawn, but must be pulled through in the same direction in which they en- tered. The gums, lips, and roof of the mouth were full of little wounds, but the dogs were extremely sagacious and held very still. When the painful operation was over they were very grateful, licking the generars hand as he praised them fur their pluck. Sometimes, when the weather was moderate, and I rode after the fox-hounds, one of them separated him- self from the pack, and came shaking his great, velvet ears and wagging his cumbrous tail beside my horse. The general would call ray attention to him, and tell me that it was our latest surgical patient, paying us his bill in gratitude, " which is the exchequer of the poor." Among the pack was an old hound that had occa- INCIDENTS OF EVERY DAY LIFE. Ill sional fits. When lie felt the >ynn>tom8 of an attack lie left the kennel at the rear of the house, canie round to tlie front-door, and barked or scratched to get in. My husband knew at once that the dog was going to snfler, and that instinct had taught him to conic to us for help. Rover would lie down beside the general un- til his hour of distress, and then solicit the ever-ready sympathy with his mournful eyes. The general rubbed and cared for him, while the dog writhed and foamed at the mouth. lie was always greatly touched to see the old hound, when he began to revive, try to lift the tip of his tail in gratitude. With the stiig-hounds, hunting was so bred in the bone that they sometimes went off by themselves, and even the half-grown puppies followed. I have seen them returning from such a hunt, the one who led tho ]>ack holding proudly in his mouth a jack-rabbit. The wolves in their dcsjwrate hunger used to come up on the bluffs almost within a stoneVthrow of our quarters. It was far from pleasant to look out of the window and see them prowling about. Once when tho stag-hounds were let out of the kennel for exercise, they Hew like the winds over the hills after a coyote. The soldier who took care of them could only follow on foot, as the crust on the snow would not bear the weight of a horse. After a lonj::, cold walk he found the doijs standing over the wolf they had killed. AVhen he had dragged it back to our wood-shed he sent in to ask if the jreneral would come and see what the dot^s had done unaided and alone, for he was very proud of them. As the family all stood talking over the size of the 112 BOUTS AND SADDLES. coyote and its far, I said, triumphantly, "Xow, I shall have a robe !'' It was enough for them, and they made no end of sport about my planning a robe out of one small skin. After we had all gone into the house, the soldier, who was not accustomed to hear such badger- ing, went in to Mary, and indignantly exclaimed, ''Bo jabers, and they'll not tease her about that long'/' Af- ter that, during the winter, he walked frequently over the plain with the dogs, and when they had started a trail and run almost out of sight, he ]>atiently followed until he reached the spot where they had brought down the game. Even in that bitter weather he brought in enough foxes, swifts, and coyotes to make me a large robe. AVhen it w*as made up, I triumphantly placed myself on it, and reminded my family of their teasing, and the time, so lately past, when I had been an object of jest to them. The weather seemed to grow colder and colder as the winter advanced — from 20° to 30° below zero was or- dinary weather. The ofilcers were energetic enough to get up sleighs, even with all the difticulties they had to encounter. There was no lumber at the post except unseasoned cotton-wood. The man who could get a packing-box for the body of his sleigh was a Crcesus. The carpenter cut and sawed the edges into scallops and curves ; the rudest bobs were ironed by the com- pany blacksmith ; and the huge tongue of an army wag- on was attached to the frail ci'S'-shell. The wood-work was painted black, and really the color and shape re- minded one of a little baby hearse. Sister Margaret and I disliked sleighing even under favorable circum- INCIDENTS OF EVERY- DAY LIFE. 113 stances, but that made no sort of difTcrencc ; wc were ex- pected to go twice a day, and try in turn each new sleigh. My husband fuund a sketch in some of tlie illustrated papers, which he thought such a titting representation of us that he added some lines and drew some applica- ble features to the picture, and wrote underneath, *' Mar- garet and Libbie enjoying a sleigh-ride !'' (two wretched, shivering beings, wrapped in furs, sit with their feet in a tub of ice-water, while a servant rings a dinner-bell over their heads). When we were thus txiken out, as a sacrifice wo were envelojx^d in so many wraps wo had literally to be carried and dropped into the sleigh, and after hot bricks were adjn.sted to our feet, we assumed the martyr look that women understand how to take on when persuaded against their will, and off we llcw. It made no impression if we were sjxiechless — the deartli of women made the men far from critical. Sometimes wo went to the JIart Kiver, which enipties into the Mis- souri, and which we were not afraid to drive over, as it was frozen solid. And yet it should be understood that we preferred to go and bo frozen rather than stay at homo and be comfortable, for we were a band of friends sharing the same isolation, and each took comfort iu contributing to the enjoyment of the rest. One sort of sleighing we really did enjoy. One of the officers got up a long sleigh, using the bed of an army wagon for the box. He was his own coachman, and stood in front driving an excellent four-in-hand. AVe all ]>laced ourselves in the straw and robes, and nothing of the whole party was visible except two rows of " tip tilt- ed," rosy-tinted noses peeping out from under fur caps 114 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. and gay mufflers. If any one raslily left a seat to play some prank it was never regained. The space closed up instantly, and it was a choice of standing for the rest of the distance, or uncomfortably sitting on the spurs, arc- tics, or buffalo over-shoes of tlie others. Another of our number tried driving tandem ; and as his liorses were very fleet and his sleigh very fi*ail, it was a study from first to last how soon we sliould gather up the fragments of our scattered selves from tlie white plain over which we flew at ciigle speed. When the thermometer went down to 45° below zero, the utmost vigihmce was exercised to prevent the men from being frozen. The general took off all the sentinels but two, and those were encased in buffalo overcoats and shoes, and required to walk their beat but fifteen minutes at a time. There were no wells or cisterns, and the quartermaster had no means of supplying the post with water, except with a water-wagon that re(iuired six mules to haul it around the garrison. The hole in the river through which the water was drawn was cut through five feet of ice. It was simply dreadful on those bitter days to sec the poor men whose duty it was to distribute the supply. My husband used to turn away with a shudder from the window when they came in sight, and beg me not to talk of a matter that he was powerless to remedy. The two barrels at the kitchen -door were all that we could have, and on some days the men and wagon could not go around at all. AVe husbanded every drop, and borrowed from a neighbor, if any neighbor was fortu- nate enough not to have used all his supply. TnE BURNING OF OUR QUARTERS. 115 CHAPTER XL TnE BCENINO OF OUR QUAKTEES. CAEKYING THE MAIL. We had hardly finished arranging our quarters when, one freezing night, I was awakened by a roaring sound in a chimney that had been defective from the first. AVomen have such a rooted habit of smelling smoke and sending men on needless investigating tri})s in the dead of night, that I tried to keep still for a few moments. The sound grew too loud to be mistaken, and I awakened my husband. He ran up -stairs and found the room above us on fire, lie called to me to bring liim some water, believing ho could extinguish it himself. Wliile I hurried after the water, there came such a crash and explosion that my brain seemed to reel from fright. I had no thought but that my husband was killed. Noth- ing can describe the relief with which I heard his voice calling back to my agonized question as to his safet3\ Ilis escape was very narrow; the chimney had bui*st, the whole side of the room was blown out, and he was covered with plaster and surrounded with fallen bricks. The gas from the petroleum paper put on between the plastering and the outer walls to keep out the cold had exploded. The roof had ignited at once, and was blown oU with a noise like the report of artillery. The sen- tinel at the guard-house fired his carbine as an alarm. The general ran to one of the lower windows, and with lie ROOTS AND SADDLES. Ill's powerful voice tliat lie could throw so far called for the guard. Then we hurried to the room occupied by our girl-friend. The plastering falling on her bed from the burning roof was the first hint she had of the dan- ger. It was unsafe for her to stop to gather her clothes, and wrapping a blanket about her wc sent her to our sister next dour. In an incredibly short time the men were swarming about the liouse. The general had buttoned his vest, containing liis watch and purse, over Ids long night- ducss, and unconscious of his appearance, gave just as cool orders to the soldiers as if it were at drill. They, also, were perfectly cool, and worked like beavers to remove our things; for with no engine and without water it was useless to try to save the house. The gen- eral stood upon the upper landing and forbade them to join him, as it was perilous, the floors being then on fire. Ue had insisted upon my going out of the house, but I was determined not to do so until he was safe. When I did leave I ran in my night-dress over the snow to our sister's. The house burned very quickly. Fortu- nately it was a still, cold night, and there was no wind to spread the flames. Except for this the whole garri- son must have been burned. AVhen the morning came we went to inspect the heap of household belongings that had been carried out on the parade-ground. It was a sorry collection of torn, broken, and marred effects ! Most of my clothes were gone. Our poor girl-friend looked down into her trunk, empty except for one tarlatan party gown. I had lost silver and linen, and what laces and finery I had. The THE BURNLN'G OF OUR QUARTERS. 117 only loss I mourned, as it was really irreparable, was a collection of newspaper clippings regarding my hus- band that I had saved during and since the war. Be- sides these I lost a little wig that I had worn at a fancy- dress ball, made from the golden rings of curly hair cut from my husband's head after the war, when he had given up wearing long locks. The lire served one i)urpuse after all. Before it oc- curred I had always been a trial to Mary because I cared so little for dress and really owned so few ornaments. When the servants gathered together after that to boast of the possessions of their several mistresses, as is custoq^- ary with the colored i>eoplc, who so love display, Mary was armed with an e.\cusc for me. I used to hear of her saying, " You jist orter seed what Miss Libbie had afo' the lire ;'^ and then she would describe in detail elegant apparel that I had never even thought of having. Long afterwards I heard of the comments of ono of our num- ber, who loved the loaves and fishes of this life beyond everything. In vain she accumulated and had the proud satisfaction of out-doing every one in the number of her dresses. Mary managed to slip into her kitchen on some feigned errand, aud drawing upon her imagination re- lated how much richer Miss Libbie's possessions were before the tire. I had a hearty laugh by myself when I heard that the Miss Flora McFlimsey of our circle, worn out with the boasting of the cook, was heard to exclaim, "I wish I might have seen for myself all the gorgeous- ness described. I am tired to death of hearing about M)cfo' the fire.'" The general selected another set of quarters next to lis BOOTS AND SADDLES. Ills brother's, and tliither reinovcd tlic remnants of our lioiischold goods. lie begged me not to go near the liouse, or attempt to settle, until 1 had recovered from the fright of the fire and of liis imperilled life the night before. AVe were all busy enough trying to tit our things upon our little friend. Her purse, ^ith abun- dance to buy a new outfit, was burned, and it would bo weeks before she could receive a remittance from homo by our slow mails. Xext day, as she sat among us in borrowed apparel, several sizes too large, she had a sur- prise. A huge clothes-basket was handed in at the door, with a note addressed to her, bejririn^ her to con- eider herself, what the garrison had long felt that sho was, " the daughter of the regiment." The basket con- tained everything that the generous hearts of friends could suggest. Not content with this, another was sent on the next day, with a further supply of things bought in the store at Bismarck. She objected to the accept- ance, and tears rose in her eyes at the thoughtfulness; but there were no names signed to the note, so wg would not heed remonstrances. Every one came with needles and thimbles, and the scissors flew. I was too much absorbed in this scheme to ask many questions about the new quarters. When I did inquire, the general put me off by saying that in a few days I should begin to settle. The second evening after the fire he sent for me, and asked if I would come and con- sult with him about some arranirement of the furniture, as he was too busy to come after me. I started at once, but Mary, ever thoughtful of my appearance, and deep in the mystery that followed, urged me to put on my TUE BL'RXIXG OF OUK QUAKTERS. 119 other gowu. I was unwillingly put into it, and went to the new house to find both sets of quarters lighted throughout, and the band playing "Uomc, Sweet Home." My husband, meeting me, led me in, and to my utter surprise I found the whole place completely settled, a door cut through into Colonel Tom's quarters, and the garrison assembled at the general's invitation for the house-warming. The pantry was full of good things to cat that Mary had prepared fur the supjK'r. Every one tried, by merry frulic and dancing, to make me forget the catastrophe, and the general, bubbling over with fun, inspired me to join. Then he told mc to what subter- fuges ho had resorted to get the house ready, and re- peated to me again that it was ncTcr worth while to *^cry over spilled milk.'" The life of the enlisted nicn was very dull during the cold weather. In the summer they had niounted drill and ])aradet*, and an occasional scout, to vary the life. They got \ery little gooil out of their horses in the win- ter. An hour in the morning and another in the after- noon were ^[Xiui every day in grooming then). The general took mc down to the stables sometimes to watch the work. Each horse had the name given to liim by his rider printed in home-made letters over his stall. Some of the men were so careful of their horses that they were able to keep them for service during the five years of their enlistment. The daily intercourse of horse and rider quickened the instinct of the brute, so that he seemed half human. Indeed, I have seen an old troop-horse, from whose back a raw recniit had tumbled, go through the i-est of the drill as correctly as if mounts UO BOOTS AND SADDLES. ed by n well-trained soldier. Many of the soldiers lovo and pet their dumb beasts, and if the supply of grain gives out on a campaign they unhesitatingly steal for them, as a mother would for a starving child. licsidc every stall hung the saddle and equipments of the trooper, and the companies vied with one anoth- er in keeping them in j)erfcct condition. Some of tho lioi*scs' coats shone like siitin under the busy currycomb of an attached master. The captain of a company and liis first-sergeant soon discovered the faults of a horse. When the preparations for a campaign began, it was really laughable to hear the ingenious excuses why an apparently sound Jjorsc should bo exchanged for an- other from the fresh supply. In the 6;ime way a soldier who was hopelessly worth- less was often transferred to another company. Tho oflicers who had been the recipient of tho undesirable soldier would come to the general to complain. I could not always kecj) a straight countenance when the in- jured captain narrated his wrongs. One told of what desperate need he had been in for a tailor, lie had been proffered this man with many eulogies by a broth- er officer, and the final recommendation given which insured the acceptance of this seemingly generous offer was, *' lie has made clothes for 7/i^." Not until the transfer was effected, and a suit of clothes ruined for tho captain, was ho told by his would-be liberal friend the whole story, which was, " Oh yes ! he made clothes for me, but, I forgot to addy I couldn't wear them." The general sympathized with the impatience of the enlisted men in their dull life, which drove the ser- CAKKVINO THE HAIL. 121 gcants to solicit as a privile^ the transportatiuii of the mail. For a man of my husband's temperament it was easy to understand that danger was more endurable than the dead calm of barrack life. The telegraph lines were frequently down, and except for the courage of the sergeants we should have been completely isolated from the outside world. With four mules and the cov- ered body of a government wagon on bobs, they went over a trackless waste of enow for two hundred and lifty miles. Occa^iionally there were huts that had once been stage stations, where they could stop, but it was deadly j>erilou8 for them to leave the telegraph line, no matter through what drifts they were compelled to plunge. The bewilderment of a snow-Dtorm comes very soon. An oliicer lying in the hospital, quite crazed from hav- ing been lost in attempting to cross a parade-ground only large enough for the rcgiujcnt in line, was a fear- ful warning to these venturesome men. If the mail ser- geant did not appear when ho was due— at the end of two weeks — the general could scarcely restrain his anx- iety. Ho wts so concerned for the man's safety that he kept going to the window and door incessantly, lie spoko to mo so often of his fears for him that I used to imagine ho would, for once, express some of his anx- iety when the sergeant finally appeared to report ; but military usage was too deeply bred in the bone of both, and the report was made and received with the custom- ary repressed dignity of manner, llowever, I have seen my husband follow the man to the door, and tell him that he had felt great concern about him, and renew his directions to take every precaution for his safety, llow 6 122 BOOTS AND SADDLES. tliankful I used to be that I was not liedged in with a soldier's discipline, but that I could follow the faithful old trooper and tell liim how tlic general had worried about him, and how thankful we all were for his safo return. It did not take long for the garrison to discover tho poor mules, with their tired, drooping heads and wilted cars, dragging the mail-slcigh into the j>ost. Every otli- cer rushed to the adjutant's oflice for his mail. It was a great event and the lettei*s were hailed with joy. An orphan, and having no brothers and sisters, I must have been the only one who was contented not to get any. For my world w;is there. An ollicer's wife who could liardly wait for news from her lonely, delicate motlicr in the East used to say pathetic;\lly, realizing the dis- tance that interrened, that no one knew what it was to be married t(j a husband and a mother nt the gan)c time. As soon as the mail was distributed, the general bur led himself with the newspapers. For several days af- ter he agreed witli me that an old engraving, called '*My Husband," was a faithful likeness of him at such a time (tho picture represented a man sitting in a chair, completely hidden, except his crossed legs and his hands, and clasping an outspread paper). As son by the Sioux. They fought all day, and finally the Kees succeeded in driving their enemies away. All this took place right at the post, where the firing could be seen from the win- dows. It was not known how many Sioux were killed, for all tribes make extraordinary exertions to carry their dead from the field. Four only were left. After some months the Sioux, for some reason best known to them- selves, sent word that they were coming for a treaty. The Rees prepared to receive them with what they termed a " Strong Ileart " dance. A message inviting the garrison was sent by them, through the interpret- er, and we hailed with relief the variety in our exist- ence this spectacle would aHord. Indian life was still 133 BOOTS AND SADDLES. a novelty to us, for we bad not been witb any peaceable tribe before coming into Dakota. We stowed ourselves away in long sleighs which took us to the quarters of the scouts. Their buildings were of logs, and were long and low in construction. Around the walls on the in- side were bunks on which were marks showing the quar- ters assigned to each family. Wlien the outer door closed upon us we could scarcely breathe ; the atmos- phere was stifling, and loaded with the odor of smoked meat, tanned skins, and killikinick tobacco. The place was lighted by burning logs in a large fireplace, and the deep shadows threw into high -relief the figures that came into the glare of the fire, and produced effects from which Dore might have/ound material for a most powerful work. Before the ceremonies began, we women went round the place to see the papooses in their mothers' arms, as they sat in the bunks or on the earthen floor. Each moth- er held her baby up for our inspection, with as much pride as if there had never been a little one on earth before. The squaws were not permitted to come near the charmed circle in front of the fire, where the mimic orchestra beat their drums; they were allowed to sing at a distance, and joined in the low monotone of the musicians. At regular intervals, as if keeping time, they jerked out a nasal twanging note which was em- phasized by the coai*se voices of the warriors. The dancers were naked, except for the customary covering over their loins. They had attached to their belts beads and metal ornaments. Some had so fastened to their girdlob the feathers from the tail of the wild turkey, that A "STRONG IJEART" DAMCE! 133 they stood up straight as the savages bent, over in tlio evolutions of the dance. One leg and ann would be painted bright vermilion or blue, and the other a vivid green, with cabalistic characters drawn on them in black. The faces were hideous, being painted in all colors. A few had necklaces of bears' claws, on which they set great value. These hung over the bronze shoulders, the claws pointing into the brown skin of their chests. One, evi- dently poorer than the rest, had a rudely cut shirt made out of an old ham-bag, on which the trade-mark and name of the manufacturing firm figured conspicuously as his sole decoration. Another, equally poor, wore only the covering over his hips, while suspended by a cord from his neck was a huge tin toy horse. From the scalp- lock of some there was a t>trip of cloth falling to the ground, on which silver disks made of coins were fast- ened at close intervals. In the plait of hair falling to their waists we saw sticks crossed and running through the braid. The in- terpreter explained that these represented "coupe." Our attention was arrested at once by a little four-year-old boy, who, from time to time during the evening, was brought to the circle by his mother, and left to make his little whirling gyrations around the ring of the dan- cers. It was explained to us that he had won his right to join in the festivities of the tribe when the fight took place the summer before, to settle which this treaty was planned. Of the four Sioux left on the battle-field that day, one, though mortally wounded, was not yet dead when the retreat took place. A Eee squaw, knowing that it would count her child "a coup" if he put an- 134 BOOTS AND SADDLES. other wound in the ah'cady dyini^ man, sent him out and incited tlie child to phinge a knife into the wound- ed warrior. As a reward he was given the privilege of joining in all celebrations, and the right to wear an eagle feather standing straight from the scalp-lock of his tiny head. We saw the mother's eyes gleam with pride as she watched this miniature warrior admitted among the mature and experienced braves. All the dancers rotated around tofrcther for a time, their bodies alwavs !)ent, and they howled as they moved. In the shadowy gloom, only momentarily made brilliant by the flashes of light from the fire, these grotesque, crouching figures were wild enough for gnomes. Only occasionally, where there was a large mixture of white blood, did we sec a well-developed ligure. The legs and arms of Indians are almost invariably thin. None of them ever do any manual labor to produce muscle, and their bones are de- cidedly conspicuous. AVe were surprised to observe that though dancing in so small ft space, and weaving in and out in countless figures, without an apparent effort to avoid collisions, they never interfered or caught their brandished weap- ons in the ornaments of one anothers toggery. When a warrior wished to speak, he made some sign to the others. They then sat down around him, and the music ceased, lie began with a recital of his achievements — Indians never fail to recapitulate these as a preface to each speech. Sometimes the speaker's career was illus- trated, and a cotton sheet was unfolded on which were painted a number of primitive figures. He gradually grew more and more earnest ; his dull eyes glared as ho A •• STRONG HEART" DANCE! 135 pointed to the scalps he liad taken, \vhicli were even then dangling from his belt. Finally the warrior began to give presents, and to receive them in return, as is the custom on those occasions. If he gave a pony, lio de- clared it by throwing down a stick on which were cut notches that signified the gift to the recipient. After several had told their "coups,'' for so they des- ignate their deeds of prowess, one bounded with great energy into the circle. lie narrated with spirit how he had revenged the death of two of their band by killing the murderer at the hist fight at the post. Before any one realized it, an old squaw pushed lier way violently into the open space, threw down a roll of calico at his feet, and flung off Iier leggings and blanket as presents in her gratitude, for it was of her husband and son that he spoke. As she was about to complete the gift by removing her last garment, tiic interpreter, in considera- tion for u?, liurried her out to her bunk in the darkness, and we saw her no more. Last of all an old Sioux, wrapped in a black mourning blanket, tottered into the circle, and silence settled down on all. lie spoke of his son who had been in the fight, and had fallen brave- ly, but said that before he was killed lie had made many Rees "bite the dust," as ho then figurative- ly expressed it. Excited by the story of the courage of his offspring, he tottered back to his place, but his pride soon succumbed to his greater sorrow ; he buried his head in his blanket when he sank down to his seat. Hardly had he ceased, before a young Ree leaped into tho midst of the warriors, threw off his blanket, and with flashing eye plunged into a hurried enumeration 13G BOOTS AND SADDLES. of Lis acliicvcmcnts, to prove liis courage in days past. Then, stridiug up to the bereaved father, he said iu exult- ant, imperious tones, "Boast no longer of the successes of your dead, I wlio stand here am he who killed him !" The fatlier did not even raise his cj'es. The Ree called out to the listening warriors, " Will he not fight me? I stand ready." The old warrior remained un- moved, even under the insolent words of the ajrirressor. Many years of an eventful life had made him too well versed in, and too subservient to the laws of Indian warfare, not to know that a "Strong Heart" dance bound all in inviolable lionor not to break the tempo- rary peace ; but he knew that once meeting each other on the open plain there were no restrictions. When we left the unearthly music, the gloom, and the barbaric sights, and breathed pure air again, it seemed as if we had escaped from j)andcmonium. One morning soon after that we heard singing, and found that the squaws were surging down from their quarters nearly a mile distiint. We had not received a hint of the honor to be conferred, and were mystitied when they all halted in front of our house. They had corae to give us a dance. It was an unusual occurrence, for the women rarely take part in any but the most menial services. They were headed by Mrs. Long Back, the wife of the chief of the scouts. She was distin- guished as the leader by a tall dress-hat that had been the property of some society man when he wore civilian dress in the States. They began going around after each other in a jogging, lumbering sort of movement, and singing a humdrum song in a minor key. Much of A ".STRONG HEART" DANCE! 137 the finery wo had seen at the p^cnninc war-dance was borrowed from the warriord for this occasion. It was festooned over the figures of the women already well covered with blankets, and the weight was not calculated to add materially to their grace. The ranking lady had a sabre which her chief had received as a present, and this she waved over the others in comn)and. One wom- an carried her si.x-weeks'-old pajx)ose on her back, and its little, lolling head rolled from side to side as the mother trotted round and round after the others. During the dance one of the oflicers* colored servants rushed out, and in his excitement almost rM\ his head into the charmed precincts. An infuriated 8e of a beef, they acknowl- edged more warmly. 188 BOOTS AND SADDLES. CHAPTER XIV. GAKItlSOX LIFE. TiiRRE were about forty in our garrison circle, and as we were very liarnionious we spent nearly every evening togctlier. I think it is the general belief that the peace of an army post depends very much upon the example set by the commanding ollicer. My husband, in the six years previous, had made it very clear, in a quiet way, that lie would much prefer that there should bo no conversation detrimental to others in his quarters. It required no effort for him to refrain from talking about his neighbors, but it was a great deprivation to me occasionally. Once in a while, when some one had brought down wrath upon his or her head by doing something deserving of censure, the whole garrison was voluble in its denunciation ; and if I ])lunged into the subject also and gave my opinion, I soon noticed my husband grow silent and finally slip away. I was not long in finding an excuse to follow him and ask what 1 had done. Of course I knew him too well not to divine that I had hurt him in some manner. Then he would make a renewed appeal to me beginning by an unanswerable plea, *'if you wish to please me,'' and im- ploring me not to join in discussions concerning any one. He used to assure me that in his lieart he believed GARRISON LIFE. 139 1110 superior to such tliiiii^s. In vain I disclaimed being of that exalted order of females, and declared that it required great self-denial not to join in a gossip. Tho discussion ended by his desiring nie to use hhn as a eafety-valve if I must criticise others. From motives of jx)licy alone, if actuated by no higher incentive, it Fcemed wise to suppress one's ebullitions of anger. In the States it is possible to seek new friends if tho old ones become tiresome and exasperating, but once in ft post like ours, so far removed, there is no one else to whom one can turn. We never went away on leave of absence, and heard ladies in civil life say emphatically that they did not like somo person they knew, and " never would," without a start of terror. 1 forgot that their lives were not confined to tho small precincts of a territorial post, where such avowed enmity is disas- trous. I had very little opportunity to know much of oflicial matters; they were not talked about at home. Instinct guided mo always in detecting the gencrars enemies, and when I found them out, a struggle began between us as to my manner of treating them. My husband urged that it would embarrass him if others found out that I had surmised anything regarding otiicial affairs. He wished social relations to be kept distinct, and he could not endure to see me show dislike to any one who did not like him. I argued in reply that I felt myself dishonest if I even spoke to one whom I hated. The contest ended by his appealing to my good-sense, argu- ing that as tho wife of the commanding otHcer I be- longed to every one, and in our house I should be hos- 140 BOOTS AND SADDLES. pitable upon principle. As every one visited ns, there was no escape for me, but I do not like to think now of havinfi- welcomed any one from whom I inwardly recoiled. I was not let off on such occasions with any formal shake of the hand. My husband watched me, and if I was not sufficiently cordial he gave me, afterwards, in our bedroom, a burlesque imitation of my manner. I could not help laughing, even when annoyed, to see him caricature me by advancing coldly, extending the tips of his lingers, and bowing loftily to some imaginary guest. His raillery, added to my wish to please him, had the effect of making mc shake hands so vigorously that I came near erring the other way and being too demon- strative, and thus giving the impression that I was the best friend of some one I really dreaded. As I was in the tent during so many summers, and almost constantly in my husband's library in our winter quarters, I naturally learned something of what was transpiring. I soon found, however, that it would do no good if I asked questions in the hope of gaining fur- ther information. As to curiosity ever being one of my conspicuous faults, I do not remember, but I do recollect most distinctly how completely I w\as taken aback by an occurrence which took place a short time after we were married. I had asked some idle question about official matters, and was promptly informed in a grave manner, though with a mischievous twinkle of the eye, that whatever information I wanted could be had by application to the adjutant-general. This was the ster- eotyped form of endorsement on papers sent up to the GARRISON Lll'E. 141 regimental adjutant asking for information. One inci- dent of many comes to me now, proving liow little 1 knew of anything but what pertained to our own home cir- cle. The wife of an officer once treated me with marked coldness. I was unaware of having hurt her in any way, and at once took my grievance to that source where I found sympatliy for the smallest woe. My husband pondered a moment, and tlien remembered that the liusband of my friend and he had had some slight offi- cial difficulty, and the lady thinking I knew of it was taking her revenge on me. When I first entered army life I used to wonder what it meant when I heard officers say, in a perfectly serious voice, "Mrs. commands her husband's company." It was my good-fortune not to encounter any such fe- male grenadiers. A circumstance occurred which made me retire early from any attempt to assume the slightest authority. One of the inexhaustible jokes that the offi- cers never permitted me to forget was an occurrence that happened soon after the general took command of the 7th Cavalry. A soldier had deserted, and had stolon a large sum of money from one of the lieutenants. My sympathy was so aroused for the officer that I urged him to lose no time in pursuing the man to the nearest town, whither he was known to have gone. In my in- terest and zeal I assured the officer that I knew the general would be willing, and he need not wait to apply for leave through the adjutant's office. I even hurried him away. When the general came in I ran to him with my story, expecting his sympathy, and that he would endorse all that I had done. On the contrarv, he U2 DOOTS AND SADDLES. quietly assured me that he commanded the regiment, and that he would like me to make it known to the lieutenant that he must apply through the proper chan- nels for leave of absence. Thereupon I ate a large piece of humble pie, but was relieved to find that the officer had shown more sense than I, and had not ac- cepted my preferred leave, but had prudently waited to write out his application. Years afterwards, when my husband told me what a source of pride it was to him that others had realized how little I knew about official affairs, and assured me that my curiosity was less than that of any woman he had ever known, I took little credit to myself. It would have been strange, after the drilling of military life, if I liad not attained some progress. The general planned every military action with so much secrecy that we were left to divine as best we could what certain preliminary movements meant. One morning, when it was too cold for anything but impor- tant duty, without any explanations he started off with a company of cavalry and several wagons. As they crossed the river on the ice, we surmised that he was going to Bismarck. It seemed that the general had been suspicious that the granaries were being robbed, and linally a citizen was caught driving off a loaded wairon of oats from the reservation in broad davlii^ht. This was about as high-handed an instance of thieving as the general had encountered, and he quietly set to work to find out the accomplices. In a little while it was ascertained that the robbers had concealed their plunder in a vacant store in the principal street of Bismarck. gaurisux life. 143 The general detennined to go liiinsclf directlj to tlic town, thinking that he conld do quickly and without opposition wlrat another miglit iind diilicult. The better class of citizens honored him too highly to oppose hie plan of action, even though it was unprecedented for the military to enter a town on such an errand. The general knew the exact place at which to halt^and drew the company up in line in front of the door. He de- manded the key, and directed the men to transfer the grain to the wagons outside. Without a protest, or aD exchange of words even, the troops marched out of the town as quietly as they luid entered. This ended the grain thefts. It was a su^p^i^c to ine lijat after the hie l»i txcuc- mcnt my husband had led, he should grow n^ore and more domestic in his tastes, ilis daily life was very simple, lie rarely left homo except to hunt, and was scarcely once a year in the sutler's store, where the offi- cers congregated to play billiards and cards. If the days were too stormy or too cold fur hunting, as they often were for a week or more at a time, ho wrote and studied for houi"s every day. Wc had the good-fortuno to have a billiard-table loaned us by the sutler, and in the upper room where it was placed, my husband and I had many a game when he was weary with writing. The general sometimes sketched the outline of my pictures, which I was preparing to paint, for he drew better than I did, and gladly availed himself of a chance lo secure variety of occupation. The relatives of the two young housemaids whom we had in our service regretted that they were missing 144 DOOTS AND SADDLE& school, SO the general had the patience to teach them. The day rarely passed that Col. Tom, my husband, and I did not have a game of romps. The grave orderly who sat by the hall-door used to be shocked to see the commanding officer in hot pursuit of us up the steps. The quick transformation which took place when he was called from the frolic to receive the report of the officer of the day was something very ridiculous. Occasionally he joined those who gathered in our parlor every evening. He had a very keen sense of his social responsibilities as post-commander, and believed that our house should be open at all liours to the garri- son. Ills own studious habits made it a deprivation if lie gave up much of his time to entertaining. I learned that in no way could I relieve him so much as by being ftlways ready to receive. He grew to expect that I would be in the parlor at night, and plan whatever di- versions we had. I managed to slip away several times in the evening, and go to him for a little visit, or possi- bly a waltz, while the rest danced in the other room. If I delayed going to him while absorbed in the general amusement, a knock at the door announced the orderly carrying a note for me. Those missives always reminded rae of my forgctfulness in some ingenious arrangement of words. AVhen I lau;rhcd outright over one of these little scraps, our friends begged me to share the fun with them. It was only a line, and read, "Do you think I am a confirmed monk ?" Of course they insisted laughingly upon my going at once to the self-appointed hermit. We spent the days together almost uninterruptedly GARRISON LIFE. 145 during the winter. The garrison gave me those honre and left us alone. My husband had arranged my sew- ing-chair and work-basket next to his desk, and he read to me constantly. At one time we had read live author- ities on Napoleon, whose military career was a never- endinjr source of interest to liim. lie studied so care- fully that he kept the atlas before him, and marked the course of the two armies of the French and English with jKincils of different color. One of his favorite books was a life of Daniel Webster, given him in the States by a dear friend. Anything sad moved him so that his voice choked with emotion, and I have known liim lay down the book and tell me ho could not go on. One of the many pjissiigea in that beautifully written book, which my husband thought the most utterly pa- thetic of all, W2Ui the tribute an old farmer had paid to the dead statesman. Looking down U|>on the face of tho orator for the last time, the old man says, in solilo- quy, "Ah, Daniel, the world will bo lonesome now you are gone !" I became so accustomed to this quiet life in tho library with my husband that I rarely went out. If I did begin the rounds of our little circle with our girl- friend, whom every one besought to visit them, an orderly soon followed us up. Without the glint of a smile, and in exactly the tone of a man giving the order for a battle, he s:\id, "The general presents his compli- ments, and would like to know when he shall send the trunks?'' I recollect a message of this sort being once brought to us when we were visiting an intimate friend, by the tallest, most formidable soldier in the regiment. ^ 146 BOOTS AND SADDLES. It was a mystery to us how he managed to deliver his errand without moving a muscle of his face. He pre- sented the compliments of the commanding ofHcer, and added, "He sent you these." We did not trust our- selves to look up at his lofty face, but took from his ex- tended hands two bundles of white muslin. Tliere was no mistaking the shape; they were our night-dresses. When we hurried home, and took the general to task for making us face the solenm orderly, he only replied by asking if we had intended to stay forever, pointing to his open watch, and speaking of the terrors of solitary continement ! It was the custom at guard muuiit every morning to select the cleanest, most soldierly-looking man for duty as orderly for the post-commander. It was considered the highest honor, and really was something of a holi- day, as the man detailed for this duty had but little to do, and then had his night in bed ; otherwise, belonging to the guard, and being newly appointed every twenty- four houi-s, he would have been obliged to break his rest to go on picket duty at intervals all night. There was great strife to get this position, and it was difficult for the adjutant to make the selection. He sometimes carried his examination so far as to try and find dust on the carbines with his cambric handkerchief. Guard mount in pleasant weather, with the adjutant and officer of the day in full uniform, each soldier per- fect in dress, with the band playing, was a very interest- ing ceremony. In Dakota's severe cold it looked like a parade of animals at the Zoo! All were compelled to wear buffalo overcoats and shoes, fur caps and gloves. GAIIRISON LIFR U7 "Wlicri the orderly removed these heavy outside wraj)6, Luwever, he stood out as line a s|>cciinen of manhood as one ever sees. His place in our hall was near the stove, and on the table by his side were papers and ma^^azines, many of which were sent by the Youn^ Men's Christian Association of New York. The f^eneral liad once met the secretary of the society, and in re- sponse to his inquiry about rcadinj^-matter, he impressed him by a strong statement of wliat a trcaj^urc anything of the kind was at an isolated post. There was usually a variety of reading-matter, but one day the orderly stole out to the cook with a com- plaint. He asked for the generars Turf^ Fidd^ and Fan/iy or Wilkes's Spirit of t/ie Times, wliich lie was accustomed to find awaiting l»im, and confessed that ** those pious papers were too bagoted " for him! lie usually s;it still all day, only taking an occasional mes- sage for the general, or res|>onding to a beckoning invi- tation from Mary's brown finger at the kitchen -door. There he found a little ofifering from her of liomo things to eat. Occasionally, in the evening, the general forgot to dismiss him at taps. After that a warning Cough issued from the hall. When this had been re- j>eated several times, my husband used to look up so merrily and say to me it was remarkable how temporary consumption increased after the hour of bedtime had come. When the general had a message to send, he opened his door and rattled off his order so fast that it was almost impossible for one unacquainted with his voice to understand. If I saw the dazed eyes of a new soldier, I divined that probably he did not catch a 148 BUOTS AND SADDLES. word. Without the generars iiotioiiii^ it, I slipped through our room into the hall aud translated the mes- sage to him. When I returned, and gave my luisband the best imi- tation I could of the manner in which he spoke when hurried, and described the orderly, standing, rubbing his perplexed head over the unintelligible gibberish, ho threw liimself on the lounge in peals of laughter. While we were in the States, sometimes ho was in- vited to address audiences, but being unaccustomed to public speaking, and easily embarrassed, ho made very droll attempts. He realized that he had not the gift of oratory, and I used to wish that lio would practise the art. I insisted, that if he continued to speak so f;ist in public, 1 would be obliged to stand beside him on the platform as interpreter for his hearers, or else tiike my position in the audience and send him a sign of warning from there. I proposed to do something so startling that he could not help checking his mad speed, lie was so earnest about everything he did, 1 assured him no ordinary signal would answer, and we finished the laughing discussion by my volunteering to rise in the audience the next time he spoke, and raise an um- brella as a warning to slacken up! GENERAL CUSTER'S LITERARY WORK. U9 CHAPTER XV. OENEKAL CUSTEli's LITEKARY WORK. When my husband began to write for publication, it opened to liiin a world of interest, and afterwards proved an unfailing source of occupation in the long Dakota winters. I think he had no idea, when it was tirst sug- gested to him, that he could write. When we were in New York, several years before, he told me how per- fectly surprised he wjis to have one of the magazine editors seek him out and ai?k him to contribute articles every month. And a few diiys after he Siiid, ''I begin to think the editor does not imagine that I am hei^itating about accepting his offer because I doubt my ability as a writer, but because he said nothing about payment at first ; for to-day," ho added, not yet over his surprise at what seemed to him a large sum, "he came again and offered me a hundred dollars for each contribu- tion." We at once seemed to ourselves bonanziis. Many times afterwards we enjoyed intensely the little pleas- ures and luxuries given us by what his pen added to tho family exchequer. On the frontier, where the commanding officer keeps open house, he has little opportunity to have more than a passing glimpse of his pay accounts, so quickly do they go to settle table expenses. It made very little 150 BOOTS AND SADDLES. difference to iis, though ; our tastes became more simple each year that we lived so much out-of-doore. There was little dress competition in garrison, and in no way could we enjoy the general's salary more than in entertaining. At our first post after the war, the idle tediousness of the life was in such contrast to the whirl aFul dash of the years just passed that the days seemed insupporta- ble to my husband. While there wo entertained a charming otlicer of tlie old school. His experience and age made me venture to speak to him confidentially of the sympathy I felt for the aimlessncss of my husbamrs life. 1 was in despair trying to think of some way in wliich to vary the njonotony ; for thouirh he said little, I could sec liow he fretted and chafed under such an existence. Tlie old ofliecr appreciated what I told him, and after thinking seriously for a time, urged me to try and induce him to explore new territory and write de- scriptive articles for pul)lication. When the actual offer came afterwards, it seemed to me heaven-sent. I used every persuasive argument in my power to induce him to accept. I thought only of its filling up the idle hours. I believed that he had the gift of a reaL*d a einilc when his puhlisher remarked to him that his writing showed the rc&ult of great care and painstaking. The truth was, he daslied off page after page without copying or correcting, lie Iiad no dates or journal to aid him, but trusted to his memory to take him hack over a ])eriod of sixteen years. I sat beside him while he wrote, and sometimes thought him too in- tent on his work to notice my going away, lie would follow shortly, and declare that he would not write an- other line unless I returned. This was an effectual threat, for he was constantly behind, and even out there heard the cry for "copy" which the printer's devil is always re|)re^cnted as making. I never had anything to do with his writing, except to be the prod which drove him to begin. He used to tell me that on some near date he had promised an article, and would ask me solemnly to declare to him that 1 would give him no }>eace until he had prepared the material. In vain I re- plied that to accept the position of "nag" and ''tor- ment" was far from desirable, lie exacted the promise. When he Wiis in the mood for writing, we used laugh- ingly to refer to it to each other as "genius burning." At such times we printed on a card, "this is my busy day," and hung it on the door. It was my part to go out i^i»d propitiate those who objected to the general shutting himself up to work. While my father lived, he used to ask me if I real- ized what an eventful life I was leading, and never ceased to inquire in his letters if I was keeping a jour- nal. When the must interesting portions of our life 162 BOOTS AND SADDLES. were passing, each day represented sucli a struggle on my part to endure the fatigues and hardships that I had no energy left to write a line when the evening carae. My husband tried for years to incite me to write, and besought me to make an attempt as I sat by him while he worked. I greatly regret that I did not, for if I had I would not now be entirely without notes or dates, and obliged to trust wholly to memory for events of our life eleven years ago. When my husband returned from the East in the spring of 1S7C ho had hardly finished his greeting be- fore he said, " I^et me get a book that I have been read- ing, and which I have marked for you." Wiiile he sought it in his travelling-bag I brought one to him, telling him that I had underlined much of it for him, and though it was a novel, and he rarely read novels, he must make this book an exception. What was our surprise to find that we had selected the same story, and marked many of the same passages ! One sentiment which the general had enclosed with double brackets in pencil, was a line spoken by the hero, who is an author, lie begs the heroine to write magazine articles, assuring her she can do far l>etter than he ever did. Once, when on leave of absence, the general dined with an old officer, whose high character and long ex- perience made whatever he said of real value. He con- gratulated my husband on his success as a writer, but added, with a twinkle in his eye, "Custer, they say that your wife wrote the magazine articles." "If they say that," re})lied my husband, " they pay me the highest compliment that I could possibly receive." " Ah, well," GENEILVL CUBTER'S LITERARY WORK. 153 replied the generous friend, " whoever wrote them they certainly reflect great credit on the family." My hus- band wrote much, but was not a voluble talker. As I have said, most of the entertaining devolved upon me, and the fact that I often spoke of the scenes in his " Life on the Plains" that we had shared together, must have been the reason why some persons listening to the oft-repeated stories ascribed the book to me. As for my congratulations, the very highest meed of praise I could give him was that ho had not taken tho opportunity offered in describing his life in the book to defend himself against the unjust charges of his ene- mies. I had found that they expected and dreaded it, for " the pen is mightier than the sword," and militiiry people are quick to realize it. My husband appreciated my having noticed what he studied to avoid, though while I commended, I frankly owned I could not have been equal to the task of resisting what could not but be a tumptatiou to retaliate. 154 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. CHAPTER XVI. INDIAN I)P:I'KEDATI0N8. LoNO after the flowers were blooming in the States, the tardy spring began to appear in the far North. Tlie snow slowly melted, and the ice coninieneed to thaw on the river. For a moment it wonld be a pleas- ure to imagine the privilege of again walking out on the sod without peril of freezing. The next instant the dread of the coming campaign, which summer is almost certain to bring to a cavalry command, filled every thought, and made me wish that our future life could be spent where the thermometer not only went down to twenty degrees below zero but remained there. When I spied the first tiny blade of grass, I used to find myself acting like a child and grinding the inno- cent green with my heel, back from where it sprang. The first bunch of flowers that the soldiers broufrht me, long before the ground had begun to take on even a faint emerald tint, were a variety of anemone, a bit of blue set deep down in a cup of outer petals of gray. These were so thick and fuzzy they looked like a sur- rounding of gray blanket. And well the flowers needed such protection on the bleak hills where they grew. They were a great novelty, and I wanted to go and seek them myself, but my husband gave me the strictest in- INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 155 junction in reply not to step outside the i^rrison limits. We had received warning only a short time before that the Indians had crawled out of their winter tepees, and we knew ourselves to be so surrounded that it became necessary to station pickets on the high ground at the rear of the post. On the first mild day my husband and I rode over to the opposite bank of the river, which was considered the safe side. Thinking ourselves secure from danger there, we kept on further than we realized. A magnifi- cent black-tailed deer, startled by our voices and laugh- ter, and yet too well hidden by the underbrush to see us, resorted to a device habitual with deer when they wish to see over an extent of country, lie made a leap straight into the air, his superb head turned to ns searchingly. lie seemed hardly to touch the earth as he bounded away. It was too great a temptation to re- sist. We did not follow far though, for we had neither dogs nor gun. Scarcely any time elapsed before an officer and a de- tachment of men riding over the ground where we had started the deer, but obliged to pursue their way further up the valley as they were on duty, came to a horrible sight. The body of a white man was staked out on the ground and disembowelled. There yet remained the embers of the smouldering fire that consumed him. If the Indians are hurried for time, and cannot stay to wit- ness the prolonged torture of their victim, it is their custom to pinion the captive and place hot coals on his vitals. The horror and fright this gave us women lasted for 156 BOOTS AND SADDLES. a time, and rendered unnecessary the continued warn- inirs of uiir husbands about walkiiii*: outside thu line of the pickets. Even with all the admonitions, we began to grow desperate, and chafed under the imprisonment that confined us to a little square of earth n)onth in and month out. One day temptation came suddenly upon us as three of us were loitering on the outskirts of the post. The soldier who drove our travelling-wagon, the imperturbable l]urkman,came near. We cajoled him into letting us get in and take ever so short a turn down the valley. Delighted to have our freedom again, we wheedled the good-natured man to go a "little and a little further." At last even he, amiable as he was, re- fused to be coaxed any longer, and he turned around. Wo realized then how far away we were; but we were not so far that we could not plainly discover a group of ofiicers on the veranda at our (piarters. They were gesticulat- ing wildly, and beckoning to us with all their might. As we drove nearer we could almost see by a certain movement of the lower jaw that the word being framed was one that seems to be used in all climates for extreme cases of aggravation. They were all provoked, and caught us out of the Ciirriage and set us down, after a little salute, for all the world like mothers I have seen who receive their children from narrow escapes with alternate shakings and hugs. It seemed hard to tell whether anger or delight predominated. In vain we made excuses, when order was restored and we could all speak articulately. We were then solemnly sworn, each one separately, never to do such a foolhardy thing again. INDIAN DErilEDATIONS. 157 The Government had made a special appropriation for rations to be distributed, through the officers, to the suffering farmers throughout MiFinesota and Dakota wliosc crops had been destroyed by gra^shoppei's. As we were on the side of the river with the warlike Indi- ans, we knew of but one ranch near us. It was owned by an old man who had been several times to the gen- eral for assistance. He was a man of extraordinary courage, for he had located his claim too far away from any one to be able to obtain assistance if he needed it. He never left his home except to bring into market the skins that he had trapped, or his crops, when the season was profitable. He was so quaint and |>eculiar, and so very grateful fur the help given him, that my husband wanted me to hear him exprctis his thanks. The next time he came, the door into our room was left oj>en, in order that I might listen to what otherwise ho would have been too shy to utter. He blessed the general in the most touching and solemn manner. The tears were in his eyes, and answering ones rose in my husband'a, for no old person failed to ap)>eal to his sympathies and recall his own aged parents. Ileferring to some domes- tic troubles that he had previously confided to the gen- eral, he spoke of their having driven him beyond the pale of civilization when lie was old and feeble, and compelled him to take his "dinner of herbs" in a de- serted spot. At this point in his narrative the door was significantly shut, and I was thus made aware that the gratitude part was all that I was to be permitted to he;ir. My husband considered his confidence sacred. We knew that the old man lived a hermit's life, entirely 158 BOOTS AND SADDLES. alone the year throngli. In tlic blizzards he conkl not leave his door-step without being in danger of freezing to death. Some time after this a scout brought word that during the spring he had passed the ranch, and nothing was to be seen of the old man. The general suspected somethini; wroni^, and took a C(^in])anv himself to iro to the place, lie found that the Indians had been there, had dismantled and robbed the house, driven off the cattle and horses, and strewn the road with plunder. On the stable floor lay the body of the harmless old man, his silvery hair lying in a pool of blood, where he liad been beaten to death. They were obliged to return and leave his death unavenged, for by the time tlic lirst news reached us the murderers were far aw:iy. A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TEIIRUIL IGU CHAI^TER XVII. A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TEKKOR, AVuKN the air became milder it was a deli<^ht, after our lung liuusiiig, to be able to dawdle on the piazza. The valley below us was beginning to show a tinge of verdure. Several hundred mules belonging to the sup- ply-wagon train dotted the turf and nibbled as best they could the sprouting grass. Half a dozen citizens lounged on the sod, sleepily giuirding the herd, for these mules were hired by the (Juvernment from a contractor. One niurning we were walking back and forth, looking, as we never tired of doing, down the long, level plain, when we were startled by shouts. We ran to the edgo of the piazza, and saw the prisoners, who had been work- ing outside the post, and the guard who had them in charge, coming in at a double-quick. A hatless and breathless herder dashed up to the oflicer on an unsad- dled mule. With blanched face and protruding eyeballs lie called out that the Indians were running oil the herd. The general came hastily out, just in time to see a cloud of dust rising through a gap in the bluffs, marking the direction taken by the stampeded mules. Instantly ho shouted with his clear voice to the bugler to sound the call, '' Boots and saddles," and keep it up until he told him to stop. The lirst notes of the trumpet had hardly IGO BOOTS .VXD SADDLES. sounded before tlie porches of the company quarters and the parade were aliv^e with men. Ev^ery one, with- out stopping to question, rushed from the barracks and officers' quarters to the stables. The men threw their saddles on their horses and galloped out to the parade- ground. Soldiers who were solely on garrison duty, and to whom no horse was assigned, stole whatever ones they could find, even those of the messengers tied to the hitching- posts. Others vaulted on to mules barebacked. Some were in jackets, others in their flan- nel shirt-sleeves. Many were hatless, and occasionally a head was tied up with a handkerchief. It was any- thing but a military-looking crowd, but every one was ready for action, and such spirited-looking creatures it is rarely one's lot to see. Finding the reason for the hasty summons when they all gathered together, they could hardly brook even a few moments' delay. The general did not tarry to give any but brief di- rections, lie detailed an officer to remain in charfiro of the garrison, and left him some hurried instructions. He stopped to caution me again not to go outside the post, and with a hasty good-bye flung himself into the saddle and was off. The command spurred their horses towards the opening in the bluff, not a quarter of a mile away, through which the last mules had passed. In twenty minutes from the first alarm the garrison was emptied, and we women stood watching the cloud of dust that the hoofs of the regimental horses had stirred as they hurled themselves through the cleft in the hills. We had hardly collected our senses i^efore we found A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TERROR, ICl that we were almost deserted. xVs a rule, there are enough soldiers on garrison dutj, who do not go on Bcouts, to protect the post, but in the mad haste of the morning, and impelled by indignant fury at having the herd swept away from under their very noses as it were, all this home-guard had precipitately left with- out permission. Fortunately for them, and his own peace of mind regarding our safety, the general did not know of this until he returned. Besides, the oflS- cers never dreamed the pursuit would last for more than a milo or so, as they had been so quick in pre- paring to follow. After our gasping and wild heart- beating had sub- sided a little, we realized that, in addition to our anxiety for those who had just left us, we were in peril our- selves. The women, with one instinct, gathered togeth- er. Though Indians rarely attack a post directly, the pickets that were stationed on the low hills at the rear of the garrison had been fired upon previously. We also feared that the buildings would be set on fire by the wily, creeping savages. It was even thought that the running off of the herd was but a ruse to get the gar- rison out, in order to attack the post. Of course we knew that only a portion of the Indians had produced the stampede, and we feared that the remainder were waiting to continue the depredations, and were aware of our depleted numbers. Uuddled together in an inner room, we first tried to devise schemes for secreting ourselves. The hastily- built (]uartei*3 had then no cellars. IIow we regretted that a cave had not been prepared in the hill back of 162 BOOTS AND SADDLES lis for hiding tlic women in cnicM*gencles. Our mc:;n3 of escape by the river were uncurtain, as the ferry-boat was in a shocking condition ; besides, the citizens in charge would very naturally detain the boat upon some pretext on the safe side of the river. Finally, nervous and trembling over these conferences, we returned to the ])iazza, and tried to think that it was time for the return uf the regiment. Our house being the last in the line, and commanding an extended view of the valley, we kept our lookout there. Each of us took turns in mounting the pc^rch railing, and, held there in place by the othei*s, fixed the tield-glass on the little spot of earth through which the commanlaintivc little laugh, one of our num- ber called out the inquiry that luis symbolized all be- leaguered women from time immemorial, *' Sister Anne, do you see any one coming T' All of us scanned the horizon unflaggingly. We knew the Indian mode of taking observation. They pile a few stones on the brow of the hill after dark ; before dawn they creep up stealthily from the farther side, and hiding behind the slight protection, watch all day long with unwearying patience. These little picket posts of theirs were scattered all along the bluffs. We scarcely allowed ourselves to take our eyes of! thera. Once in a while one of our group on watch called out that something was moving behind the rocks. Chairs were brought out and placed beside her, in order that a second pair of eyes might confirm the statement. This threw our little shivering group into new panics. There was a window in the servants' room at the A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TERROR. 163 rear of the house, to and from which we ascended and descended all day long. I do not think the actual fear of death was thought of so much as the all-absorbing terror of capture. Our regiment had rescued some white women from captivity in Kansas, and we never forgot their stories. One of our number became so convinced that their fate awaited us, that she called a resolute woman one side to implore her to promise that, when the Indians came into the post, she would put a bullet through her heart, before she carried out her de- termination to shoot herself. Wo sincerely discussed whether, in extreme danger, we could be counted upon to load and tire a carbine. It would be ex[>ected that army women would know a great deal about fire-arms; I knew but few who did. I never even went into the corner of my husband's library, where he kept his e-tand of unloaded arms, if I could help it. I am compelled to confess that the holster of a pistol gave me a shiver. One of our ladies, however, had a little of the Mollie Pitcher spirit. She had shot at a mark, and she promised to teach us to put in the cartridges and discharge the piece. Wo were lilled with envy because she produced a tiny Remington ]»istol that heretofore she had carried in her pocket when travelling in the States. It was not much larger than a lead-pencil, and we could not help doubting its power to damage. She did not insist that it would kill, but even at such a time we had to laugh at the vehement manner in which she declared that she could disable the leg of an enemy. She seemed to think that sutiicient pluck would be left to finish him afterwards. The 164 BOOTS AND SADDLES. officer who liad remained in command was obliged to see tliat the few troopers left were armed, and after- wards he visited the pickets. Then he came to us and tried to quiet our feai-s, and from that time his life bo- came a burden. We questioned twenty times his idea as to xchere he thoui^ht the command had gone, xchcii it would come back, and such other aimless queries as only tho ingenuity of frightened women Ciin devise. He was driven almost desperate. In assuring us that he hoped there was no immediate danger, he asked us to remem- ber that the infantry post was near cnougli to give as- sistance if we needed it. Ahis, that post seemed miles awav, and we believed the fjullevs that intervened be- tween the two garrisons would be filled with Indians. After a prolonged season of this exj)erience, the officer tried to escape and go to his quarters. We were really so anxious and alarmed that he had not the heart to resist our appeals to him to remain near. And so that long day dragged away. About five o'clock in the afternoon a faint haze arose on the ho- rizon. We could hardly restrain our uneasy feet. Wo wanted to run up over the blull to discover what it meant. We regretted that we had given our word of honor that we would not leave the limits of the post. Soon after the mules api>eared, travelling wearily back through the same opening in the bluffs through which so manv hours before thev had rushed headlon;^. We were bitterly disiippointed to find only a few soldiers driving them, and they gave but little news. When the rcirimcnt overtook the stock these men had been A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TEKKUii. 1(J5 detailed to return with the recaptured animals to the •garrison ; the command had pushed on in pursuit of the Indians. » The ni«^ht set in, and still wo were in suspense. Wo made a poor atteni|)t to eat dinner; we knew that none of the rc^^iment had taken rations with them, and sev- eral of the otlicers had not even break fjustcd. There was nothing for us to do but to remain toi^cther for the night. From this miserable frame of mind we were thrown into a new excitement, but fortunately not of fi'ar: wo heard the sound of the band ringing out on the still evening air. Every woman was instantly on the piazza. From an entirely different direction from that in which they had left, the regiment appeared, marching to the familiar notes of " (Jarryowen.*' Such a welcome a^ met them ! The relief from tho anxiety of that unending day was inexpressible. When the regiment was Hearing the jx>st, the general had sent in an orderly to bring the band out to mcH;t them. He cautioned him to secrecy, because ho wished us to havo a joyous release from the suspense he knew we had en- dured. The regiment had ridden twenty miles out, as hard as the speed of the horses would allow. The general, and one other otticer mounted like himself on a Ken- tucky thorough-bred, found themselves far in advance, and almost up to some of the Indians. They seeing themselves so closely pressed, resorteil to the cunning of their race to escape. They threw themselves from their j)onics, and plunged into the underbru.sh of a deep 166 BOOTS AND SADDLES. \» ravine where no horse could follow. The ponies were captured, but it was useless to try any further pursuit. All the horses were fagged, and the otiicers and men suffering fruni the want of food and water. When the herders were questioned next day, it was found that the Indians had started the stanij)cde by riding suddenly up from the river where they had been concealed. Uttering the wildest yells, they each swung a buffalo robe about the ears of the easily excited mules. An astonishing collection of maimed and halt aj>- peared the next morning; neither men nor officers had been in the saddle during the winter. This sudden ride of so many miles, without preparation, had so bruised and stiffened their joints and liesh that they could scarcely move naturally. When they sat down it was with the groans of old men. "When they rose they declared they would stand perpetually until they were again limber and their injuries healed. As to the officer who had been left behind, he in- sisted that their fate was infinitely preferable to liis. We heard that he said to the others in confidence, that should he ever be detailed to command a garrison where agitated women were left, he would protest and beg for active duty, no matter if his life itself were in jeoj)ardy. mrUUVKMENTS AT TUE POST, AND GAJIDENING. 167 CHAPTER XVm. IMPROVEMENTS AT THE POST, AND OARDEMNO. Tin: general began, as soon as the snow was off the gnuind, to improve the post. Young cotton-wood trees — the only variety that would grow in that soil — were trans- planted from the river bank. They are so full of sap that I have seen the leaves corae out on the logs that had been cut some time and were in use as the frame- work of our camp-huts. This vitality, even when the roots were dying, deceived us irjto building hopes that all the trees we planted would live. We soon found by experience, however, that it was not safe to regard a few new leaves as a sure augury of the long life of these trees. It would have been diflicult to estimate how many barrels of water were j)oured around their roots during the summer. A few of them survived, even during the dry season, and we watched them with great interest. One day my husband called nie to the door, with a warning finger to come softly, lie whispered to nie to observe a bird perched on a branch, and trying to get under the shade of two or three tiny leaflets that were struggling to live. Such a harbinger of hope made us full of bright anticipations of the day when our trees would cast a broad shadow. 168 BOOTS AND SADDLES. No one wlio lias not experienced it can dream wliat it is to live so many years in a t^lare as we did. Many of the officers were almost blind from time to time, owing to the reflection of the sand over which they marched, and with which they were surrounded in camp and garrison. I once asked a friend who had crossed the ])lains several times, what she would prefer above everything else on the march. When she replied, "a tree,'' I agreed with her that nothing else could have been such a blessing. My husband felt that any amount of care spent on the poor little saplings would be labor well bestowed. If we were ordered away, he knew that others coming after us, stationed in that dreary waste, would derive the benefit. Several years afterwards I was assured that some one was reaping his sowing, fur a large leaf was enclosed to me in an envelope, and a word added to explain that it was from the tree in front of our quartere. On the opposite side of tlic Missouri River, except for the scattered underbrush along the banks, there was a stretch of country for eighty miles eastward without a tree, and with hardly a bush. The only one I knew of, on our side of the river, I could not help calling a genuine ancestral tree. It was a burying-place for the Indians. We counted seventeen of them that were lashed to boards and laid across the main branches, and there securely fastened, so that a tornado could not dislodge them. ^luch as we longed to enjoy what had become by its rarity a novelty, the sitting under the shade of green trees, and hearing the sound of the IMPROVEMENTS AT TUE POST, AND GARDENING. 169 wind through tlie foliage, not one of us could be in- duced to tarry under those sepulchral boughs. The struggles to make the grass grow on the sandy parade-ground were unceasing. Not only would it have been an improvement to the post, in its general appear- ance, but it would certainly have added materially to our comfort. JIuw we longed to escape from the clouds (»f duht that the unceasing wind took up in straight whirling eddies and then wafted in great sheets of murky yellow into our doors and windows, making our eyes smart and throat^j raw and parched, as alkali sand can do so effectually. The general sent East for grass-seed, which, with oats, were sown over and over again. Our referee on all agricultural questions assured us that the oats sprouted 6o soon, the oncoming blades of gniss would be pro- tected, lie was so enthusiastically in earnest that he seemed to be studying the soil at all Lours of the day to detect a verdant tinge. One moonlight night we were attracted to the gal- lery by seeing him stalking slowly back and forth, wav- ing his arms in apparent gesticulation of speech as bo traversed the length of the parade-ground. Some said, in explanation, that the moon was at that stage when reason totters on her throne most readily ; another de- clared that, having become tired of the career of a Mars, he had resumed his old role as a statesman, and was practising, addressing his imaginary constituents. All were wrong. The faithful promoter of the general good was sowing oats again, doubtless hoping that the witchery of the moonlight would be a poterrt spell to 8 170 BOOTS AND SADDLES. induce tlieir growth. Even after such indefatigable efforts, the soil refused to encourage the sprouting of more than occasional patches of pallid green. A portion of ground near the river was assigned the companies for their gardens, and there were enough soldiers looking forward to the result who counted it no hardship to plant, dig, and weed. All this tilling of the soil ins}>ired our energies, and a corner of our own yard was prepared. A high fence was put up so that the stag-hounds, which make such incredible leaps, could not scale the enclosure. The liousehold even gathered al)out the general to see him drop the seed, so full of interest were we all. Long before it was time to look for sprouting, wo made daily pilgrimages to the corner and peered through the fence. The general. Colonel Tom, and I watered, weeded, and watched the little bit of earth ; the cook and house -maid took our places and resumed our work when we ceased. Never was a patch of ten^a firnia so guarded and cared for ! At last Mary became im- patient, and even turned tlie tiny sprouts upside down, putting the plants back after examining the roots. Her ^Yatch was more vigilant than ours, and she actually surprised the general one morning by putting beside him a glass of radishes. It was really a sensation in our lives to have raised them ourselves, and we could not help recalling the pitiful statement of a dear friend, who also belonged to a mounted regiment, that she had planted gardens for twelve successive springs, but had never been stationed long enough in one place to reap the benefit of a single attempt. Of course, be- IMPROVEMENTS AT TUB TOST, AND GARDENING. 171 ing naturally so Eangnine as a family, we began in im- agination almost to taste the oncoming beets, turnips, etc. AVo reckoned too hastily, however, for a perfect army of grasshoppers appeared one day. They came in swarms, and when we looked up at the sun we seemed to be gazing through clouded air. Absorbed in this curious sight we forgot our precious garden ; but Colo- nel Tom remembered, and insisted upon trying an ex- periment recommended in print by a Minnesota farmer. Seizing some tins from the kitchen, and followed by the servants and their mifctress, all armed in the same manner, we adopted the advice of the newspaper par- agraph, and beat the metal with perfectly deafening noise around the small enclosure. Had grasshoppers been sensitive to sound, it would have ended in our triumph. As it was, they went on peacefully and stub- bornly, eating every twig in our sight. Having fin- ished everything, they soared away, carrying on their departing wings our dreams of radishes and young beets! The company gardens were demolislied in the same manner, and every one returned for another year to the tiresome diet of canned vegetables. I remember the look of amazement that came into the face of a luxurious citizen when I told him thai we gave a dinner at once if we had the good-fortune to get anything rare. *' And, pray, what did you call a rarity?" he responded. I was obliged to own that over a plebeian cabbage we have had a real feast. Once in a great while one was reluctantly sold us in Bismarck for a dollar and a half. "We used condensed milk, and as for eggs, they were 172 BOOTS AND S^VDDLES. the greatest of luxuries. In the autumn we brought from St. Paul several cases, but five hundred miles of jostling made great havoc with them. The receipt-books were exasperating. They invari- ably called for cream and fresh eggs, and made the cook furious. It seemed to me that some officer's ser- vant on the frontier must have given the receipt for wallles, for it bears the indefinite tone of the darky: *' Eggs just as you haz 'em, honey ; a sprinklin' of fiour as you can liold in your hand ; milk I well, 'cordiu' to what you has." The crystallized eggs, put up in cans and being air- tight, kept a long time, and were of more use to us than any invention of the day. In drying the egg, the yolks and whites were mixed together, and nothing could be made of this preparation when the two parts were required to be used separately. It made very good batter -cakes, however, and at first it seemed that wc could never get enough. In the spring, when it was no longer safe to hunt, wc had to return to beef, as we had no other kind of meat. My husband never seemed to tire of it, how- ever, and suggested to one of our friends who had the hackneyed motto in his dining-room, that she change it to ''Give us this day our daily beef." Once only, in all those years of frontier life, I had strawberries. They were brought to me as a present from St. Paul. The day they came there were, as usu- al, a number of our friends on the piazza. I carefully counted noses first, and liastily went in before any one else should come, to divide the small supply into in- IMPROVEMENTS AT THE POST. AND GARDENINr,. 173 finitesimal portions. I sent the tray out by the luaiii, and was delayed a moment before following her. My husband stepped inside, his face as pleased as a child over the surprise, but at the same time his eyes hastily scanning the buttery shelves for more berries. When I found that in that brief delay another oflSccr had come upon the porch, and that the general had given him his dish, I was greatly disappointed. In vain my husband assured me, in resj)onse to my unanswerable appeal, asking him why he had not kept them himself, that it was hardly his idea of hospitality. I was only conscious of the fact that having been denied them all these years, he had, after all, lost his only strawberry feast. This doubtless seems like a very trifling circumstance to chronicle, and much less to have grieved over, but there are those who, having ventured '^ eight miles from a lemon," have gained some faint idea what tempomry deprivations are. When such a life goes on year after year, and one forgets even the tasto of fruit and fresh vegetables, it beg carried on. I had found accidentally that my husband was fitting up an ambulance for travelling, and as ho never rode in one himself, nor arranged to take one for his own com- fort, I decided at once that he was planning to take mo with him. Mary and I had lived in such close quarters that she counted on going also, and went to the generai to petition. To keep her from knowing that he in- tended to take us, he argued that we could not get along with so little room ; that there was only to be allowed half a wagon for the camp outfit of the head-quarters mess. "You dun' know bettern that, giniral?" she re- plied ; " me and Miss Libbie could keep house in a flour- barrn." 183 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. At the very last, news came through Indian scouts that the summer might be full of danger, and my heart was almost broken at finding that the general did not dare to take me with him. Whatever peril might be awaiting me on the expedition, nothing could be equal to the suffering of suspense at home. Tiie black hour came again, and with it the terrible parting which seemed a foreshadowing of the most in- tense anguish tliat our Heavenly Father can send to his children. When I resumed my life, and tried to portion off tlie day with occupations, in order that the time should fly faster, I found that the one silver thread running througli the dark woof of the dragging hours was the hope of the letters we were promised. Scouts were to be sent back four times during the absence of the regiment. The infantry came to garrison our post. In the event of attack, my husband left a Gatling gun on the hills at the rear of the camp. It is a small cannon, which is dis- charged by turning a crank that scatters the shot in all directions, and is especially serviceable at short range. A detacliment of soldiers was stationed on the bluff back of us, tliat commanded the most extended view of the countr}'. The voice of the sentinel calling, at regular intervals during the night, "All's well," often closed our anxious eyes. Out there one slept lightly, and any un- usual noise was attributed to an attack on our pickets, and caused us many a wakeful hour. With what relief we looked up daily to the little group of tents, when we finally realized that we were alone. The officer who commanded this little station was an old bachelor who did not believe in marriage in the THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION. 183 4 army. Kot knowing this, wc told him, with some en- tliusiasm, how safe and thankful we felt in having him for our defender. lie quite checked our enthusiasm by replying, briefly, ^'that in case of attack, /as duty was to protect Government projKrty ; the defence of voomen came lastP This was the first instance I had ever known of an officer who did not believe a woman was God's best gift to man. "We were not effectually suppressed, for the only safe place in which we could walk was along the beat of the sentry, on the brow of the hill, near the tent of this zoological specimen. Here we resorted every evening at twilight to try and get cool, for the sun burns fiercely during the short Northern summer. With the hot weather the mosquito war began — Fort Lincoln was celebrated as the worst place in the United States for these pests. The inundations recurring cacli spring opposite us, brought later in the year myriads of the insects; those I had known on the Red River of the South were nothing in comparison. If the wind was in a certain direction, they tormented us all day long. I can see now how we women looked, taking our evening stroll : a little procession of fluttering females, with scarfs and over-dresses drawn over our heads, whisking handkerchiefs and beating the air with fans. It re- quired constant activity to keep off the swarms of those wretched little insects that annoyed us every moment during our airing. In the evening we became almost desperate. It seemed very hard, after our long winters imprisonment, to miss a single hour out-of-doors during the short summer. 184 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. "We had petitioned that in the rebuilding of our house the piazza around it shouKl be made wide, hke those "Nve enjoyed in the Soutli. On this delightful gal- lery we assembled every evening. We were obliged to make special toilets for our protection, and they were far from picturesque or becoming. Some one discovered that wrapping newspapers around our ankles and feet, and drawing the stocking over, would protect down to the slipper; then, after tucking our skirts closely around us, we fixed ourselves in a chair, not daring to move. One night a strange officer came to see us, and taking his place among the group of huddled-up women, ho tried not to smile. I discovered him takini' in mv tout r;2^^wW<.', however, and realized myself what an incongru- ity I was on that lovely gallery and in the broad moon- light. I had adopted a liead-net: they arc little tarlatan bags, gathered at one end and just largo enough to slip over the head ; rattans are run round these to prevent their touching the face — they look like dolls' crinolines, and would make a seraph seem ugly. In desperation I liad added a waterproof cloak, buckskin gauntlets, and forgot to hide under my gown the tips of the generars riding-boots ! Tucked up like a mummy, I was some- thing at which no one could resist laughing. The stran- ger beat ofl the mosquitoes until there lay on the floor before him a black semi-circle of those he had slain. He acknowledged later that all vanity regarding personal appearance would be apt to disappear before the attacks to which we were subjected. We fought in succession five varieties of mosquitoes ; the last that came were the most vicious. They were so small they slid easily THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXrEDITlOX. 185 through the ordinary bar, and we had to put an inside layer of tarlatan on doors and windows. We did not venture to liglit a lamp in the evening, and at live o'clock the netting was let down over the beds, and doors and windows closed. AVhen it came time to retire we removed our garments in another room, and grew^ skil- ful in making sudden sallies into the sleeping-room and quick plunges under the bar. The cattle and horses suffered pitiably during the reign of the mosquitoes. The}' used to push their way into the underbrush to try if a thicket would afford them protection ; if a lire were lighted for their relief, they huddled together on the side towards which tho wind blew the smoke. As it was down by the river, they were worse off than ever. The cattle grew thin, for there were days when it was impossible for them to graze. We knew of their being driven mad and dying of exhaustion after a long season of torment. The poor dogs dug deep holes in the side of the hills, where they half smothered in their attempt to escape. Tho Missouri River at tho jx)int where we had to cross sometimes represented a lifetime of terror to me. We were occasionally compelled to go to the town of Bismarck, four miles back on the other side. I could not escape the journey, for it was the termination of the railroad, and officers and their families coming from tho East were often detained there ; while waiting for the steamer to take them to their posts they were com- pelled to stay in the untidy, uncomfortable little hoteh If I sent for them they declined to come to us, fearing thov mii'ht make extra trouble; if I went for them in 186 BOOTS AND SADDLES. the post ambulance, I rarely made a fruitless errand. Even when elated with the prospect of a little outing at St. Paul, I 60 dreaded that terrible river that we must cross going and coming, it almost destroyed my pleasure for a time. The current was so swift that it was almost impossible for the strongest swimmer to save himself if once he fell in: the mud settled on him instantlv, clogged his movements, and bore him under. Some of the soldiers had been drowned in attempting to cross, in frail, insecure skills, to the drinking- huts opposite. As I looked into this roaring torrent, whose current rushes on at the rate of six miles an hour, I rarely failed to picture to myself the upturned faces of these lost men. The river is very crooked, and full of sand-bars, the channel changing every year. The banks are so honeycombed by the force of the water that great por- tions are constantly caving in. They used to fall with a loud thud into the river, seeming to unsettle the very foundations of the earth. In consequence, it was hard work for the ferry-boat to make a landing, and more difficult to keep tied u.p, when once there. The boat we were obliged to use was owned by some citizens who had contracted with the Government to do the work at that point. In honor of its new duty tliey renamed it The Union. The AVestern word " ram- shackly" described it. It was too large and unwieldy for the purpose, and it had been condemned as unsafe farther down the river, where citizens value life more highly. The wheezing and groaning of the old ma- chinery told plainly how great an effort it was to propel THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXTEDITION'. 187 the boat at all. The road down to the plank was bo steep, cut deep into the bank as it was, that even with the brakes on, the ambulance seemed to be turning a somersault over the four mules. They kicked and 6truii:glcd, and opposed going on the boat at all. "NVe struck suddenly at the foot of the incline, with a thump that threw us off the seat of the ambulance. The ^*hi- yis" of the driver, the creak of the iron brake, and the expressive remarks of the boatman in malediction upon the mules, made it all seem like a descent into Uades, and the river Styx an enviable river in contrast. Tho ambulance was placed on deck, where we could see tho patched boiler, and through the chinks and seams of the furnaces we watched the fire, expecting an explosion momentarily. After we were once out in liie channel the real trou- ble began. I never knew, when I started for liismarck, whether we would not land at Yankton, live hundred miles below. The wheel often refused to revolve more than half-way, tho boat would turn about, and wo would shoot down tho river at a mad rate. I used to receive elaborate nautical explanations from the confused old captain why that happened. My intellect was slow to take in any other thought than the terrifying one — that he had lost control of the boat. I never felt tranquil, even when the ditiieulty was righted, until I set my foot on the shore, though the ground itself wjis insecure from being honeycombed by tho current. The captain doubtless heard my pa\an of thanks when I turned my back on his old craft, for once afterwards I received from him a crumpled, soiled letter, with curious spelling and 188 BOOTS AND SADDLES. cramped Land, in which lie addressed me as ^' highly honored lady," and in lofty-sounding terms proceeded to praise his boat, assuring me that if I would deign to confer on him the honor of my presence, he would prove it to be quite safe, and as '"peert" a steamer as sailed. With a great flourish, he ended, " for The Union must and shall be preserved,'"' and signed himself my most humble admirer. We were told, when the expedition started, that we might expect our first letters in two weeks. The mail was delayed, unfortunately, and each day after the fort- night had expired seemed a month. In spite of all my efforts to be busy, there was little heart in any occupa- tion. The women met together every day and read aloud in turn. Every one set to work to make a pres- ent for the absent ones with which to surprise them on their return. We played croquet. This was tame sport, however, for no one dared to vary the hum-drum diversion by a brisk little quarrel, which is the usual accompaniment of that game. We feared to disagree oven over trifles, for if we did it might end in our losing our only companionship. We knew that we could not expect, in that climate, that the freshness of summer would last for more than a short time after the sun had come to its suprcmest in the way of heat. The drouth was unbroken ; the dews were hardly perceptible. That year even our brief enjoyment of the verdure was cut short. A si- rocco came up suddenly. The sky became copper-col- ored, and the air murky and stifling; the slightest touch of metal, or even the door-handles, almost blistered the THE SUMMER OF TIIE BLACK UILLS EXPEDITION. 189 fingers. The strong wind tliat blew BecmeJ to shrivel the skin as it touched us. The grass was burned down into the roots, and we had no more of it that season. This wind lasted for two hours, and we could not keep back appreliensions at the strange occurrence. After that, during the summer, as we walked over the lit- tle space allowed us, our shoes were cut by the crisp brown stubble, and the sod was dry and unyielding under our feet. As far as we could see, the scorched earth sent up over its surface floating waves of heat- ed atmosphere. No green thing was left. The only flowers that liad not been scorched out of existence were the soap plants, which have a sword-like stalk, out of which grow the thick, creamy petals of its flower. The roots that extend for many feet in all directions near the surface of the soil, enable it to secure moisture sufficient to keep it alive. The only other flower w;is the blue- bell, which dotted a hill where wo were ac- customed to climb in order to command a better view of the country in our efforts to discover the scouts with the mail. One can scarcely imagine liow hungrily we gazed at those little blossoms. They swung lightly on vlieir cunningly fashioned stems, that swayed and tossed the tiny azure cups, but withstood the strongest wind. 1 cannot see even a sketch of that flower now without thinking how grateful wo were for them out there in that stripped and almost *' God-forgotten " land. When we threw ourselves on the turf among them, the little bells almost seemed to us to rinc: out a tinv sound, as if they were saying, in flowery cadence, '* The hand that made us is divine/' 190 LOOTS AND SADDLES. Some of our eyes seemed to be pcrpetnally strained, watching the horizon for the longed-for scouts. At dawn one morninir — which is at three o'clock in summer in Dakota — I was awakened by strange sounds at the door. Wlien I drew the curtain, there were the Kce scouts, and on their ponies the mail-bag, marked by some face- tious hand, " Black Hills Express." It took but a sec- ond to fling on a wrapper and fairly tumble down the steps. The Indians made the sign of long hair and called ''Ouches," which is the word denoting that in their language. (The general had borne this name with them for some time.) I was too impatient to wait their tardy movements, and tried to loosen the mail -bag. The Indian, always pompous and iniportant if he car- ries despatches, wafted me away. I understood enough, to be sure, that no one would receive the mail but the otiicer in command. As the scouts slowly moved down the line towards his quarters, other impatient female figures with flying hair came dancing restlessly out on the porches. Every woman soon knew that news had come. Even the cooks, scantily attired, ran out to stand beside their mistresses and wave their fat arms to the Indians to hurry them on. Our faithful soldier, Kccvan, whom my husband had left to care for us, hearing the commotion, came to ask what lie could do. I sent him to bring back the letters. lie, in his turn, thinking only to serve me, made an effort to open the mail-bag, but the watchful Indian suppressed him quick- ly. The old fellow's face beamed with delight when he placed the great official envelope, crowded with closely -written pages, in my hand, llow soon tlicv THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXTEDITIOX. 191 were devoured, thoagb, and what a blank there seemed in the day when we knew that we liad nothing more to expect ! Tliree times after that we had letters. They were most interesting, with descriptions of the charm of travelling over ground no white feet had ever before touched. My family could not avoid, even at that distance, studying up little plans to tease me. After describing their discovery and entrance into a large and almost hidden cave, my liusband said that Colonel Tom and he had come upon the bones of a white man, doubtless the only one who had ever set foot in that portion of the world. Beside him lay a tin cup, some buttons from his coat, and a rusty, ancient Hint -lock musket. All were marked with his initials. They were the same as those of one of the friends whom I had known when a little romping girl of seventeen. "This," they said, iu the language of a dime novel, "explains the mysterious disappearance of your old love. lliUher than meet such a fate as awaited him in marrying you, old lady, he has chosen to seek out Solitude in a cavern, and there die.*' Of course I thought even the story of the linding of the cave a fabrication for my bcnellt. I enjoyed it hugely, and thought what ingenuity they had employed to invent such a tale. When they came back at the end of the summer, and brought the musket and other mementos, with the very initials rusting in the metal, and declared on honor that they had found the skeleton, I was com- pelled to believe them. Not that the remains of the unfortunate man were those of my early friend, who 192 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. was soon afterwards accounted for, but that some un- happy man had actually wandered into that dismal place and died a tragic death alone. When the day of their return came, I was simply wild with joy. I hid behind the door as the command rode into garrison, ashamed to be seen crying and laughing and dancing up and down with excitement. I tried to remain there and receive the general, screened from the eyes of outsiders. It was impossible. I was down the steps and beside my husl>and without being conscious of how I got there. I was recalled to my senses and over- whelmed with confusion by a great cheer from the sol- diers, who, I had forgotten, were lookers-on. Ilegular soldiers rarely cheer, and the unusual sounJ, together with the embarrassment into which I had unconsciously plunged myself, made the few steps back to the house seem a mile. When we could take time to look every one over, they were all amusing enough. Some wives did not know their husbands, and looked indignant enough when caught in an embrace by an apparent stranger. Many, like the general, had grown heavy beards. All were sun-burnt, their hair faded, and their clothes so patched that the original blue of the uniform was scarcely visi- ble. Of course there liad been nothing on the expedi- tion save pieces of white canvas with which to rein- force the riding-breeches, put new elbows on sleeves, and replace the worn knees. The boots were out at the toes, and the clothing of some were so beyond repairing that the officers wanted to escape observation by sJipping, with their tattered THE SUMMER OF TUE BLACK HILLS EXTEDITIOX. 193 rajrs, into the kitchen -door. The instruments of the band were jammed and tarnished, but they still pro- duced cnougli music for us to recognize the old tune of "Garryowen," to which the regiment always returned. By-and-by the long wagon-train appeared. Many of tlie covers had elk horns strapped to them, until they looked like strange bristling animals as they drew near. Some of the antlers were brought to us as presents. IJesidcs them we had skins, specimens of gold and mica, and petrified shells of iridescent colors, snake rat- tles, pressed ilowers, and petritied wood. My husband brought me a keg of tho most delicious water from a mountain-stream. It was almost my only look at clear water for years, as most of the streams west of tho Mis- souri are nmddy. As soon as the column appeared in sight, the old sol- dier who had served me with such fidelity all summer went to Mary to tell her the news, lie also said that as long as the general had put Mrs. Custer in his charge lio knew how to behave. Now, being no longer on honor, he added, ** I intend to celebrate their return by going on a tremendous 'bum.'" How any one could get drunk in so short a time was a mystery. The gen- eral had hardly removed his buckskin-coat before the old fellow stumbled up the steps and nearly fell in the door, with his arms full of puppies that had arrived during the summer. The rejoicing was too general for misdemeanors to be noticed. The man was thanked for his watchful care over me during the months past, and advised to find a place to go to sleep in as soon as pos- <^ible. 19i BOOTS AND SADDLES. CHAPTER XXI. DOMESTIC TRIALS. FiiOM tlio clouds and gloom of those suininer days, I \valkcd again into the broad blaze of sunshine which my husband's blithe spirit made. I did everything I could to put out of my mind the long, anxious, lonely months. It was still pleasant enough to ride, and occasional!}' we went out in parties large enough to be safe, and had a jack-rabbit or wolf chase. In the autumn we went into the States on a short leave of absence. Much to our re- gret we had to take our prized girl-friend home. Ilcr family begged for her return. The last good-bye to us was an appeal from the young officers to bring back another; and we did so, for while we were East we had the good-fortune to persuade another father and mother to part with their daughter. An incident of our journey was an amusing illustra- tion of the vicissitudes of Western life. In passing through Fargo, on the Xorthern Pacific Railroad, an old townsman of ours always came to see us, but invari- ably after dark. lie had taken a claim in the very heart of the town, which was disputed by an energetic widow. If he left his place in the daytime for a few hours, he invariably returned to find his cabin occupied by the goods and chattels of the widow, and his own effects re- DOilESTIC TRIALS. 1»5 posing on tlie snow outside Lis door. Then ensued the ejection of the interloper by one of the town authori- ties, and our friend would re-establish himself. After these raids were repeated a few times, he learned to keep guard during the day and steal out after dark. In vain outsiders advised him to settle the difficulty by asking a clergyman to unite the claims. His eyes turned from the widow to a young girl in his native State, who now presides unmolested over the disputed domicile, while the widow has forsaken war for the peace of another hearthstone. The question of servants was a very serious one to those living on the borders of civilization as we did. There was never a station equ.»l to those frozen-up re- gions. Should servants go out there in the fall, they were almost certain to become engaged to the soldiers and marry after the trains were taken off and no new ones could reach us. It often happened that delicate ladies had to do all kinds of menial service for a time. Except for a kind-hearted soldier now and then, who was too devoted to the wife of his company officer to see her do everything, I hardly know how army ladies would have endured their occasional domestic trials. The soldiers were especially fond of children, and knew how to amuse them ; indeed, a willing heart made them quick to learn all kinds of domestic work. I think they even regretted that they could not sew, when they saw an overtaxed lady wearily moving her needle. We had no trouble, fortunately. Our colored cook not only com- manded us, and as much of the post as she could, but she tyrannized over her two sisters whom she had brought 196 LOOTS AND SADDLES. from Kentucky fur us. These \Yerc thought excellent servants, but Mary, invested ^vith a "little brief author- ity," ruled like a despot. The youngest having been born after the emancipation proclamation, ^vas looked down upon by her elder sister, who had been a slave. In her moments of rage the most deadly insult was to call the younger one *'you worthless free nigger, you !" 1 think with deep gratitude of their devotion to us. As they were colored people they had not even the excite- ment of beaux among the enlisted men. Sometimes they sighed and longed for home. At such times Mary used to say to me, *'Mi6fi Libbic, you has the giniral, and you don' mind whar you is so long as you hi\s liim, but you can't tell what it is for us to live in a c<»untry wha' there's no festibuls, meetin'-houscs, or dances." When we reached St. Paul, on our return from leave of absence, we were generally met with telegrams from our friends at Fort Lincoln, imploring us to bring them cooks. The railroad ollicials were good enough to give us passes, so wc could always take them without much trouble. The first time after advertising, only the young and pretty ones were selected from those who came to us at the hotel. Their almost instantaneous capitula- tion to the devotion of the soldiers taught us a lesson. After that we only took the middle-aged and plain. When wc were fairly started on our journey, the gen- eral would look them over, chuckle to himself, and jog my elbow for me to see the ancients as tourists, lie would add, under his breath, that evidently we had set- tled the question that time, for no soldier would look at such antediluvians, lie reckoned too soon. He hard- DOMESTIC TRIALS. 197 ly took into consideration that after liundrcds of sol- diers had lived for months without peeing so much as the distant flutter of a woman's drapery, they ceased to be fastidious or critical. AVithout an exception these antique, parchment-faced women, in a few weeks after we had delivered them over to their mistresses, bciran to metamorphose. They bought tawdry ornaments at the sutler's store, and hurried after dinner to adorn themselves to meet the enlisted men, who even under advensc circumstances will **a-wooincr ctq." o o I remember well the disheartened eyes of one of our pretty young friends when she told mo it was of no manner of u&o to try and keep a white servant. Even the ugly old female tliat wo had brought her, and that cooked so well, was already beginning to primp and powder. Hy this time our dearly loved neighbor had become exhausted by the almost constant caro of her two children, and with only inefficient servantB to help her. Through our sympathy for the hard life she led out in that wilderness wo h.ad fallen into the way of calling her "poor Miss Annie,^' having known her as a girl. In the States she would have been " rich Miss Annie." "With a brave, handsome husband, a distin- guished father, an abundant income, and bright, health- ful children, she was rich. It would not have been strange if the clouds had obscured these blessings, liv- ing the taxing, wearying life she did on the frontier. In vain the devoted husband sought to share her cares. The very climax of her troubles seemed to have arrived when she confided to me that she would soon need an experienced nurse to caro for her through her coming 198 COOTS AND SADDLES. peril. The trains bad ceased running, so that one could not be sent on from St. Paul. There was no neighborly help to be expected even, for all of our ladies were young and inexperienced. There seemed to be no one to whom we could look for aid. Instead of rejoicing, as wo would liavc done in the States over the sweet privilege of coming maternity, we cried and were al- most disconsolate. There were no soft, dainty clothes to receive the little stranger, no one to take care of it when it did come ; the young surgeon was wholly inex- perienced in such duty, and the future looked gloomy enough. Fortunately, I remembered at last one of the camp women, who had long followed the regiment as laundress, and had led a quiet, orderly life. "Poor Miss Annie'' shuddered when I spoke of her, for the woman was a Mexican, and like the rest of that hairy tribe she had so coarse and stubborn a beard that licr chin had a blue look after shaving, in marked contrast to her swarthy face. Sho was tall, angular, awkward, and seemingly coarse, but I knew her to be tender-hearted. In days gone by I had found, when she told me her troubles, that they had softened her nature. AVhen she first came to our regiment she was married to a trooper, who, to all appearances, was good to her. My first knowledge of her was in Kentucky. She was our laundress, and when she brought the linen home, it was fluted and frilled so daintily that I considered her a treasure. She always came at night, and when I went out to pay her she was very shy, and kept a veil pinned about the lower part of her face. The cook told me one DOMESTIC TRIALS. 109 day that she was sick and in trouble, and I went to see lier. It seemed the poor thing had accumulated several hundred dollars by washing, baking pies for the soldiers, and sewinic the clothes for them that had been retitted by the tailor. Her husband had obtained possession of the money and had deserted. She told me that she had lived a rough life before coming to the Tth, even dressing as a man in order to support herself by driving the ox-teams over the plains to Xew Mexico. The rail- roads had replaced that mode of transporting freight, and she was thrown out of employment. Finding the life as a laundress easier, she had resumed her woman's dress and entered the army, and thinking to make her place more secure, had accepted the hand of the man whose desertion she was now mourning. It was not long after this, however, before " Old Nash" (for through everything she kept her first husband's name) consoled herself. Without going through the ceremony or ex- pense of a divorce, she married another soldier, and had come with us out to Dakota. Of course her husband was obliged to march with his company. It was a hard life for her, camping out with the other laundresses, as they arc limited for room, and several are obliged to share a tent together. In the daytime they ride in an army wagon, huddled in with children and baggage. After all the rough summer out-of-doors, it was a great boon to her to get a little cabin in Laundress Kow, at our post. Another trouble came to her, however: her new husband succeeded in stealinc: her savinrrs and deserting: like the first. ''Old Xash" mourned her money a short time, but soon found solace in going to 200 BOOTS AND SADDLES. the soldiers' balls dressed in gauzy, low-necked gowns. Notwithstanding her architectural build and massive features, she had no sooner accumulated anotlier bank account than her hand was solicited for the third time. Again ignoring the law, and thinking divorce a super- lluous luxury, she captured tlie handsomest soldier in liis company. He was Colonel Tom's own man, and when wo were riding we often admired the admirably lilting uniform his wife had made over, and which displayed to advantage his well-proportioned figure. It was cer- tainly a mariage de convcnance. Fortunes arc compar- ative; a few hundred dollars out there was quite equal to many thousands in New York. Tlie trooper thought he had done a very good thing for himself, for notwith- standing his wife was no longer young, and was unde- niably homely, she could cook well and spared him from eating with his company, and she was a good invest^ nient, for she earned so much by her industry. In ad- dition to all these traits, she was already that most desirable creature in all walks of life — ''a woman of means." The bride and groom returned from the ceremony l^erformed by the Eismarck clergyman, and began house- keeping in the little quarters ''Old Nash" had refur- bished for the occasion. When "Miss Annie" and I went down to see her and make our petitions, we found the little place shining. The bed was hung with pink cambric, and on some shelves she showed us silk and woollen stuffs for gowns; bits of carpet wore on the floor, and the dresser, improvised out of a packing-box, shone with polished tins. Outside we were presented DOifESTIC TRIALS. 201 to some cliickcns, which were riches indeed out there in that Nova Zcniblian climate. She was very gentle with our friend when we tuld our errand, and gave her needful advice in her broken Mexican tongue. After libtening to her tribute to the goodness of her husband, we made such pitiful entreaties that wc at last prevailed on her to leave him. She insisted upon the promise that she might come home every evening and cook her "manny manny's supper.'' We learned from her that her own two children liad died in Mexico, and that she had learned midwifery from her mother, and confirmed, what I had previously heard, that she had constant prac- tice among the camp women. " Old Nash " appeared at the required hour, and was as skilful a physician as she was a nurse. My friend used to whisper to mo that when she watched her moving about in the dim light of the sick-room, she thought with a shiver sometimes how like a man she seemed. Occasionally she came to the bed, and in her harsh vuice asked," Arc you comphT — meaning comfortable. The gentle, dexterous man- ner in which she lifted and cared for the little woman (juieted her dread of this great giraffe. By degrees I was promoted to the duty of bathing and dressing the little new-comer, the young mother giving directions from the pillow. AVhen "Old Nash" was no longer absolutely necessary she went back to her husband — a richer woman by much gratitude and a great deal of money. llcr past life of hardship and exposure told on her in time, and she became ailing and rheumatic. Finally, after we had left Dakota, we heard that when death 9* 202 COOTS AND S.\DDLES. approached, she made an appeal to the camp women who surrounded her and had nursed her through her illness; she implored them to put her in her colHn just as she was when she died and bury her at once. They, thinking such a course would not be paying proper at- tention to the dead, broke their promise. The mystery which the old creature had guarded for so many years, through a life always public and conspicuous, was re- vealed : *'01d Nash,'' years before, becoming weary of the laborious life of a man, had assumed the disguise of a woman, and hoped to carry the secret into the grave. The surgeon's certificate, stating the sex of *^ Old Nash," together with the simple record of a laundress in the regi- ment for ten years, was all the brief history ever known. After enduring the gibes and scoffs of his comrades for a few days, life became unbearable to the handsome sol- dier who had played the part of husband in order to gain possession of his wife's savings and vary the plain fare of the soldier with good suppei*s; he went into one of the company's stables when no one was there and shot himself. When our friend, whom the old creature had so carefully nursed, read the newspaper paragraph de- scribing the death, her only comment was a reference to the Mexican's oft-repeated question to lier, " Poor old thing, I hope she is *comph ' at last." CAPTURE AND ESCAIT OF IL\.L\-L\-TUL FACE. 203 CHAPTER XXII. CATTURE AND KSCATE OF KAIN-IX-TnE-FACE. A 8 the second winter progressed it bade fair to be a rcj)etition of the first, until an event happened that ex- cited us all very much. I must preface my account of the occurrence by going back to the summer of the Yellowstone campaign. Two of the citizens attached to the expedition, one as the sutler, the other as the veterinary surgeon, were in the habit of riding by themselves a great deal. Not being enlisted men, much more liberty than soldiers have was allowed them. Many warnings were given, liowever, and an instance, fresh in the minds of the officers, of the killing by Indians of two of their comrades the year before was repeatedly told to them. One day their last hour of lingering came. While they stopped to water their horses, some Indians concealed in a gully shot them within sight of our regiment, who were then fighting on the hill, and did not find the bodies for some time afterwards. Both of the murdered men were favor- ites ; both left families, and regret and sympathy were general throughout the command. A vcar and a half afterwards information came to our post. Fort Lincoln, that an Indian was then at the Agency at Standing Hock, drawing his rations, blankets, 201 COOTS AND S.U)DLES. and ammunition from the Government, and at the same time boasting of tlie murder of these two men. This intelligence created intense indignation in our garrison. A detachment was quickly prepared, and started out with sealed orders. The day was bitter, and not a still euld, for the wind blew, and cut like needle-points into the faces of the troopers. Xo one was aware even what direction they were to take. General Custer knew that it was absolutely necessary that caution and secrecy should be observed. At the next post, twenty miles below, there were scouts employed. They would not fail to send out a runner and warn the Standing Ilock Indians of the coming of the command and its object, if they could learn what it was. AVhen the runner car- ries important news he starts with an even gait in the morning and keeps it np all day, hardly stopping to drink at the streams lie crosses. Such a courier would outstrip a command of cavalry in the ordinary time it makes on a march. Accordingly, Fort Hice was left behind many miles before the orders were opened. They contained direc- tions to capture and bring back an Uncapapa Indian, lated rescue. After the command had returned and the oflicers had reported, Cieneral Custer sent for Bain-in-the-face. lie was tall, straight, and young. His face was quite imperturbable. In a subsequent interview the general locked himself in his room with him. Through an in terpreter, and with every clever question and infinite patience he spent houi*s trying to induce the Indian to acknowledge his crime. The culprit's face finally lost its impervious look, and he showed some agitation. lie gave a brief account of the murder, and the next day made a full confession before all the oflicers. He said neither of the white men was armed when at- 208 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. tacked. lie had shot the old man, but he did not die instantly, riding a short distance before falling from his horse, lie then went to him and Avith liis stone mallet beat out the last breath left. Before leaving him lie shot his body full of arrows. The younger man signalled to them from among the bushes, and they knew that the manner in which he held up his hand was an overture of peace. AVhen he reached him the white man gave him his hat as another and further petition for mercy, but he shot him at once, first witli his gun and then with arrows. One of the latter en- tering his back, the dying man struggled to pull it through. Neither man was scalped, as the elder was bald and the younger had closely cropped hair. This cruel story set the blood of the oflicers flow- ing hotly. They had already heard from one of the white scouts a description of Rain-in-the-face at a sun- dance, when he had betrayed himself as the murderer of the veterinary surgeon, by describing in triumph his beating out the brains of the old man with his mallet. After all this, it is not to be wondered at that each officer strode out of the room with blazing eyes. Two Indians, one of them Iron Horse, had followed the cavalry up from the Agency and asked to sec their comrade. The general sent again for Rain-in-the-face. He came into the room with clanking chains and with the guard at his heels. He was dressed in mourning. His leggings were black, and his sable blanket was belt- ed by a band of white beads. One black feather stood erect on his head. Iron Horse supposed that ho was to be hung at once, and that this would be the final CAPTURE AN'D ESCAPE OF RALV IX-TIIE FACE. 209 interview. Tlic elder brother, believing there was no Jiope, was very solemn. He removed his heavily-beaded and embroidered buffalo robe, and replaced it with the plain one that Itain-in-the-face wore. He exchanged pipes also, giving him his highly-ornamented one that Jic might afterwards present it to the general. These pipes are valuable, as the material of which the bowls are made has to be brought from Kansas. Then find- ing that there was a prospect of luiin-in-the-facc having Lis trial in Washington, he took off the medal that had been given to his father by a former president, whose likeness was in the medallion, and placed it over the neck of his brother, that it might be a silent argument in his favor when he confronted the " Great Father." It was an impressive and melancholy scene. Iron Ilorsc charged his brother not to attempt to escape, saying, that if he did get back to the reservation ho would surely be recaptured. lie believed that he would be kindly treated while a captive, and perhaps the white chief would intercede for him to obtain his pardon. After asking him not to lose courage, they smoked again, and silently withdrew. In about ten days Iron llorse returned, bringing a portion of his tribe with him. The valley of the Missouri is wide, and slopes grad- ually back to the bluffs. Beyond are the plains, rolling away for hundreds of miles to another river. There was a level stretch of three miles below our post down the river. From this direction we were accustomed to watch the approach of the bands of Indians coming from the reservation. "We could see their arms glisten- 210 BOOTS AND SADDLES. ing far down the valley long before we could dis- tinguish who they were, except with a powerful field- glass. As they came nearer, the sun caught a bit of gaudy scarlet, or touched for a moment one of the feathers in a war-bonnet. A Xew York Charity Ball could bring out no more antique heirlooms, nor take more time in preparations than the costumes of Indians }>repared for council. The war-bonnets, shields, and necklaces of bear's claws are all handed down from far-away grandfathers, and only aired on grand occasions. Every available bit of metal that could catch the light reflected and shone in the morning sun. The belts were covered with brass nails, shining with many an hour's polishing. They had many weapons, all kept in a brilliant and glisten- ing state. The tomahawk is one of the heirlooms of the collection of arms. It is not like the ones I used to see at Mackinac as a child. It looks more like a large ice-pick. The knife, pistol, and Ilcnry rifle are very modern, and are always kept in the most perfect con- dition. Mrs. "Lo'' is the Venus who j^repares Mars for war, and many a long weary hour she spends in polishing the weapon and adorning the warrior. The Indians with Iron Ilorse came directly to head- quarters and asked for a council. As many as could get into the general's room entered. There was time, while they were preparing, to send for the ladies, and a few of U3 were tucked away on the lounge, with injunctions not to move or whisper, for my husband treated these Indians with as much consideration as if they had been crowned heads. The Indians turned a surprised, rather CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF RAIXIN-TIIE-FACE. 211 scornful glance into the *' ladies' gallery/' for their women are always kept in the background. In return for this we did not hesitate to criticise their toilets. They were gorgeous in full dress. Iron Horse wore an elaborately beaded and painted buckskin shirt, with masses of solid embroidery of porcupine quills. The sleeves and shoulders were ornamented with a fringe of scalp-locks ; some of the hair, wc saw with a shudder, was light and waving. I could not but picture the lit- tle head, '' sunning over with curls,'* from which it had been taken, for all the Indian locks I have ever seen were straight and black. The chief wore on his shoulders a sort of cape, trimmed with a fringe of snowy ermine; his Icjririnirs and moccasins were a mass of bcad-work. lie wore a cap of otter, without a crown, though, fur it is their custom to leave the top of the head uncovered. His hair was wound round and round with strips of otter that hung down his back ; the scalp-lock was also tightly wound. Three caglo feathers, that denote tho number of warriors killed, were so fastened to the lock that they stood erect. There were several perforations in each ear from which depended bead ear-rings. lie had armlets of burnished brass; thrown around him was a beaded blanket. The red clay pipe had the wooden stem inlaid with silver, and was embellished with tho breast feathers of brilliantly plumaged birds. The tobacco-bag, about two feet long, had not an inch that was not decorated. The costume was simply superb. The next in rank had an immense buffalo robe as the distinguishing feature of his dress. The inside was 213 BOOTS AND SADDLES. tanned almost white, and his history was painted on tho surface. Whoever ran niiglit read, for it represented only two scenes, oft repeated — tlie killing and scalping of warriors and the capture of ponies. The general's patience with Indians always surprised nic. lie was of such an active temperament and de- spatched his own work so rapidly tliat I have often wondered how he contained himself waitinir an hour or niurc for them to get at the object of their visit. They took their places according to rank in a semicircle about the general. The pipe was filled and a match lighted by one of their number of inferior grade, and then handed to Iron Horse, who took a few leisurely whifls. Though we were so shut in, the smoke was not oppressive. Their tobacco is killikinick, prepared by drying the bark of the ozier and mixing it with sumach. They inhale the smoke and exhale it from their nostrils. After all in the first circle had smoked a little, the gen- eral included, they observed the Indian etiquette and passed the pipe back through each warrior's hand to the chief. It was then relighted, and he bciran ajrain. CD / O O It seemed to us that it went back and forth an endless number of times. Xo matter how pressing the emer- gency, every council begins in this manner. Iron Uorse tired us out, but he was collecting himself and rehearsing his speech. We found afterwards that it was prepared in advance, for during its recital he forgot, and was prompted by one of the Indians in the outer circle. When the pipe was finally put away, they asked to have Rain-in-the-face present, lie came into the room, CAITL'RE AXD ESCAPE OF RALV-L\-TIIE-FACE. 213 trying to hide Lis pleasure at seeing his friends and his grief at his imprisonment. In an instant the imper- turhable expression settled down on his face like a cur- tain. The oflicers present could scarcely believe their eyes when they saw his brother approach and kiss him. Only once before, among all the tribes they had been with, had they seen such an occurrence. The Indian kiss is not demonstrative ; the lips are laid softly on the cheek, and no eound is heard or motion made. It was only this grave occasion that induced the chief to show Buch feeling. Several of the ranking Indians followed liis example; then an old man among them stepped in front of Ilain-in-thc-facc, lifted his hands, and raising his eyes reverentially said a few words of prayer to the Great Spirit in behalf of their unfortunate brother. The j)risoncr dropped his head to hide the look in his eyes that he thought ill became a warrior as brave as he really was. The bitter, revengeful thoughts with which I had entered the room were for a moment forgotten, and I almost wished that he might be pardoned. The vision of the hearth-stones he had desolated came back to me directly, and I could not forget. Iron Horse began his speech in the usual high-pitched, unchangeable key. He thanked the general for his care of his brother, and the whole tenor of the rest was re- peated petitions to a^k the Great Father in Washington to spare his life. He then slowly took oil his elaborate buckskin shirt and presented it to my husband. He ended by making a singular request, which was worthy of Damon and Pythias : two shy young braves in the outer circle of the untitled asked permission through 214 COOTS AND SADDLES. their chief to share the captivity of Ivain-in-the-facc. I could not help recalling ^vhat some one had told nie in the East, that women sometimes go to the State prison at Sing Sing and importune to be allowed to share the imprisonment of their husbands or brothers ; but no in- stance is found in the history of that great institution where a man has asked to divide with a friend or rela- tive the sufferincrs of his sentence. Consent was given to the comrades to return to the guard-house, but they were required to remain in con- linement as ho did until they were ready to return to the reservation. After all the ranking Indians had fol- lowed Iron Horse in speeches, with long, maundering, slowly-delivered sentences, each like the other, the pipe was again produced. When it was smoked, the whole band filed out to cat the ])rcsents of food the general had given them, and soon afterwards disappeared down the valley on their way home. After his two friends had left him, Hain-in-thc-facc occupied a part of the guard-house with a citizen who had been caught stealing grain from the storehouse. For several months they had been chained together, and used to walk in front of the little prison for exercise and air. The guard-Iiouse was a poorly-built, insecure wooden building. After a time the sentinels became less vigilant, and the citizen, with help from his friends outside, who were working in the same way, cut a hole in the wall at night and escaped. He broke the chain attaching him to the Indian, who was left free to follow. We found afterwards tliat IZain-in-tlie-face did not dare to return to the reservation, but made his way to the CAPTURE AND ESCAl'E OF RAIN-LV-THE-FACE. 215 hostile camp. In the spring of 1S74: lie sent word from there by an Agency Indian that he had joined Sitting Bull, and was awaiting his revenge for his imprison- ment. As will be seen further on, the stained waters of the Little Big Horn, on June 25, 1S7G, told how deadly and fatal that was. The vengeance of that incarnate fiend was concentrated on the man who had eflcctcd his capt- ure. It was found on the battle-field that he had cut out the brave heart of that gallant, loyal, and lovable man, our brother Turn. 216 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. CIIAPTKll XXIII. GAIiKISON AMUSEMENTS. The second winter at Fort Lincoln was very much the same as the first. AVe had rented a j)iano at St. Paul in the autumn. It hardly had a respite from morning until late at night. Every day and evening the sound of happy voices went through the house. Old war- songs, college choruses, and negro melodies, that every one knew, were sung, and on Sunday our only church-service most of the time was to meet to- gether and sing hymns. In our little circle of forty, many denominations were represented, but all knew the old-time hymns. The Moody and Sankey book had soon found its way out there, and incited every one that could raise a note to make the attempt. We had for- gotten to bring a tuner for the piano, but the black- smith made a very good one. One of tlie band, who liad been in a piano-house before enlisting, kept the in- strument in order. We had hard work to keep it in tune, for not only did the extreme cold affect the sound, but it had to endure the constant drummin^i: of untauirht fingers. Even my husband, who was not nervous, used sometimes to beg Colonel Tom to stop '' feeling about for that tune !"* The general loved music, and had so correct an car GARRISON' AMUSEMENTS. 217 tliat lie often sang or whistled the airs of an opera after hearing them once. Music so channed him tliat when "wc liavc been in the States, listening to an oratorio, the Thomas orchestra, or a recital of any kind, he has begged me not to be hurt if he did not speak during the render- ing. There was a Swiss soldier in our regiment who had contrived to bring his zither with him. My hus- band wuuld lie on the bear-skin ruir in front of the tiro and listen with delight as long as he ventured to tax the man. He played the native Tyrolese airs, which seemed to have caught in them the sound of the Alpine horn, the melody of the cascade, and the echo of the moun- tain passes. The general often regretted that ho had not had the opportunity to learn music. It seemed to me that it was a great solace and diversion to officers if they knew some musical instrument well enough to en- joy practice. They certainly L'*avc LTcat pleasure t< > t]in>e around them. If the ladies had any accomplishment that gave grati- fication to others, it was never allowed to grow rusty. Of course, where there was so little to interest, whatever they did was overrated. Some times wc heard of one of the officers of the Tth matching the perfections of our ladies against those of another regiment which he might happen to be visiting. His esprit de corps carried him so far that he would insist that no women sanir, played, danced, painted, or rode as we did I AVe could only hope that we would never see the people to whom he had boasted, and so awaken them from his overdrawn btory to the reality. I used to pity the officers from the bottom of my 10 218 BOOTS AND SADDLES. lieart because of the lameness and dead calm of their lives in winter. Each year's service witli them made me wonder more and more how thej could come through the test of so much unemployed time, the really fine men they were. Watts spoke lines that will do for all time, when he told us who it was that found mischief for idle hands. AVe had no good company libraries, like the infantry, because we had so long been witliout a place to call our own. Every officer coming from leave, brought what books he could, and they went the rounds until the worn leaves would liardly hold to- gether. AVc women had many a simple occupation that interested us, but the men could not content themselves with trifics. If the young ladies and I stole away to try to take a nap or change our dress, we were almost in- variably called back by the lonely men, who wished to be amused. They were certainly so grateful for the slightest kindness it was no tax. Besides, people can- not go up and down the face of the earth together for nine yeai^s of hardships, trials, and deprivation without being as nearly like one family as is possible. I used to dread the arrival of the young officers who came to the regiment from West Point, fearing that the sameness and inactivity of the garrison life would be a test to which their character would succumb. When they came to pay the first ceremonious call in full uni- form, we spoke of commonplace topics. I kept up a running line of comments to myself, usually on one sub- ject : ** I wonder if you are likely to go to the bad under temptation ; I am sorry for your mother, having to give you up and be anxious for your habits at the same time ; GARRISON AMUSEJIEXTS. 219 I Lope you don't drink; I pray that you may have stamina enough to resist evil." Our sistoi* knew that I believed so in matrimony as a savior of young officers that she used to teasingly accuse me of greeting all of them when they arrived with the same welcome : " I am very glad to see you ; I hope that you are engaged/' I hardly remember being quite so abrupt as that in speak- ing, but I never failed to wish it to myself. Their fre- quent difliculty was that they desired to do everything that the old officers did. I have known them rub and try to mar their shining new uniforms to have them look as if they had seen service. One, especially youthful in appearance, wondered how I came to divine that the reason he wore his grand father':^ fob and seal, and carried the gold-headed cane when oil duty, was that he wished to look old and experienced. I could not help praising them when they went through the first few telling years of service and came off conquerors. I was sure that had I had the misfortune to be a man I could not have borne the tests to which I knew they were subjected. I am sure that we could not liave been so contented AS we were under such circumstances had there not been such perfect health among us all. It was a pleasure to live among so many hundred people and scarcely see any one who was not perfectly well. Another relief in that life wiis that we never saw crippled or maimed peo- ple, and there were no suffering poor. AV^e found our new quartei*s admirable for the garri- son gayety. On Friday nights we all gathered together to dance, or have private theatricals or game?. During the early part of the winter, while the supply of eggs .220 BOOTS AND SADDLES. we had brought from St. Paul hasted, Marj used to give us cake, frozen custard, or some luxury of ^vhich these formed a part. This, in addition to the usual ham- sandwiches, coffee, and venison, made our refreshments. As winter advanced, and the supplies began to give out, we had to be content with crullei*s, coffee, and sandwiclies. There was very little spirit of criticism, and in that climate one is always hungry. Of course every one relied on cards as the unfailing amusement. Almost without exception they played well and with great enthusiasm. Every one struggled over me, and I really worked faithfully to become an adept. For though I did not enjoy it ever, it seemed very ungracious in me not to be able to take a liand when I was needed. There must have been something lackinf]: in mv mental ori^anization.for I could not learn. I liad one friend who was equally stupid. lie certainly was a comfort to me. "We became perfectly hardened to the gibes of our friends when they called to him, " Come, Smith, and try this new game ; it is easy. Why, even Mrs. Custer learned it !" I labored on, until at the end of twelve years of effort I trumped my part- ner's ace, and was formally excused from ever trying again. A fancy-dress party was always amusing out there, for it was necessary to exercise great ingenuity in get- ting up costumes. "\Vc were masked carefully, and often the dress was such a complete disguise that a husband and wife were kept in ignorance of each other until the signal for unmasking was given at supper. It was impossible to conceal our eccentricities living GARRISON AMUSEMENTS. 221 in sucli close daily association. As there was continual chaffing and innumerable practical jokes, it was difficult to know at what moment one's peculiarities were to be eerved up for the amusement of others. At all events, when one's personal traits and singularities were openly joked about, it was something of a consolation to know that the worst to be said was directed to the face and not behind the back, as is the general rule. There was one of our number towards whom we could not fire the shot and shell of ridicule. Ue was far older than any one at the post, and there was too much reverence for his hoary head to permit extreme raillery. I confess to laughing over some of his strange aberrations when his young lieutenant gave us an imitation of their company drill. The old officer, mounted on a hoi-se as toned down as himself, stood in front of his troops and ad- dressed them as he would have dune his supporters in the old political days. They appreciated the stump elo- quence, but more keenly the fact that while he talked they would escape the tedious evolutions of their work. Sometimes while going through the directions of the tactics, the captain lost his suavity and called a halt. Then, with all the inflections and emphasis placed as carefully as if he were flinging the Constitution at a crowd of citizens on the 4tli of July, he harangued in slightly heated tones, ''Men, do you suppose you are men? If so, act like men. If you are geese, act like geese.'' This would finish the self-control of even the oldest soldier, and a great guffaw would burst out. For nothing can be moie ridiculous than a regular officer pausing to address his men in such a place. The drill 233 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. is conducted usually without another word than a repe- tition of the exact language of the book of tactics. The young lieutenant in his position at the rear would near- ly choke with laughter. He told us how he rode along the line, and prodded the soldiers in the back, without the captain seeing him, to try and make thcni more deferential. His short burlesque repetitions of the aphorisms, j)hilosophy, and theories on all subjects, that the old captain delivered daily on the drill-ground, were convulsing. If the speeches themselves were half as funny as the imitations, the men would have been sto- lidity itself if they had not forgotten their discij^line and laughed. My husband was truly attached to tliis officer, and spared him from hardships and trying cam- paigns when he could. In a measure he felt himself responsible for the incongruous position the elderly man occupied in a cavalry regiment full of young, active men. After the war, when the old officer was mustered out of the Volunteer service, he found that in his native State the waves had closed over him, and his place was lost in public life. The general went personally to the AVar Department, and solicited an appointment for him in the Ilegular Army. Some time after, he was sur- prised to find him assigned to his own regiment, doubt- less because a personal application gave the impression that it would be a special favor to place him there. Uad he only asked for an infantry appointment for the al- ready tired out man, it would have been a far easier life for him, but it had not occurred to the general. Many of us had been laughingly rechristened, and called a name that was in some way suggested by tri- GARRISON' AMUSEMENTS. 223 fling incidents in our history. The names were absurd. One of the most delicate and refined of our women was a superb rider and had shot buffalo, so her intimates spoke of her, when trjing to provoke repartee, as " Buf- falo Ann." My sobriquet of " the old lady " dated back to the first days of my married life. When the gen- eral and his merry young staff returned from a raid in the Shenandoah Valley, they descried an old Dutchman, who did not care which side in the war succeeded, so long as he and his property were left alone. His house had been their head-quartei*s in a former raid, and they all rode up there to halt again. The old Ilans stood on his steps as they approached and wafted them away, at the same time reiterating, by way of emphasis, *' Gentle- mcns, I have no objections to your coming in, but the old lady she kicks agin it." After that I could not raise the mildest protest against any plan but that those mis- chievous brothers would exclaim pathetically, and in a most tormenting tone, '* What a good time we might Lave if the old lady didn't kick agin it." Sometimes the mildest and quietest one of us all would be called by some appellation so suggestive of ruffianism and bloodshed that it was the extreme of tlie ridiculous to associate the person and the name together. For in- stance, the best regulated and least sensational one would find himself addressed as **Shacknasty Bill, or the Sinewy Slayer of the Ghostly Gulch." Another, always inclined to gloom, was given a rousing slap on the back as his good-morning, and a hearty '' IIow are you, Old Skull and Cross-bones?" Xo one escaped. 1 used to think the joking was carried too far sometimes, but it 224 BOOTS AND SADDLES. ^vas easy to go to extremes when the resources were so limited for a variety in our life. My own blood rose to lava heat when I found people twitting one another on unpleasant facts, and a smile of ridicule circulating. It was too great a triumph for the teaser to stir up wrath though, and the life was a lesson of constant self-con- trol. Certainly it was excellent discipline, and calcu- lated to keep one's self-confidence within bounds. It was the same sort of training that members of a large family have, and they profit by the friction, for they are rarely so selfish and exacting as only children usu- ally are. AN LN'DIAN COUNCIL. CHAPTER XXIV. AN INDIAN COUNCIL. TuE Indians came several times from tlio reservations for counsel, but the occasion that made the greatest im- pression upon mc was towards the spring. They came to implore the general for food. In the fall the steamer bringing them supplies was detained in starting. It had hardly accomplished half the required distance before the ice impeded its progress, and it lay out in the chan- nel, frozen in, all winter. The suffering among the In- dians was very great. They were compelled to eat their dogs and ponies to keep from starving. Believing a personal appeal would be effectual, they asked to como to our post for a council. The Indian band brought their great orator Running Antelope. lie was intensely digniticd and fine-looking. His face when he spoke was expressive and animated, contrary to all the precedents of Indian oratory we had become familiar with. As he stood among them all iii the general's room, he made an indelible impression on my memory. The Indians' feet are usually small; some- times their vanity induces them to put on women's shoes. The hands are slender and marvellously soft consider- ing their life of exposure. Their speech is full of gest- ure, and the flexible wrist makes their movements ex- 10* 22G BOOTS AND SADDLES. prcssive. A distinguished scholar, speaking of the aid tlie liand is to an orator, calls it the " second face." It certainly was so with Running Antelope. He described the distressing condition of the tribe with real eloquence. 'While he spoke, lifting his graceful hands towards Heaven in appeal, one of my husband's birds that was uncaged floated down and alighted on the venerable warriors head. It had been so petted, no ordinary move- ment startled the little thing. It maintained its poise, spreading its wings to keep its balance, as the Indian moved liis head in gesture. The orator saw that the faces of the Indians showed signs of humor, but he was ignorant of what amused them. His inquiring eyes saw no solution in the generars, for, fearing to disconcert him, General Custer controlled every muscle in his face Finally the bird whirled up to his favorite resting-place on the horn of the buffalo head, and the warrior under- stood the unusual sight of a smile from his people. His whole appeal was most impressive, and touched the quick sympathies of my husband. He was a sincere friend of the reservation Indian. The storehouses at our post were filled with supplies, and lie promised to telegraph to the (ireat Father for permission to give them rations until spring. Meantime, he promised them all they could eat while they awaited at the post the an- swer to the despatch. Not content with a complaint of their present wrongs, Running Antelope went off into an earnest denunciation of the agents, calling them dis- honest. One of the Indians, during the previous summer, with fox-like cunning had lain out on the dock all day ap- AN INDIAN COUNCIL. 227 parcntly sleeping, while he watched the steamer unload- ing supplies intended for them. A mental estimate was carefully made of what came off the boat, and compared as carefully afterwards with what was distributed. There was an undeniable deficit. A portion that should have been theirs was detained, and they accused the agent of keeping it. The general interrupted, and asked the in- terpreter to say that the Great Father selected the agents from among good men before sending them out from Washington. Kunning Antelope (piickly responded, " They may be good men when they leave the Great Father, but they get to be desperate cheats by the time they reach us." I shall have to ask whoever reads, to substitute another more forcible adjective, such as an angry man would use, in place of "desperate." The Indian language is not deficient in abusive terms and epithets. When the council was ended and the Indians were preparing to leave, my husband ai^ked mo to have Mary put everything we had ready to eat on the dining-room table. The maimer in which Iwunning Antelope folded his robe around him and strode in a stately way down the long parlor was worthy of a lloman emperor. I had been so impressed by his oratory and lordly mien that I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw him at table, and descend from the lofty state of mind into which he had taken me to realize what he was do- ing. After gorging himself, he emptied the plates and swept all the remains from before the places of the other chiefs into the capacious folds of his robe. This he re- bcltcd at the waist, so that it formed a very good tem- 228 BOOTS AND SADDLES. porarj haversack. With an air signifying to "tho vic- tor belong the spoils," he swept majestically out of the house. The answer came next day from the Secretary of War that the Department of the Interior which had the In- dians in charge refused to allow any army supplies to be distributed. They gave as a reason that it would in- volve complexities in their relations with other depart- ments. It was a very diflicult thing for the general to explain to the Indians. They knew that both army and Indians were fed from the same source, and they could not comprehend what dillerence it could make when a question of starvation was pending. They could not be told, what we all knew, that liad the War Department made good the deficiencies it would have reflected dis- credit on the management of the Department of the In- terior. The chiefs were compelled to return to tlieir reservations, where long ago all the game had been shot and their famishing tribe were many of them driven to join the hostiles. AVo were not surprised that the war- riors were discouraged and desperate, and that the dep- redations of Sitting I*ull on the settlements increased with the new accessions to his numbers. BREAEIXG UP OF THE MISSOURL 229 CHAPTER XXV. BEEAKINO UP OF THE MISSOURI. The day of the final breaking up of the ice in the Missouri was one of great excitement to us. The roar and crash of the icc-liclds could be heard a great dis- tmcc. The sound of the tremendous report was the signal for the whole garrison to go out on the hill near the infantry post and watch the grand sight. Just above us was a bend in the river, and around this curve great floes of ice rushed, heaping up in huge masses as they swept down the furious current. All the low- lands that lay between Bismarck and the river were inundated, and the shore far in covered with blocks of ice that the force of the water had thrown tlierc. Just across the river from us was a wretched little collection X)f huts, occupied by outlaws, into which the soldiers svere decoyed to drink and gamble. The law forbid- ding liquor to be sold on the reservation was so strict that whiskey venders did not dare set foot on the Gov- ernment land. The reservation was too large to per- mit them to place themselves on its other boundaries; they would have been at such a distance from the post that it would not have been worth while. Just on the water's edge opposite, these human fiends had perched to watch and entice the enlisted men. Over their rude 230 BOOTS AND SADDLES. cabins they had painted elaborate and romantically ex- pressed signs. In the midst of bleak surroundings rose an untidy canvas -covered cabin, called ''My Lady's Bower/' or over the door of a roui'h lof]r-hut was a sifirn of the "Dew Drop Inn" (Do drop in). These shanties were placed on a little rise of ground, with a precautionary thought of the usual spring floods. The day of the first ice-breaking we saw the water rise to such a height that cabin after cabin w\as abandoned. The occupants dragged their property as best they could to the little rise where one or two, more cautious than the rest, had built. On this narrow neck of land hud- dled together the whole of the gronp, in desperate peril. No one on our side of the river could help them, for the water was the maddest of whirlpools, while on the other side the overflow had made a ffreat lake, cuttinjr them off from Bismarck. As we watched them scram- bling on the little knoll, like drowning men clinging to the upturned keel of a boat, we suffered real dis- tress at our powerlessness to help them. The company commanders, remembering how they had been the cause of the demoralization of some of their best soldiers, openly avowed at flrst their relief that the whole wretched lot were about to drown ; but as the peril in^ creased, not one of the oflicers' hearts remained unsoft- ened. They forgot what an utterly abandoned, lawless company it was, and wished that some means might be found by which they could be saved. AVe women had discovered throu^rh the field-i'lasses a few of our own sex among them, and were alarmed at their danger; for no matter what they were, the BREAKING UP OF THE MISSOURI. 231 helplessness of women at siicli a time makes one forget everything, save that their lives hang in the balance. At last one of them stepped into the only small boat they had been able to retain, and standing bravely at the side of the one man at the bow, they were swept down the river out of si^Ait amoni' the f^ori^e of ice- blocks and never again heard from. It was too ex- hausting watching these imperilled beings, knowing how incapable wo were of helping them, and we went back to our quarters to spend hours of suspense. We could not set oui*selves about doing anything while the lives of human beings so near us were in jeopardy. As day began to close, word came for our relief that the water was subsiding; not, alas, until some of them had been borne to their last home. Those that were left waded back to their huts, and, unheeding the warn- ing of that fearful day, began again their same miserable existence. Of all our happy days, the happiest had now come to us at Fort Lincoln. I never knew more united married people than those of our regiment. It will be easilv understood that in the close companionship involved in the intimate relationships of that life, cither uncon- trollable hatred or increasing affection must ensue. If a desperate attack of incompatibility set in out there, the climate, fine as it was, simply had to disagree with the wife, for it was next to madness for both of them if they did not escape from a life where almost every hour is spent with each other. The wife had the priv- ilege of becoming the comrade of her husband in that isolated existence, and the officers seemed to feel that 233 COOTS AND SADDLES. every amusement was heightened if shared by the other sex. That perpetual intimacy was a crucial test of the genuineness of the affection. My husband used to quote a line or two from one of Mrs. Stowe's books that we had read together. The new husband is asked why he knows that he loves his wife : " Because she never tires nie; she never makes me nervous." He believed that if husbands and wives bore that proof successfully as time advanced, they might count on a happy future. Life grew more enjoyable every day as we realized the blessings of our home. AVhen the winter was finally gone there was not an liour that we would not have recalled. I have seen my husband with all the abandon of a boy throw himself on a rug in front of the iiro and enumerate his blessings with real gratitude. Speak- ing of his regiment first, his district (for he then had five posts under his command), the hunting, his dogs and horses, and his own room, which was an unceasing delight, he used to declare to me that lie would not exchange places with any one — not even a friend in civil life who stood at the liead of his profession as a journalist, who had wealth and youtli, and who lived in almost princely luxury. My husband used to tell me that he believed he was the happiest man on earth, and I caimot help thinking that he was. For with all the vicissitudes of those twelve eventful years, I never knew him to have an hour's depression. The presence of so many of his family about him was an unceasing pleasure. There was an abiding fondness between his brother. Colonel Tom, and himself. This brother was scarcely more than a lad when he joined us. The gen- BREAKING UP OF THE MISSOURI. 233 ci-al said to some Eastern friends when he was in the States the last time, "To prove to you how I value and admire my brother as a soldier, I think that he should be the general and I the captain." Colonel Tom always lived with us, and the brothers played incessant jokes on each other. Both of them honored and liked women extremely. Colonel Tom used to pay visits of an unconscionable length to ladies of the garrison, and no amount of teasing on his broth- er's part would induce him to shorten them. lie never knew, when he started to go home from these visits, but that he would find on the young lady's door-mat his trunk, portmanteau, and satchel — this as a little hint from the general that he was overtaxing the lady's pa- tience. I used to think my husband too severe with liis brother, for in his anxiety not to show favoritism he noticed the smallest misdemeanor. If, in visiting with the young ladies in our parlor, he overstayed the hour he was due at the stables or drill, the general's eye noticed it, and perhaps overlooked others in the room who were erring in the same manner. I knew that a reprimand would be sent from the adjutant's office in the morning if I did not invent some way to warn the offender, so I learned the bugle-call for stables, and hovering around Colonel Tom, hummed it in his ear, which the voice of the charmer had dulled to the trumpet-call. "When the sound penetrated, he would make a plunge for his hat and belt, and tear out of the house, thus escaping reproof. AVhen spring came again, it is impossible to express the joy I felt that there was to be no summer campaign ; 234 BOOTS AND SADDLES. and for the first time in many years I saw the grass grow without a shudder. Tlie general began the im- provement of tlie post with fresh energy, and from the drill-ground came the click of the horses' hoofs and the note of the bugles repeating the commands of the ofiicers. As soon as it was warm enough, several charm- ing girls came out from the States to our garrison to visit us. They gave every one pleasure, and cfFectually turned the heads of the young otiicers. "We liad supposed that when travelling from the Gulf of Mexico almost to the border of the British posses- sions, we could safely call ourselves ''West;'' but we found that there was a post fifteen hundred miles beyond us, on the ^lissouri Iliver. The steamers were constant- ly taking otiicers and their families from Bismarck into Montana. Sometimes the delay of the boats in starting gave us the privilege of entertaining tliem. I remem- ber going down to bid good-bye to a family who had gone on board a steamer at our landing. The ofticer was returning from an infantry recruiting detail in the States, lie had eight children and a dog. These, with a lieutenant's pay, constituted his riches. lie disap- peared into a state-room and brought out the new baby, exhibiting it with as much pride as if it had been the first-born! They told me afterwards that during all that slow, wearisome journey of fifteen hundred miles, on a boat that needs be seen to be appreciated, the mother was placid and happy. There were no guards around the deck, so she tied the children separately to the dif- ferent articles of stationary furniture, and let them play cut to the limits of their tethers. BREAKLVG UP OF TUE MISSOURI. 23.5 Almost our only exercise on summer evenings was walking on the outskirts of the garrison surrounded by the dogs. It was dangerous to go far, but we could walk with safety in the direction of the huts of the Indian scouts. Their life alwa3's interested us, and by degrees they became so accustomed to our presence that they went on with all their occupations without heeding us. There was a variety of articles among the litter tossed down in front of these Indian (]uartei"s; lariatcs, saddles, and worn-out robes were heaped about an arrangement for conveying their property from place to place. The construction was simple, and rendered wheels unneces- sary. About midway on two long saplings, placed a short distance apart, is a foundation of leather thongs. Upon this the effects belonging to an Indian family arc lashed. Two pole ends are attached to either side of a rude harness on the pony, while the other two drag on the ground. In following an Indian trail, the indenta- tion made by the poles, as they are pulled over the ground, traces the course of travel unmistakably. Some of their boats lay upturned about the door. They were perfectly round, like a great bowl, and composed of a wicker frame over which buffalo hide was tightly drawn. The primitive shapK) and construction dates back to the ancient Egyptians, and these boats were called coracles in olden times. They seemed barely large enough to hold two Indians, who were obliged to crouch down as they paddled their way with short, awk- ward oars through the rapid current of the Missouri. Bloody Knife was naturally mournful ; his face still looked sad when he put on the presents given him. He 230 BOOTS AND S.U)DLES. was a perfect child about gifts, and tlio general studied to bring liini something from the East that no other Indian had. He had proved himself such an invaluable scout to the general that they often had long interviews. Seated on the grass, the dogs lying about them, they talked over portions of the country that the general had never seen, the scout drawing excellent maps in the sand with a pointed stick. He was sometimes petulant, often moody, and it recaring through the doors, and even out of the windows open- in"* upon the piazza. In vain I entreated them to re- turn ; a smothered laugh at my indignation was all the response. It was sometimes tiresome to receive large groups of CURIOUS CHARACTERS AND EXCURSIOXI^S. 243 people, who wanted to know impossible things about the country, and if it was a good soil for wheat. I only remember one party who taxed my patience to the ut- termost. They cared nothing about Dakota as an agri- cultural territory, but had come on purpose to see the general. To satisfy them, I sent the servants and order- ly to find him, but all returned with the same answer — he was nowhere to be seen. I walked about the garri- son with them, explaining our post as best I could ; the band came to play for them ; and finally, as a last resort, I opened the general's room to show them his hunting mementos. It was all of no avail. One very decided woman said, " This is all very interesting, but we caiM to see General Custer, and we do not intend to leave until we do.'^ Finally I said, in desperation, he is much interested in improvements for the post, and spends much time out-of-doors. ** Very well,*' said the chief spokesman, " we will go all around the garrison and try to find him.'' As soon as I had bowed them away, I ran out to Mary to ask where the gencnil really was. I had known from the first, by a twinkle in her eye, that she was helping him to escape. "Law, Miss Libbie, the giniral most got sunstroke hidin' in the chicken-coop.'* The coop was still unroofed, and my husband had been superintending the building of a double wall to keep out the cold in winter; and there I found him, really ill, having beaten his hasty retreat without a hat, and re- mained in the broiling sun rather than submit to the odious ordeal of being on exhibition. Our house was so full of company, and we had so little time for each other, that in order to visit together 244 BOOTS AXD SADDLES. wo were obliged to take our horses, and ride up and down the vallej as far as it was safe to go. Even then my husband's eyes scanned the horizon so searching! y, hardly turning his face away from where the Indians were wont to dash, that it intimidated me to sec such watchfulness. If we went even a few paces beyond our usual beat, which was bounded by the grazing stock and the guard, and the busy chatter at his side ceased, my husband would look quickly to see the cause of the un- usual silence. My lip quivered with fear, and I was wont to wink busily and swallow to keep back a tear of terror, of which I was always ashamed, and against which I made constant battle. The moment our horses' heads were turned towards home the endless flow of laughter and talk began again. When we could not ride, we went out on the bliifis, just on the edge of the garrison, for an uninterrupted hour. We were often out for hours, my husband shooting at a mark, while I was equally busy taking accurate aim at the ever-present mosquito, our constant companion in all our good times. As the soldiers and citizens all knew the general's love of pets, we had constant presents. Many of them I would have gladly declined, but notwithstanding a badger, porcupine, raccoon, prairie-dog, and wild-turkey, all served their brief time as members of our family. They were comparatively harmless, and I had only the inconvenience to encounter. When a ferocious wild- cat was brought in, with a triumphant air, by the donor, and presented with a great flourish, I was inclined to mutiny. 'My husband made allowance for my dread of the untamed creature, and decided to send him into the CURIOUS CUARACTERS AND EXCURSIONISTS. 245 States, as a present to one of the zoological gardens ; for in its way it was a treasure. "While it remained with us it was kept in the cellar. Mary used to make many re- treats, tumbling up the stairs, when the cat flew at her the length of its chain. She was startled so often that at last she joined with me in requesting its removal as soon as convenient. The general regretted giving it up? but Keevan was called to chloroform and box it for the journey. Colonel Tom printed some facetious words on the slats of the cover — something like " Do not fon- dle." They were somewhat superfluous, for no one could approach the box, after the effects of the chloro- form had passed away, without encountering the fler}'- red eyes, and such scratchings and spittings and mad plunges as suggested the propriety of keeping one's distance. Some detention kept the freight -train at a station over Sunday ; the box with the wild-cat was put in the bafrirafre-room. The violence of the animal as it leaped and tore at the cover loosened the slats, and it escaped into the room. The freight agent spent a wretched day ! Chloroform was again resorted to, and it was deemed a good riddance when the animal was sent off. AVhen we received a letter of thanks from the Scientific Board for so splendid a specimen, I was relieved to know that the wild -cat was at last where it could no longer create a reign of terror. At one time the general tamed a tiny fleld-mouse, and kept it in a large, empty inkstand on his desk. It grew very fond of him, and ran over his head and shoulders, and even through his hair. AVomen are not responsible for their fear of mice ; they arc born so. I had fortu- 240 BOOTS AND SADDLES. nately only to keep away from the desk when the little creature was free, for it was contented to consider that its domain. The general, thinking at last that it was cruel to detain the little thine: in-doors when it belonored by nature to the fields, took it out and left it on the plain. The kindness was of no earthly use; like the oft-quoted prisoner of the Bastile, it was back again at the steps in no time, and preferred captivity to frccdum. RELIGIOUS EXERCISES. 247 CHAPTER XXVII. EELIGIOUS SERVICES. — LEAVE OF ABSENCE. We bad clergymen and missionaries of different de- nominations as our guests during the summer months. Among them was a man from the East, who was full of zeal and indifferent to the opinion of others as long as he felt that he was right, lie began to brave public opinion on his way to Fort Lincoln. The cars had stopped for some time at a station where there was a town ; the missionary, wishing to improve every oppor- tunity for doing good, went out on the platform and began a sermon. Before long he had a crowd of people around him, listening with curiosity. There were laugh- ter and sneers when the quavering voice of the old man started a hymn that was familiar throughout the length and breadth of the land. No one joined. Our brother Tom and a friend, sitting in the car, but knowing noth- ing of the mission of the man, realized his unsupported position, and quickly went to him. Standing on either side of him, they joined their fresh young voices in the hymn. Before long one after the other of the crowd joined in the music, inspired by the independence of the example. The missionary returned then with the officers, and came to our house, where my husband asked him to remain indefinitely. AVc found him almost a 248 BOOTS AND SADDLES. monomauiac on tlic subject of converting the Indians, and had not the general prevented liiin from risking his life, he would have gone out alone among the war- like tribes. While he was waiting for an opportunity to go far- ther west, he begged to begin meetings among the soldiers, and said tliat in order to do more good and get at the hearts of those he would help, he must live among fliem. For this purpose ho left us, and went down to share the rations of the enlisted men. The general had a room in a vacant barrack put in order, and there the old man began liis work. Every night the garrison echoed with the voices of hundreds of soldiers singing hymns. The simple, unallected goodness of the missionary caused them to believe in liim, and iie found his way to many a heart that beat under the army blue. 'My husband felt tliankful to have some work go on among the enlisted men. Wc often talked of their condition, and he felt that some of the ener- gies of good people in behalf of foreign missions might well be expended upon our army on the frontier. Among his plans was the building of an assembly-room at the post, especially for the soldiers: a place where they could have their own entertainments, and where the papers, magazines, and general library might be kept. He regretted constantly that there was no reg- ular place where there could be services for the men when the itinerant clergyman came. The service was usually held in our parlor, but it was only large enough for the officers and their families. In the following letter he touches upon the subject of bettering the con- LEAVE OF ABSEKCK 240 dition of tlie enlisted men, and bears tribute to tlie good man who forgot himself in his love f«»r mankind. "Fort Lincoln, Dakota, September 17, 1875. " Dr. Neitman : " Dear Sir, — I take the liberty of addressing you a few lines ia regard to the ('hristian work iii which >Ir. Matchett has been en- gaged at this post. lie came here under the auspices of the Indian Bureau, intending to labor among the tribes of the Upper Missouri Hiver, but owing to some ol)staclcs encountered at points above this on the river, he returned here some weeks ago to await further iu- 8trueti(»ns from those under whom he is acting. "In the mean time he has devoted himself to missionary work among the soldiers — a class, by the way. whose moral welfare, at le;Lst on the frontier, is as sadly neglected as that of any of our alx)riginal tribes. Mr. Matchett enters into his work with great earnestness and zeal. He has impressed all with whom he has been a.ssociated with his unseltishness. bis honesty of purpose, and his great desire to do good. "It is but due to him and the holy cause he represents, and a j)lc:u^ure to me, to testify to the success which ! vned his labors, particularly among the soldiers of this c« : If our large posts on the remote frontier, which arc situated far from church and Church influences, had chaplains who were as faithful Christians as I Ixlieve 3Ir. Matchett to be. and who, like him, are willing to labor faithfully among the enlisted men, the moral stand- ard, now necessarily so low among that neglected class, would be elevated far above its present level, and great results would follow. " Hoping you will receive these Uncs in the spirit which prompts me to send them, I am truly yours, " G. A. CcsTER, Brevet Major-General U. S. A." In the autumn we went into the States, and spent most of the winter delightfully in Xew York. We went out a great deal. Of course we were compelled to dress very plainly, and my husband made great sport of his onlv citizen overcoat — an ulster. He declared that 11* 250 BOOTS AND SADDLES. it belonged so to the past that he was the only man be- side the ear-drivers that wore one. It did not disturb him in the least; neither did going iu the horse -cars to receptions and dinners. He used laughingly to say, " Our coachman wears our livery, Libbie," when the car- driver had on an army overcoat. No one so perfectly independent as he was could fail to enjoy everything. Colonel Tom and one of the oldest friends we had in the 7th were with us part of the time, and we had many enjoyable hours together. The theatre was our unfailing delight. They were all desirous that I should see the military play of '^Ours," which was then so ad- mirably put on the stage at AVallack's, but dreaded the effect it would have on me. At last one of them said that it was too finely represented for me to miss, and I heard them say to each other, " We must take ^ the old lady,' though it will break her heart and she will cry." It ended in my going. When we reached the part in the play where the farewell comes, and the sword is buckled on the warrior by the trembling hands of the wife, I could not endure it. Too often had the reality of such suffering been my own. The three men were crying like children, and only too willing to take me out into the fresh air. My husband spent many hours with Mr. Barrett in his dressing-room at the theatre, during the long wait of Cassius in the play of ^'Julius Ca3sar." There were forty nights that these friends sat side by side, until the call-boy summoned the actor to the footlights. The general listened every evening with unflagging interest to the acting of his friend. LEAVE OF ABSEXCE. 251 Every one seemed to vie with every one elee in show- ing appreciation of my husband during that winter. lie dined often with men who learned to draw him out in talk of his Plains life. While in the midst of some story, the butler would pass him a dish that ho especially liked. The host at once directed the man to pass on, and told my husband that he could not sirdve time for him to take a second helping while they were im])atient for the rest of the tale. After going hungry once or twice, the general learned to dine with me before he left the hotel, so that lie might be free to give himself up to others. He repeated a story to me about Olo Bull, who was asked to dinner and requested to bring his violin. lie accepted fur himself, but sent word that his violin did not dine. My husband made a personal application of the story, and threatened, playfully, to send word that his Indian stories did not dine, hoping thereby to secure to himself the privilege of satisfying his hunger unmo- lested. At the Century Club ho received from distin- guished men the most cordial congratulations on his essay into the literary field. They urged him with many an encouraging word to continue the work. Some of the authors he met there were double his age, and he received each word they said with deep gratitude. My husband knew how I valued every expression of appre- ciation of him, and he used to awaken me, when he re- turned, to tell me what was said. He never failed to preface every such hesitating and reluctant repetition b}' exacting promises of secrecy. lie feared that in my wifely pride I might repeat what he told me, and it 253 BOOTS AND S^U)DLES. would look like conceit on his part. I knew that lie did not tell me the half, for when the tears of delight dropped from my eyes at the acknowledgment and commendation of others his voice ceased. I felt that nine years was a long time out of a young life to live in the wilderness, away from the sound of approving voices, and the association of men whose very presence incites to new eJffort. In February we had to say good- b^^e to all this pleasurable life. Our friends asked us why we went so soon. In army life it is perfectly nat- ural to speak of one's financial condition, and it did not occur to us that civilians do not do the same. I do not wonder now tliat they opened tlieir eyes with well-bred astonishment when we said we were obliged to go be- cause we had used all the money we had saved for leave of absence. A WINTERS JOURNEY ACROSS THE TLAINS. 253 CHAPTER XXVIII. A WIXTEr''s JOUKNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS. WuEN wc reached St. Paul the prospect before ns was dismal, as the trains were not to begin running un- til April, at the soonest. The railroad officials, mind- ful of what the general had done for them in protect- ing their advance workers in the building of the road, came and ollered to open the route. Sending us through on a special train "svas a great undertaking, and we had to wait some time for the preparations to be completed. One of the officers of the road took an engine out some distance to investigate, and it looked discouraging enough when he sprang down from the cab on his re- turn in a complete coating of ice. The train on which we finally started was an immense one, and certainly a curiosity. There were two snow- ploughs and three enormous engines; freight-cars with coal supplies and baggage; several cattle -cars, with stock belonging to the Black Hills miners who filled the passenger - coaches. There was an eating-house, looming up above everything, built on a flat car. In this car the forty employes of the road, who were taken to shovel snow, etc., were fed. There were several day- coaches, with army recruits and a few passengers, and last of all the paymaster's car, which my husband and 254 BOOTS AND SADDLES. I occupied. This had a kitchen and a sitting-room. At first everything went smoothly. The cook on our car gave us excellent things to eat, and we slept soundly. It was intensely cold, but the little stove in the sitting- room was kept filled constantly. Sometimes we came to drifts, and the train would stop with a violent jerk, start again, and once more come to a stand-still, with such force that the dishes would fall from the table. The train -men were ordered out, and after energetic work by the stalwart arms the track was again clear and we went on. One day we seemed to be creeping; the engines whistled, and we shot on finely. The speed was checked so suddenly that the little stove fairly danced, and our belom^iuLTS flew throui!:h the car from end to end. After this there was an exodus from the cars; every one went to inquire as to the ominous stop. Be- fore our train there seemed to be a perfect wall of ice ; we had come to a gully which was almost filled with drifts. The cars were all backed down some distance and detached; the snow-ploughs and engines having thus full sweep, all the steam possible was put on, and they began what they called "bucking the drifts." This did a little good at first, and wc made some prog- ress through the gully. After one tremendous dash, however, the ploughs and one engine were so deeply embedded that they could not be withdrawn. The em- ployes dug and shovelled until they were exhausted. The Black Uills miners relieved them as long as they could endure it ; then the officers and recruits worked until they could do no more. The impenetrable bank of snow was the accumulation of the whole winter, first A WINTER'S JOURXEY ACROSS THE PLAINS. 255 snowing, then freezing, until there were successive lay- ers of ice and snow. It was the most dispiriting and forlorn situation. Night was descending, and my husband, after rest- lessly going in and out to the next car, showed me that he had some perplexity on his mind. He described to me the discomfort of the officers and Bismarck citizens in the other coach in not having any place to sleep. His meaning penetrated at last, and I said, " You are waiting for me to invite them all to room with us?" His "exactly" assured me it was precisely what he in- tended me to do. So he hurried out to give them my compliments and the invitation. The officers are gen- erally prepared for emergencies, and they brought in their bhmkets; the citizens left themselves to the gen- cral's planning. In order to make the car-blankets go further, he made two of the folding-beds into one broad one. Two little berths on each side, and rolls of bedding on the floor, left only room for the stove, always heated to the last degree. I was invited to take the farthest j^lace towards the wall, in the large bed ; then came my husband. After that I burrowed my head in my pillow, and the servant blew out some of the candles and brought in our guests. It is un- necessary for mc to say that I did not see the order in which they appeared. The audible sleeping in our bed, however, through the long nights that followed, convinced me that the general had assigned those places to the oldest, fattest, and ranking civilians. Every morning I awoke to find the room empty and all the beds folded away. Tho general brought me a tin basin 256 BOOTS AND SADDLES. with ice-water, and helped inc to make a quick toilet ; our eleven visitors waited in the other coach, to return to breakfast with us in the same room. Every one made the best of the situation, and my husband was as rollick- ing as ever. Though I tried to conceal it, I soon lost heart entirely, and it cost me great effort to join with the rest in conversation. The days seemed to stretch on endlessly ; the snow was heaped up about iis and falling steadily. All we could sec was the trackless waste of white on every side. The wind whistled and moaned around the cars, and great gusts rocked our frail little refuge from side to side. The snow that had begun to fall with a few scattered flakes now came down more thickly. I made the best effort I could to be brave, and deceived them as to my real terrors — 1 had no other idea than that we must die there. We tried to be merry at our meals, and made light of the deficiencies that occurred each time we sat down. The increase at the table quickly diminished our stores, and I knew by the careful manner in which the wood was husbanded that it was nearly exhausted. The general, always cool and never daunted by anything, was even more blithe, to keep me from knowing that there was anything alarming in the situation. If I could have worked as the men did, even though it was at the hopeless snow-drifts, the time would not have seemed so long. Of course I had needle-work, but at such a time any industry that admits of thinking is of little use as a distraction. During those anxious days it used to seem strange to hear a dinner-bell through the air, muffled with snow. For an instant I was deluded into the A WINTER'S JOURNEY ACROSS THE TLAIXS. 257 thought that by some strange necroraancj we had been spirited on to a station, and that this was the clang of the eating-house belL It was only the call from the car where the employes were fed. The lowing of the cat- tle and howling of our dogs in the forward cars were the only other sounds we heard. Finally the situation became desperate, and with all their efforts the officers could no longer conceal from inc their concern for our safety. Search was made throughout all the tmin to find if there was a man who understood anything about teleg- raphy, for among the fittings stowed away in the car a tiny battery had been found, with a pocket-relay. A man was finally discovered who knew something of oper- ating, and it was decided to cut the main wire. Then the wires of the pocket-relay were carried out of our car and f;istened to either end of the cut wire outside, so making an unbroken circuit between us and our Lin- coln friends, besides uniting us with Fargo station. In a little while the general had an answer from Colonel Tom, most characteristic : *' Shall I come out for you ? You say nothing about the old lady ; is she with you T* The "old lady'' begged the privilege of framing the reply. 1 regretted that the telegram could not be un- derscored — a woman's only way of emphasizing — for I emphatically forbade him to come. On this occasion I dared to assume a show of authority. The stories of the risk and suffering of our mail-carriei*s during the two previous wintei*s were too fresh in my memory for me to consent that Colonel Tom should encounter so much for our sake. 258 BOOTS AND SADDLES. After that we kept the wires busy, talking with our friends and devising phms for our relief. "We only suc- ceeded in suppressing our headlong brother temporarily. Against our direct refusal he made all his preparations, and only telegraphed, when it was too late to receive an answer, that he was leaving garrison. Then our situa- tion was forgotten in our solicitude about him. The time seemed to move on leaden wing?, and yet it was in reality not long. He went to r>ismarck, and looked up the best sta<^e-driver in all the territorv, and hired him. This driver was cool, intrepid, and inured to every peril. At an old stage-station along the route he found relays of mules that belonged to the mail-sleigh. At last a great whoop and yell, such as was peculiar to the Ousters, was answered by the general, and made me aware for the first time that Colonel Tom was out- side. I scolded him for coming before I thanked him, but he made light of the danger and hurried us to get ready, fearing a coming blizzard, llis arms were full of wraps, and his pockets crowded with muftiers and wraps the ladies had sent out to me. We did ourselves up in everything wc had, while the three hounds were being placed in the sleigh. The drifts were too deep to drive near the cars, so my husband carried me over the snow and deposited me in the straw with the dogs. They were such strangers they growled at being crowd- ed. Then the two brothers followed, and thus packed in wc bciran that terrible ride, amid tlie cheers of those we were leavinf):. It was understood that we were to send back help to those we left. The suspense and alarm in the car had been great, A WINTER'S JOURNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS. 259 but that journej tliroiigli the drifts was simply terrible. I tried to be courageous, and did manage to keep still ; but every time we plunged into what appeared to be a bottomless white abyss, I believed that we were to be buried there. And so we would have been, I firmly be- lieve, bad it not been for the experience and tenacity of will shown by the old driver, lie had a peculiar yell that he reserved for supreme moments, and that always incited the floundcrin*? mules to new efforts. The sleif^h was covered, but I could look out in front and see the plucky creatures scrambling up a bank after they had extricated us from the great drift at the bottom of the gully. If there had been a tree to guide us, or had it been daytime, it would not have seemed so hopeless a journey. The moon was waning, and the clouds ob- scured it entirely from time to time. There was noth- ing to serve as guide-posts except the telegraph-poles. Sometimes we had to leave them to find a road where the sleigh could be pulled through, and I believed we never would reach them again. Divide after divide stretched before us, like the illimitable waves of a great white sea. The snow never ceased falling, and I knew too much of the Dakota blizzard not to fear hourly that it would settle into that drivinir, blindinir, whirlinir at- mosphere through which no eyes can penetrate and no foot progress. It is fortunate that such hours of sus- pense come to an end before one is driven distracted. When at last I saw the light shining out of our door at Fort Lincoln I could not speak for joy and gratitude at our release from such peril. Our friends gathered about us around the great log-fire in the general's room. 2G0 BOOTS AND SADDLES. No liglit ever seemed so bright, no haven ever so blessed, as our own fireside. The train remained in the spot where we had left it until the sun of the next spring melted 'down the great ice banks and set free the buried engines. All the help that Bismarck could give was sent out at once, and even the few cattle that survived were at last driven over that long distance, and shelter found for them in the town. Hardly had we arrived before a despatch came recall- ing the general to the East. I had no thought but that I would be allowed to accompany him, and went at once to repack my things. My husband found mc thus em- ployed, and took my breath away by telling me he could not endure the anxiety of having me go through such peril again. In vain I pleaded, and asked him to remem- ber that I had summoned sufficient self-control not to utter a word about my fears; I promised more courage the next time. It was of no avail, I had to submit. Not the shadow of an anxietv, nor the faintest si^rn of dread of the coming journey over the snow again came into his face. He left me with the same words with which he always comforted me : " Be sure, Libbie, it's all for the best : von know we alwavs find it so in the end." AVith these farewell words he stepped into the sleigh — which he knew well might be his tomb. It is not possible for mc to speak in detail of the days that followed. Life seemed insupportable until I re- ceived a despatch saying that my husband had again passed safely over that two hundred and fifty miles of country where every hour life is in jeopardy. OUR LIFE'S LAST CnAPTER. 261 CHAPTER XXIX. ocK life's last chapter. OcR woincn's hearts fell when the fiat went forth that there was to be a summer campaign, with probably actual fiirhtiu!^ with Indians. Sitting Dull refused to make a treaty with the Gov- ernment, and would not come in to live on a reserva- tion. Besides his constant attacks on the white set- tlers, driving back even the most adventurous, he was inccssantlv invadiuij: and stealin:' from the land assicrned to the peaceable Crows. They appealed fur help to the Government that had promised to shield them. The preparations for the expedition were completed before my husband returned from the East, whither he had been ordered. The troops had been sent out of barracks into a camp that was established a short dis- tance down the valley. As soon as the general returned we left home and went into camp. The morning for the start came only too soon. My husband was to take Sister Margaret and me out for the first day's march, so I rode beside him out of camp. The column that followed seemed unending. The grass was not then suitable for grazing, and as the route of travel was through a barren country, immense quantities of forage had to be transported. The wagons themselves seemed to stretch out interminably. There were pack- 202 BOOTS AXD SxU)DLES. mules, tlie ponies already laden, and cavalry, artillery, and infantry followed, the cavalry being in advance of all. The number of men, citizens, employes, Indian scouts, and soldiers was about twelve hundred. There were nearly seventeen hundred animals in all. As we rode at the head of the column, we were the first to enter the confines of the garrison. About the Indian quarters, which wo were obliged to pass, stood the squaws, the old men, and the children singing, or rather moaning, a minor tune that has been uttered on the going out of Indian warriors since time immemo- rial. Some of the squaws crouched on the ground, too burdened witli their trouble to hold up their heads; others restrained the restless children who, discerning their fathers, sought to follow them. The Indian scouts themselves beat their drums and kept up their peculiar monotonous tune, which is weird and melancholy beyond description. Their war-song is misnamed when called music. It is more of a lament or a dirge than an inspiration to activity. This inton- ing they kept up for miles along the road. After we had passed the Indian quarters we came near Laundress Kow, and there my heart entirely failed me. The wives and children of the soldiers lined the road. Mothers, with streaming eyes, held their little ones out at arm's- length for one last look at the departing father. The toddlers among the children, unnoticed by their elders, had made a mimic column of their own. With their handkerchiefs tied to sticks in lieu of flag's, and beatinGT old tin pans for drums, they strode lustily back and forth in imitation of the advancing soldiers. They were fort- OUR LITE'S LAST CnAPTER. 263 Diiately too young to realize why the mothers ^yailcd out their farewells. Unfettered by conventional restrictions, and indiffer- ent to tlie opinion of others, the grief of these women was audible, and was accompanied by desponding gest- ures, dictated by their bursting hearts and expressions of their abandoned grief. It was a relief to escape from them and enter the garrison, and yet, when our band struck up " The Girl I Left Behind Me,^' the most despairing hour seemed to have come. AH the sad-faced wives of the officers who had forced themselves to their doors to try and wave a courageous farewell, and smile bravely to keep the ones they loved from knowing the anguish of their breaking hearts, gave up the struggle at the sound of the music. The first notes made them disappear to fight out alone their trouble, and seek to place their hands in that of their Heavenly Father, who, at such supreme hours, was their never-failing solace. From the hour of breaking camp, before the sun was up, a mist had enveloped everything. Soon the bright Bun began to penetrate this veil and dispel the haze, and a scene of wonder and beauty apjxiared. The cavalry and infantry in the order named, the scouts, pack-mules, and artillery, and behind all the long line of white-cov- ered wagons, made a column altogetlier some two miles in lenorth. As the sun broke throuirh the mist a mirage appeared, which took up about half of the line of cav- alry, and thuneeforth for a little distance it marched, Ciiually plain to the sight on the earth and in the sky. The future of the heroic baud, whose days were even 264 BOOTS AND SADDLES. then n umbered, seemed to be revealed, and already there seemed a premonition in the supernatural translation as their forms were reflected from the opaque mist of the early dawn. The sun, mounting higher and higher as we advanced, took every little bit of burnished steel on tlie arms and equipments along the line of liorsemcn, and turned them into glittering flashes of radiating light. The yellow, indicative of cavalry, outlined the accoutrements, the trappings of the saddle, and sometimes a narrow thread of that ellective tint followed the outlines even up to the head-stall of the bridle. At every bend of the road, as the column wound its way round and round the low hills, my husband glanced back to admire his men, and could not refrain from constantly calling my attention to their grand appearance. The soldiers, inured to many years of hardship, were the perfection of physical manhood. Their brawny limbs and lithe, well- poised bodies gave proof of the training their out-door life had given. Their resolute faces, brave and confident, inspired one with a feeling that they were going out aware of the momentous hours awaiting them, but inwardly assured of their capability to meet them. The general could scarcely restrain his recurring joy at being again with his regiment, from which he had feared he might be separated by being detained on other duty. Ilis buoyant spirits at the prospect of the activity and field -life that he so loved made him like a boy. He had made every plan to have me join him later on, when they should have reached the Yellowstone. OCR LIFE'S LAST CHAPTER. 865 The steamers with supplies would be obliged to leave our post and follow the Missouri up to the mouth of the Yellowstone, and from thence on to the point on that river where tl»€ regiment was to make its firet halt to renew the rations and forage. lie was sanguine that but a few weeks would elapse before we would be re- united, and used this argument to animate me with courage to meet our separation. As usual we rode a little in advance and selected camp, and watched the approach of the regiment with real pride. They were so accustomed to the march tho line hardly diverged from the trail. There was a unity of movement about them that made the column at a dis- tance seem like a broad dark riLbon stretched smoothly over the plains. We made our camp the first night on a small river a few miles beyond the post. There the paymaster made his disbursements, in order that the debts of the soldiers might be liquidated with the sutler. In the morning the farewell was said, and the pay- master took sister and me back to the post. AVith my husband's departure my last happy days in garrison were ended, as a premonition of disaster that I had never known before weighed me down. I could not shake off the baleful influence of depressing thoughts. This presentiment and suspense, such as I had never known, made me selfish, and I shut into my heart the most uncontrollable anxiety, and could lighten no one else's burden. The occupations of other summers could not even give temporary interest. We heard constantly at the Fort of the disaffection of 12 266 BOOrS AND SADDLES. the 3'Oiing Indians of the reservation, and of their join- in o- the hostiles. A7e knew, for we had seen for our- selves, how adn:iirablj they were equipped. We even saw on a steamer touching at our landing its freight of Springfield rifles piled up on the docks en route for the * Indians up the river. There was unquestionable proof that they came into the trading-posts far above us and bouglit them, wliilc our own brave Tth Cavalry troopers were sent out with only the short-range carbines that grew foul after the second firing. While we waited in untold suspense for some hopeful news, the garrison was suddenly thrown into a state of excitement by important despatches that were sent from Division Headquarters in the E;ist. We women knew that eventful news had conic, and could hardly restrain our curiosity, for it was of vital in}port to us. Indian scouts were fitted out at the Fort with the greatest de- spatch, and given instnictions to make the utmost speed they could in reaching the exjx^dition on the Yellow- stone. After their departure, when there was no longer any need for secrecy, we were told that the expedition which had started from the Department of the Platte, and encountered the liostile Indians on the head- waters of the Iwoscbud, had been compelled to retreat. All those victorious Indians had gone to join Sitting Bull, and it was to warn our regiment that this news was sent to our post, wliich was the e.xtreme telegraphic communication in the North-west, and the orders given to transmit the information, that precautions might be taken against encountering so large a number of the enemy. The news of the failure of the campaign in the OUR LIFE'S LAST CIIAITER. 267 other department was a death-knell to our hopes. "We felt that we had nothing to expect but that our troops would be overwhelmed with numbers, for it seemed to us an impossibilit}', as it really proved to be, that our Indian scouts sliould cross that vast extent of country in time to make the warniniir of use. The first steamer that returned from the Yellowstone brought letters from my husband, with the permission, for which I had longed unutterably, to join him by the next boat. The Indians had fired into the steamer when it had passed under the high bluffs in the gorges of the river. I counted the hours until the second steamer was ready. They were obliged, after loading, to cover the pilot-house and other vulnerable portions of the upper deck with sheet-iron to repel attacks. Then sand- bags were placed around the guards as protection, and other precautions taken for the safety of those on board. All these delays and j)reparations made me inexpressibly impatient, and it seemed as if the time would never come for the steamer to depart. Meanwhile our own post was constantly surrounded by hostiles, and the outer pickets were continually sub- jected to attacks. It was no unusual sound to hear the long-roll calling out the infantry before dawn to defend the irarrison. AVe saw the faces of the officers blanch, brave as they were, when the savages grew so bold as to make a daj'-time sortie upon our outer guards. A picture of one day -of our life in those disconsolate times is fixed indelibly in my memory. On Sunday afternoon, the 25tli of June, our little group of saddened women, borne down with one com- 268 BOOTS AND SADDLES. mon weight of anxiety, sought sohice in gathering to- gether in our house. We tried to find some sh'glit sur- cease from trouble in tlic old hymns: some of them dated back to our childhood's days, when our mothers rocked us to sleep to their soothing strains. I remember the grief with which one fair young wife threw herself on the carpet and pillowed her head in the lap of a tender friend. Another sat dejected at the piano, and struck soft chords that melted into the notes of the voices. All were absorbed in the same thoughts, and their eyes were filled with far-away visions and long- ings. Indescribable yearning for the absent, and un- told terror for their safety, engrossed each heart. The words of the hymn, • " E'en though a cross it be. Nearer, my God, to Thee," came forth with almost a sob from every throat. At that very hour the fears that our tortured minds had portrayed in imagination were realities, and the souls of those we thought upon were ascending to meet their Maker. On the 5th of July — for it took that time for the news to come — the sun rose on a beautiful world, but with its earliest beams came the first knell of disaster. A steamer came down the river bearing the wounded from the battle of the Little Big Horn, of Sunday, June 25th. This battle wrecked the lives of twenty-six women at Fort Lincoln, and orphaned children of officers and soldiers joined their cry to that of their bereaved mothers. OUR LIFE'S LAST CHAPTER. 269 From that time the life went out of the liearts of tlie *' women wlio weep," and God asked them to walk on alone and in the shadow. Mrs. Custer very naturally ends her work with the coming of the news tiiat put so many women's lives in shadow. She has attempted no account of the Little Ih'g Horn expedition, and none seems necessary here; but it is deemed best to add the following very brief outline by way of explanation to any reader whose memory may need refreshing: Tlie oxixdilion {lurinsj; the summer of 187C, which ciuled so fatally with tlie battle of the Little llii^ Horn, was uiuier General Terry, the ranking olliccr. General Custer commandeil under him the 7th Cavalry. As it marched, the forc«c struck a fresh Indian trail, and scouts were sent to follow it up and ascertain the number of war- riors in the band. This can l^e done with great accuracy. The number of Indians can Ik? estimated by following the trail far enough to get its average width and the size of the circle gnized over at night by the ponies on which the warriors ride. In this case the scouts foUowi'd the trail far enough to ascertain that twelve hun- dred Indians were in the luiud. but did not learn the location of the village wliere they were encampi'd. Upon tluir return General Terry and General Custer consulted together. It was well known to them that the vigilance of the Indian keej^s outposts and signal- lires on every hill top, thus making it an impossibility to approach one of their villages unobserved. Neither could it Ix.* kept from their quick eyes what the strength of the approaching force was. To await an attack or to advance with superior numbers was to give the Indians a chance to escape, and their wariness was known to all. Accordingly it was determined that General Custer should take such force as he thought the Indians, seeing hhn approach, would stand against awaiting its attack. He was convinced that the 7th Cavalry was as large a body as could be taken with safety, and was a match for twelve hundred Indians. He knew his men. 270 BOOTS AND SADDLES. and knew what he was doing. It was suggested that he should take a piece of artillery, but the scouts had described the bad lands over which they must march, and General Custer knew that artillerj' would hamper his movements besides increasing the apparent size of the command. He started with only his regiment, and the rest of the expedition halted to await the result. The ofllcers and men went out feeling certain that a light awaited them. If there had been but twelve hundred warriors, as there was every reason to sup- pose, the affair would have ended well ; but Indian reinforcements, covering a trail half a mile wide (as was learned after the battle), had come from the North, and in an opiwsite direction to that in which the Indians were going. Instead, therefore, of a thousand, the gallant 7ih Cavalry encountereil al>out five thousand Indians, who were embolilened by success in their battle in another depart- ment, and made even more venturesome by their increase of num- bers. General Custer calletl a hak as he approached the village, and summoning his ofllcers, explaineti to them his plan of att^ick, which was the same that had proved so succc^ssful in the battle of the "Washita, in the jirevious historj' of the regiment. lie offj.-red the leatl to that oflicer who should first report his comj)any ready for battle. In a few seconds one of the highest in rank received this desired honor. I>ividing the command into three detachments. General Custer led the body of his regiment in that linal charge, in which afterwards the line of battle of a ixjrtion could l>e traced by the dead men and horses as they fell at the post uf duty, and from which no man cscajK-d. ArPEXDIX. •niE YELLOWSTONE EXPEDITION OF 1873. Kit r act $ from Ixtlcra written by Oenrral Cutler to fUt W[fe during the Ex- peditioH to the Yeilowstone in 1873. [Many of the letter* from which the followinjr extracti are taken are very loDK. but so much uf f » . ;;ivo only tho*»» jvr.rti.tn* t' . uccji of a c:. •' ■ '. . I r«,; 1 ). lit of the Indian lif^tM. I have ^nlMtltated a copy of (ieneral Carter's official report to complete the at4>ry of the summer of 1S73.— E. II. C.J Camp on Ueart River, D. T., Jane M, VKM, When I may have an opportunity to wnd lliis. or when it may reach you. I ciumot toll; but I will have it ready, and when the first courier leaves he Khali carr)' these tidings to you. This is our sixth day out from Fort lUce. Wc reached this river yestenlay about noon, and arc remaining in camp to-day as it is somewhere in this lol 's messes each a quarter. I have not • The gencrara brother. APPENDIX. 273 only been fortunate enough to keep our own mess supplied wiili game every meal since we left Fort Rice, but have had quantities to send to the infantry officers, to the band, and to many of our own officers. Poor Fred and Tom ! They have accompanied me frequently — Fred always along — and yet neither of them has been able thus far to kill a single antelope. I tease them a great deal, for they use the Winchester ritle. It is remarkably accurate up to one Immlnd yards, and not so beyond that distance. You know when Tom takes a notion to get anything of mine how very iK.Tsi.slent he is. Well, his latest dodge is to obtain pos- session of my Springfield rifle, which I allow my orderly, Tuttle, to carry. Night before last he carried it off to his tent without saying anything about it ; but Tuttle slipped down while Tom was at breakfast and recui)tured the rifle I I wish you could have seen one of our hunting-parties coming into camp a few days ago, after a hunt of not more than four hours, in sight of the column all the time. My onlerlies and I h;ul four auteloiK* strapiHxl to our sjidtUes ; then came Captain F , with a fine, large buck strapped behind him and a saddle in his front, while his orderly was .similarly loaded ; then MeO and his or- derly, eaeh wiih a splendid antelope on his sjuldle, while others of the men who had accorapanietl me were well provided with game — except poor II . He and the four men of his company who went with us had ecpial chances with the rest, but they had nothing. The officers give II no rest now on the subject of antelope ; the last advice given him was that his only chance now is to spread his fish- net (which the ofllcers ridicule him for bringing into such a country lis this) and catch the antelojK* in that way! Tuttle killed two ante- loix* at one shot with my Springfield at pretty long range. Yesterday Fred and I had an exciting time with an elk that swam the river twice near us, but we only succeeded in wounding him before he got away to the bluffs beyond sight of the command, where we did not deem it prudent to follow him. I am glad that I posted myself with regard to taxidermy; for yesterday, after reaching camp, I devoted all the afternoon to pre- paring the head of the antelope I killed for preservation. The antlers the officers think the finest they ever saw. I have prepared 12^ 274 APPEXDIX. the entire head, and Uic skin of about one foot of the neck. 1 also have a beautiful set of elk antUrs that I hope to get through Siifely, I caiT}' them strapped on top of the ambulance of ^lar}', our cook. I do not tliink we are going to have any serious diflieulty with the Indians — at lea.st this is General llosser's opinion. lie thinks this expedition is too large and unwieldy to perform the dl'^ired work promptly, and I agree with him. There is an ofliccr temporarily detailed with the roniin:iiul who inspires my resiK'Ct because he reganls the wishes of his mother so highly. He has some fine rifies at home, but did not bring any with him, merely to plejLsc his mother, who feared that if he brought his guns along he would be tempted to wander off alone hunting. It is four days since I l»ogan this letter, but we have Ik'cu moving in the mean while, so that but little opportunity for writing has been allowed. With the ten companies of Ihc 7ih I started to join the engineers, leaving the infanlr}* and train to follow us. I marched thirty miles over a bad country, besides buililing a bridge over a stream thirty feet wide and ten feet deep. I suiH-rintended and planned it, and about one hundred and eighty men worked to complete it. About twenty men had to cross the stream before the bridge could be begun. An ollieer must go with them, so I detailed McI) and twenty of his men. They had to strip off and swim across. You ought to have heard the young officers on the bank booting at MeD when he wils i)reparing to lead the "light brigade" acro.ss the water! I built a bridge in al>out t^- . . i,,.ir «,ver which the whole command and wagon-train paiwel The officers have a gootl joke on Lieut. II . Nearly all of Ihem have killed antelope, so Mr. II concluded he must kill his. He Went out yesterday near the column and soon espied an antelope quietly lying in the grass about one hundred yards distant. Quickly dismounting from his horse, he crawled on the ground until near enough, as he thought, to kill it. Taking deliberate aim he fired, but the ball fell short a few feet; 3*et the antelope was not dis- turbed. This is not unusual. Again he took aim this time with great care, fired, and to his joy he j^aw the fur fly from the antelope. Never doubling but that he had given him a mortal wound, Mr. II leaped into his saddle and galloped up to the antelope to cut \ APPEXDIX. 275 Its throat. Imagine his disgtist to find that the antelope had been 'lead scvcnd days, and had already been taken possession of by the The oflicers will never let Lim bear the la«l of it. Vi ill, I have joined the engineers, and am bavin;:: such pleasant visits with G* ncral Hosser. We talk over our We.-it Point times and di«cus8 the battles of the war. I stretch the bulTalo-robc under the Jly of lh« ' "he and I, lyini; at full len^h, lii»ten . i s in which Ixjih had l>ome a part It seemed like the time when we were cadets togclh- < r. huddled on one blanket and di«cu.s8ing dreams of the future. ICoascr said the worst whipping he had during the war was the one I gave him the 0th of October, when I captured everything he had, including the uniform now at home in Monroe. He said that on th« llo was looking at us tlirough hU field gUi i\v and recognized IMC as plainly aM if I had been by ! it the head of my tr«»<»ps— all of which I remember— .»...i .........' .w^- to the attack. I{ovs«r Raid as soon as he rccogniiU'd me he sent for his brigade commanders and {Kiintcd me out to them, saying. " Do you sec that man in front with long hair? Well, that's Custer, and wo mutt bust him up today." "And M>." General Rosmt continued. " wo would haro done had you : ' us as wo thought you intended to; but instead of that you ^w| 1-^.. another column away around us. and my men soon \>c- gim calling out, * We're tlanked! we're llnnkeil!' then broke and mn, and nothing could stop them." Hosser wanted to meet you ai ih' tr • to his wife to try and see you iu Si. I'.iul, through. He too asked if you did not accomp:iny me uhno-^t cvery\\l - so you see what an extended nputatiou for cauipaiguiug you L..... And, do you know, he tells me he thinks I am anxious to get back to you. But I did not tell him that I was already counting the days. Ik:" ' ■' - ■ ' ^>e yesterday, two tlie da}* before, and two the I. ry made us a deliciou-s pot pie out of two curlew I shot. Whenever the subject of pot-pics comes up, Mr. Calhoun, Tom, and I at once begin txUking of the place where we 27G AITEXDIX. got the best pot-pics wc ever tasted. One will say, "I'll tell you where you can get the very nicest pot-pie you ever put in your mouth," and before he can go any further the other two will call out, "At mother's." I saw the most beautiful red-deer yesterday I ever have seen. It was a new species to me ; of the deepest red, as red as tlie n'ddcjJt cow you ever saw. I was loo far away to get a shot. All the oftlcers were up at my tent last niirht at twiliirht, sitting under the awning in front, all jolly, all guoil-humored, full of their jokes, and prouder than ever of the 7lh, as they moiUMly compared the regiment with the infantry. This letter of forty -four closely -written pagt^s would make a Galaxy article so far as its length goes ; suppose you send me a check for it as the Gitlnxy people do for theirs ? You must read a gocnl deal of it to mother, or tell Ik r of its con- tents, and say that this time this letter mu>t do for the family. I hojH) your going home will be a comfort to her and improve her health. Tell I> if she is going to come into the Custer family she must be prepared to receive Utile billet doux something the si/x; of this volume ! Tom says, "Tell Libbie I intended writing, but when I saw the length of this letter I knew that there wxs nothing left to tell her!" YcUowtftone River. Jaly 19, 1878. Well, here we are. encamped on the Iwinks of the far-famed and to you far distant Yellow^loncI How I have longcti to have you see. during our progress, what stems to me almost like another world. Truly can this interesting region be termed the " Wonder-land !" When the command arrived at what was supposeil to be a dis- tance of about lifttrn miles from the river, it Ix'camc necessary and important to ascertain where the steamboat with supplies that had come by river was locateossible to retnue our sl«i>s. as the sides of the iH":ik wir ■ ', ■ ...jj could n<»l luru about without gn-at danger < , . , >ls of feet. Asking tlie rest to wait a moment. I looked about and dLscovtTed a jiossible way out to our k'fl, i rock which lay in the path could bt- removed. U. ...... ....... Ix>ok out," ami uttering a few words of caution to Dandy, who sky bide leading to the valley, sometimei} taking hundn^ls of fe<'t at one plunge. The way being clear, a simple "Come on. Daixly," and wc look the advance, followed by the rest. We were well n-fKiid for our rUk and troijl«le by ilic gran- deur of the scenery that lay spread out beneath u I am making a rare c " ■ i of the fossils thui lur ci.uniry is rieh in — vegetalile and m. .I'cimens. I hope you will ajjprovc of my plan of disposal of them : I intend to give them to the college at Ann Arbor. What would you think to pxiss through thousands of acres of petritietl trees, some of which are twelve feet in diameter, with trunks and branches perfect ! The fallen trunks of some as they lie on the ground are so natural in grain and color, the oCicers are sometimes deceivetl and s^it down, thinking them but lately felletl. To return to my st^-arch for the steamboat. After struggling through the beds of deep caiions and climbing almost inaccessible peaks, we finally emerged into the valley of the Yellowstone. We 278 APPENDIX. were still obliged in crossing swales to struggle on by walking, lead- ing, climbing, and .stumbling, and after a ride of ten miles we came to where the boat was moored. Every one is congratulating F on getting the place I applied to Kosscr for, as a member of the party of engineers. He will get $G0 a month, and a prospect later of advancement and higher salary. It is such a pleasure when I can help young men who evince a dis- position to help themselves. I never forget those who gave mc my first encouragement in life. How I have wished that some of our home boys, who possess talent and education, but lack means and opportunity, would cast themselves loose from home and try their fortunes in this great enterprising western country, where the virtues of real manhood come quickly to the surface, and their possessor finds himself transformed from a mere boy to a full Hedged man al- most before he realizes his quick advancement. It is such a comfort to me to feel independent. Much as I dote on my profession, and earnestly as I am devoted to it, yet should accident cast mo adrift and I Im? thrown upon my own resources, I have not a fear but tliat energy and a willingness to put my shoulder to the wheel would carr}' mc through and with reasonable success. In this country, no man, particularly if motlerately educated, need fail in life if determined to succeed, F'O many and varied arc the avenues to honorable employment which open on all hands before him. The climate is perfect out here; not five men arc sick out of the whole ten troops, and one poor fellow who was al>out to be dis- charged before we left for disability, as he was thought to be in con- sumption, is now Well and does not desire his discharge. Though it is July we sleep under blankets constantly. Regarding the dogs, I find myself more warmly attached to Tuck than to any other I have ever owned. Did I tell you of her catching a full-grown antelope-buck, and pulling him down after a run of over a mile, in which she left the other dogs far behind? She comes to me almost every evening when I cm sitting in my large camp- chair, listening to the band or joining with the officers in conversa- tion. First she lays her head on mj* knee, as if to ask if I am too much engaged to notice her. A pat of encouragement and her fore- fcH?t are tlirown lightly across my lap ; a few moments in this post- APPEN'DIX. 279 urc and she lifts her hind feet from Ihe ground, and. great, over- fcTown dog that she is, quietly and gently disposes of herself on my Iai>, and at times will euddle down and sleep there for an hour at a time, until I become so tired of my charge that I am compelled to transfer her to motlier earth; and even then she resembles a well- < ired for and half-si)oiled child, who can ne%'er be induced to retire until it has been fondled to sleep in its mother's arms. Tuck will sleep so soundly in my lap that 1 can transfer her gently to the ground and slic will continue her slumber, like a little baby ■ V dejwsiled i •. As 1 write she is lying at my ft-cl. .....kcs up with :. . ,.. : jjcrson. I have just told Tom if he expects letters from you, he must write first. He answers that he would like to know what he can fmd to write "after she receives t):' ' ''-nyou." * ■ ' ■'••'"': that tlie eighty pages of tli. . cxljau* there is much I must leave untold. I am I' ' • - - .. J. Iiian of iJi,, ..: . .. . _ . .. .. . . , ...a lift Fort lUcc. 11 and I have our periodical ofBcial tussles, as u ual, but I see a great deal of him and like him better than ever. We have just parted with a mc!-' ' -^ •' ' .^ i;-; .. ,..»■> J- •>- ♦ a loss to us, fur he is a gossip but ; (outrar}'. He {Kxldles tiresome tales without meaning harm. Kvery- Ixxly in the 7ih C'aval: '••nd to his own busi- ni*ss and not meddle n\ , . -. You will scarcely credit what I am about to tell you, but it is an \: '<• fact: here we have been encamped for several days with 1'.. ,^^ 1-. .wid guards surrounding our camp for its protection. Our march here was over a stretch of wild, almost unknown countr}', suppoised to be infested with hostile Indians. Small parties were not deei;. ! ' beyond sight of our column, and yet t' ' v imagine our . ^ to see a plain white covered spriug-wa^ drawn by two mules and accompanied by a single individual, ap- proach our camj) from tlie > ■ • more than one week a l'' >. It proved to l>e the travell...- uf an humble priest, who, leaving Fort Rice seven days ago, traversed alone and unguided, ex- cept by our trail, through more than two hundred miles of hostile and dangerous country, fording rivers winding through deep and 280 APrEXDIX. almost impassable canons, toiling over mountains, at each step liable to be massacred by hostile Indians. The country was entirely new to him, he never having been west of Fort Rice before. He came believing he could be of spiritual benefit to many who would other- wise be wholly deprived of such comfort, lie carried no arms, adopted no special precautions for his safety, but with a simple and unpretentious cross reverently erected and borne above his travelling- wagon, he took his life in his hand and boldly plunged into the wilds of this almost unknown region, evidently relying upon Him who ruleth over all, to guide and protect him in his perilous journc}'. This to me is an act of Christian heroism and physical courage which entitles this humble priest to immeasurable honor and praise. Tellowstoiie River, above rowdor River, July 31, 1S73. . . . The Josephine is unloading her cargo about one mile below here, and leaves for Bismarck within an hour. We expected to have an opportunity to write letters to day, but as the boat receives five hundred dollars a day it is important to dii^charge her as soon as practicable. The command is not in camp yet. I took a squadron and started ahead to find a road. You have no idea what diflieulty we have, looking out a route through this country over which it is possible to move a train. Yesterday I took two companies and travelled about forty miles. Today we reached the Yellowstone at 9.30. AVc have been sleeping since (and it is now 4 p.m.) under the large trees standing on the river bank. I have just received one letter from you, and I think it is the first instalment only, for I hear there are seven sacks of mail on l)oard the boat. I am sorrj' I am compelled to write under such hurried circumstances. I am lying on the ground, using my horse-blanket for a desk. Official Report of the Eugayanetitt tcith Indiana on tJie Ath and Wth uUiino. Copy. llead-qnarters Battalion 7th Cavalry, Pompey's Tillar, Yellowstone River, Montana, Anjj. 15, lb73. Acting Assistant Adjutant-general Yelloicstonc Expedition : Sm, — Acting under the instructions of the Brevet-major-general commanding, I proceeded at five o'clock, on the morning of the 4th ArPEN'DIX. 2,91 instant, with one squadron of my ("niinand, numbering about ninety men, to explore a route over which the main cohimn could move. Having reached a point on the Yellowstone River, near the mouth of TonLHie River, and several miles in advance, and while wailing the arrival of the forces of the expedition, six mounted Sioux dashed boldl}' into the skirt of timber within which m}' command had halted and unsad«llc*d, and attempted to stampede our horses. Fortunately our vedettes d)>iCovered the approach of the Indians in time to give the alarm. A few well-directcil shots soon drove the Indians to a safe distance, where they kept op a series of yells, occa- sionally firing a few shots. As soon as lljc B(ain Moylan to move out in pursuit, at the same time I moved with the troops in advance, conimancicd by First Lieuten- ant T. W. Custer. Following the Indians at a brisk gait, my sus picions became excited by the confident bearing exhibited by the six Sioux in our front, whose course seemed to lead us near a heavy growth of timlxT which stootl ak)ng the river bank above us. When almost within rille mnge of thb* timlx-r, I directed the .<^C|uatlron to halt, while I with two orderlii*s, all being wtll mountrd, c«)ntinued after the Sioux in onJer to develop their intentions. I^rcxxttling a few hni)(lreer to my left. I halted. The hjx Indians in my front also halted, as if to temi>t further pursuit. Finding all efforts in this direction una%'uiling. their plans and intentions were (|uickly made evident, as no sooner w:is it seen tkit we intendetl to advance no farther, than with their characteristic howls and yells over three hundred well-mounted warriors dashed in i)erfect lino from the edge of the timlxr. and chargetl down upon Captain Moy- lan's s(|uadrou, at the same time endeavoring to intercept the small party with me. As soon as the speed of IIm^ thoroughbred on which I was mounted brought me within hailing distance of Lieutenant Custer's troop, I directed that oflicer to quickly throw forward a dismounted lii>e of troopers, and endeavor to empty a few Indian saddles. The order was obeyed with the greatest alacrity, and as the Sioux came dashing forward, expecting to ride down the squad- ron, a line of dismounted cavalrymen rose from the grass and de- livered almost in the faces of the warriors a volley of carbine bullets which broke and scattered their ranks in all directions, and sent 283 ArrEXDIX. more than one Sioux reeling from his saddle. This check gave U8 time to make our dispositions to resist the succeedinj^ attacks, which we knew our enemies would soon make upon us. The great supe- riority of our enemies in numhers, the long distance separating us from the main command, and the belief, afterwards verified, that the woods above us still concealed a ixjrlion of the savage forces, induced me to confine my movcmcnls, at first, strictly to the de- fensive. The entire sipiadron (except the horse holders) was dis- mounted and ordered to light on foot. The Indians outnumbering us almost five to one were enabled to envelop us completely between their lines, fonncd in a semicircle, and the river which flowed at our backs. The little belt of timl>er in which we had been first at- tacked formed a verj- gcKxl cover for our led horses, while the crest of a second Lablcland, convenieuily located from the timber, gave us an excellent line of defence. The length of our line and the numbers of the enemy paventetl us from having any force in rc- wrve ; every available ollieer and man was on the skirmi.sh-line, wliieh was in reality our line of battle, even the number of men holding horses had to be rtHJuced, bo that cjich horse holder held eight horses. Until the ludixins were made to taste (piile freely of our lead they displayed unusual boldness, "frequently charging up to our line and firing with great delilx^ration and accuracy. Captain Moylan exercised command along the entire hue ; Lieutenant Cus- ter commanded the centre; my adjutant. Lieutenant James Calhoun, commanded the right ; luid Lieutenant Charles A. Varnum. the left. The first Indian killi'd w;is shot from his pony by " Bloody Knife," the Crow who acted as my guide and scout. Soon after Private Charles P. 3Iiller, of *' A " troop 7lh Cavalr}', succeeded in sending a carbine bullet directly througli the body of a chief who liad been conspicuous throughout the engagement. At the same time it was known tliat our firing had dbyibled many of their ponies, while ow- ing to our sheltered position the onl}* damage thus far inflicted upon us was one man and two horses wounded, one of the latter shot in three places. Finding their clTorts to force back our line unavailing, the Indians now resorted to another expedient. By an evidently preconcerted plan they set fire in several places to the tall grass which covered the ground in our front, hoping by this means to force us back to APPENDIX. 283 the rear, and thus flnUh us at their pleasure. Fortunately for us there wa« no wind prevailiu;? at the liinc, while the grass wu;i scarce- ly dry enough to bum rapidly. Taking advantage of the dense cur- tiiin of snj ' ' "■ h rose from th- ' : xss, the Indians, by following t : -c of the llunie, < < outrive to obtain a shot at us at comparatively cIoim; range; but my men, obeerving that there was no dangcT to be apprehended from the slowly ad- vancing flames, could fre<|uenlly catch an opportunity to iJond a shot throii;;h a brt'ak in the curtain of smoke, and in thiii way sur- prif^xl the Indian by the adoption of hb* own device. Tlu- ? '■' ' was waged w * ' un- til near iic Indians t(* . ;- ing iinHucces-sful. The IndiauH liad become extremely wear}-, and had almoMt dirtconi i ive uio' when my ammuni- tion ran low. i <. .^. ., .. ant the nj i and charge the In- dian.**, with the intention of driving them from the field. Captain Moylau promptly had his men in the saddle, and throw- ing forwanl tv. * ' ■ ' > • under Lit-utenanl Var- num, thecntir' _ a trut. No HtHjntr did the Indians distx'm our intent i deitpito their superiority in numbers, they cov t. in wli ;':inition they were greatly li..>. !. .., I'.M'sft^^,. tliarg'tl them and drovi- them .1 " for 11. i. Five ponies killed or bddly wounded were left on the battle- grtmud or :' ' '' '* "' '* '" " ' .forced to lliHi th:u ^ arms, haddle eositiou and nunilx rs wouM liave iK-en with them. So far as the troops attacked were concerned, the Indians, to off- 284 APPENDIX. set their o"\\'n heavy losses, had been able to do us no damage except to wound one man and two horses ; but unfortunately two non-com- batants, Veterinary Surgeon John Ilonsinger, 7th Cavalry, and Mr. Baliran, of Memphis, Tenn., in endeavoring to come from the main column to join the squadron in advance, were discovered by the In- dians during the attack, and being unarmed were overtaken and killed almost within view of the battle-ground. Fortunately the In- dians were so pressed as not to be able to scalp or otherwise muti- late the remains. On the 8th instant we discovered the trail of a large village, evi- dently that to which the party that attacked us on the 4th belonged. The course of the trail led up the Yellowstone, and apparently was not more than two days old. Acting under the authority of the Brevet-major-general commanding, I ordered my command, consist- ing of four squadrons of tlie 7th Cavalry, in readiness to begin the pursuit that night. The Brevet-major-general also directed the de- tachment of guides and Indian scouts under Lieutenant Daniel II, Brush, 17th Infantry, to report to me for temporary' service. Leav- ing all tents and wagons behind, and taking with us rations for seven days, we started in pursuit at ten o'clock on the night of the 8th instant, having waited until that hour until the moon should enable us to follow the trail. Following the trail as rapidly as the rough character of the country would permit, daylight next morning found us nearly thirty miles from our starting-point. Concealing horses and men in a ravine, a halt of three hours wa.** ordered to enable the horses to graze and the men to obtain refreshments. Benewiug the march at eight o'clock, the pursuit was continued without hailing until noon, when, to avoid discovery, as well as to obtain needed rest for men and animals, it was decided to conceal ourselves in the timber, and await the cover of night to continue the pursuit. Starting out at 6,30 r,M,, the trail was followed rapidly for six miles, when, to our disappointment, we di.scovered that the Indians had taken to the river, and crossed to the east side. In following their trail to this point it was evident that the movement of the In- dians was one of precipitate flight, the result of the engagement on the 4th. All along their trail and in their camping-places were to be found large quantities of what constitutes an Indian's equip- ments, such as lodge -poles, robes, saddle equipments, arms, and APPENDIX. 285 cooking utensils. In a hastily abandoned camp-ground nearly two hundred axes, besides a great many camp-kettles and cups, were found. My entire command was diioint is about si.x hundred yards wide. At early dawn the entire command forded the river to an island located about the middle of the channel ; but our difliculties in the way of crossing here began, as the volume of water and the entire force of the current were to be encountered Ixtween the island and the opposite bank — the cur- rent here rushes by at a velocity of about seven miles an hour, while the depth of the water was such that a horse attempting to cross would be forced to swim several hundred yards. Still, as we knew the Indians had not tliscovered our pursuit, and were probably lo- cated within easy striking distance of the river, it was most desira- ble that a crossing should be effccteil, To accomplish this, Lieuten- ant Weston, 7lh Cavalry, with three accomplisluxl swimmers from the command, attempted to cross on a log-ruft, cany'ing with them a cable made of lariats. The current was so strong that Lieutenant "Weston's ])arty were unable to effect a landing, but v;ere swept down the river nearly two miles, and then forced to abandon the raft and swim to shore. Lieutenant Weston, with characteristic perseverance and energy, made reiK-aled attempts afterwards to carry the cable over, but al- though succeeding in reaching the opposite bank in person was un- able to connect the cable with the shore. Almost the entire day was siwut in these unsuccessful efforts, until Iinally a crossing in this manner had to be abandonetl. I then caused some cattle to be killed, and by stretching the hides over a kind of basket-frame prepared by the Crow guide, made what are known among the Indians as bull-boats; with these I hoped to be able to connect a cable with the opposite bank at daylight next morning, but just at sunset a small party of Indians were seen to ride down to the bank opposite us and 286 APPENDIX. water their ponies. They discovered our presence, and at once Iiaist- ened away. Of course it was useless now to attempt a surpri>e, and the intention to cross the river the following morning was abandoned. At early dawn the next day (the 11th instant), the Indians ap- peared in strong force on the river bank opposite us, and opened a brisk fire upon us from their rilles. No attention was paid to them until encouraged by this they had collected at several points in full view, and within range of our rifles, when about thirty of our best marksmen, having posted themselves along the bank, ojxiied a well- directed fire upon the Indians and drove them back to cover. In the mean time strong i»arti<.*s of Indians were rrix)rled by our pickets to l)c crossing the river below and alK)ve us, their ponies and themselves Ix-ing so accustomed to the river as to render this opera- tion quite pnicticable for them. Captain French, commanding the right wing, was directeil to watch the parti' ''ig IhIow, while Colonel Hart, commanding the U-ft wing, ihi- ice to discharge this duty with regard to parties crossing above. It would have been possible, perhaps, for us to have prevcntctl the Indians from cflTect- ing a crossing, at least when they did, but I was not only willing but anxious that as many of them should come over as were so die- posed. They were soon reported as moving to the bluffs immediate- ly in rear of us from the river. Lieutenant Brush was directed to employ his scouts in watching and n*i>orting their movements— a duty which they discharged in a thorough manner. While this was transpiring I had mounted my command and formeil it in line close under the bluffs facing from the river, where we quietly waitctl the attack of the Indians in our front. The sharp- ebooting across the river still continued, the Indians having collected some of their 1" - ' • ^ -ntly armed with long-range rifles — and were attein; ir men back from the water's edge. It was at this time that my standing onlerly, Private Tuttle, of "E" troop. Tth Cavalry, one of the Ik'sI marksmen in my command, took a sporting Springfield rifle and posted himself, with two other men, behind cover on the river bank, and began picking off the Indians as they exposetl themselves on the opposite bank. He had obtained the range of the enemy's position early in the morning, and was able to place his shots wherever ile.»ired. It was while so engaged that he observed an Indian in full view near the river. Calling the atten- APPENDIX- »7 tion of his comnulc to the fact, he asked him "to \ratch him drop that Indian," a feat which he feuececded in performing. Several other Indians rushed to tin- a3>i3tanci.' (»f tlK-ir falk-n comrade, when l*rivutc Tullle, hy a skilful and rapid use* of his breech-loading Springfield, Kuccteded in killing two olber warriors. The Indians, enraged no doubt at lhi8 rough liaiu - • i .1 > ^j |,y ^ rifle buUcl. He was one of the most u ^n who ever ?er>(-ntl Hurt was ordered to push a line of tl. d nun to the cn-st, and prevent the further ad- vance of the enemy towards the nver. This duty was handsomely performed by a p<.>rtion of Caj'' " ' " i. Coloi had posted Lieutenant Chark'^ > , men on :, knoll which commanded our k*ft. * this party the Indians made their first t^n"-!:! tight. At : !y of warriors, mimbcr- in: '^'' '" • ' '^ '!, nxlc \ ■■ ''-"y v r.i. ,.f T ;^u. U... :i, whtu , red such a wel)-dirt*eli>d lire that the Indians were driren rapidly from tit ' ' ' ' 1, after liaving evidently suffered coQsiderableloMc I > K-uteuant Uraden received a rifie-boll through the upiH-r part of the thigh, {lassing directly through the bone, but he nuintaini-d his pl>^iti••Il with great gallantry and coolue«B until be had repulsed the enemy. Iluudreils of Indians were now to be seen galloping up and down along our front, each moment becoming bolder, owing to the timallness of our force whkh was then visible. Believiii *' ' ' r.rrived to assume the offen.sive, orders to I. '>■ *=^*"l ^*^ Colonel llart and Cap- tain French, the two wing commanders. Lk'Uteuant Weston wa« directed to move his troop " L " up a deep ravine on our kft, which would convey him to the enemy's position, and as soon as an oppor- tunity occurred he was to charge them, and pursue the Indians with all the vigor practicable. Immediately after. Captain Owen Ilalc was directed to move his sp to the tune of " Gar- ry o wen," iJie kind i . in rear of the .skirmish line. The Indians had evidently come out prepared to do their best, and with no mi :is to tlieir success, as the mounds and high bluffs beyond i... i.^r were covered with groups of old men, Njuaws, and children, who had collected there to witness our de- struction. In tJiis instance the proverbial iK)wer of music to soothe the savage breast utterly failed, for no sooner did the l^and strike up the ches to Indians. The arms with which they fuught UB (8e%*enil of which were captured in the fight) were of the latest Improvetl paltt-ms of breech loadin:.' iflca, and their sup- ply of metallic rifle cartridges seem' i. as Ihey were any- thing but sparing in their use. 80 amply have they been supplied with breech loading riflco and ammunition that neither bows nor arrows wcrt- employed against us. As an evidence that iUvm: In- dians, at lea^l many of them, were recently from the Missouri Iliver agencies, we found proviitions, such as coffee, in their abandoned can ' ' .... -■ . . . . . ^.j., vaii : ith them across tho river for nearly an hour before the fight became giuerul. and satisfied them.selves as to the identity of their f I only regret that it was impossible for my command to effect u * ;. .. ing of the river before our presence was discovered, and while the hostile village was located near at hand, as I am confident that wo could have largely reduced the necessity for appropriation for In- dian supplii*s the coming winter. . . . The losses of the Indians in ponies were particularly heavy, while we know their losses in killed and wounded were beyond all propor- tion to that which they were enal»led to inflict upon us, our losses being one officer badly wounded, four men killed, and three wound- ed : four horses killed and four wounded. Careful investigation justifies the statement that including both 13 290 APPENDIX. days' battle?, the Indians' losses will nuinlur forty warriors, while tht'ir wounded on the opposite bank of the river may increase thia number. Respectfully submitted. (Signed) G. A. Custeii, Lieutenant-colonel 7th Cavalry, Brcvct-majorgcueral, U. S. A., commanding. ** Stockade" on th« Yellowstone/ Sept eml>er A, 18T3. ... 1 know you will n'joiee when your eyes fall upon the date Qnd heading of this letter, and you learn thai we are thus far on our homeward journey, nil safe and well. This letter is to be a enoRT one (after having finished the letter I underscore the word), a.s it ):■■ ■ ' • ' n decided a few I - — • ' . -.~jj three of our In- '. iom here to Fort i 1 and twi-nty miles distant by river, only eighty by land — with mail, and to bring back \>-iiat awaits un in return. As there arc many oflkial matters for me to attend to between now and to morrow morning— tJ»e time of the departure of the scouts — I do not hope to give you but the main |x)ints of a letter, the details to be filled up by word of mouth. I am here with six companies of cavalry, havi: • j from llie main expei : r, and marched to lliis point direct, a distance of about one hundred and • mil<*s. The mules of the large tr 'an giving out; forage V... almost exhaustf-d, the horses U..... Aved only about three pounds per day, fourteen pounds being regular allowance. The country was entirely unknown; no guides knew anything of llie r ' ' ' - us. Grneral did not think it wise to venture into n and uninviting region with his command. But I did not feel inclined to yield to obstacles, and made an application to lake the main portion of the cavalry and strike through for the stock- ade direct instead of turning back. I asked that the railroad engin- eers be allowed to continue with me. Con.sonl was given and we started. At head-.; - :. ■ ' :; v 1 :!. ,• I -. • - -Ij. So strong w..- ..; r — -."n ;^i r. m ih'- I'lln i.il ■ iay movement there was a chiuse authorizing mc to burn or abandon all AITENDIX. 291 my wagmis or other public property, if, in my opinion, such steps were ueceesary to preserve life. I could not help but smile to myself as I read that portion of the onler. I had no idea of burning or ab.i ' ■ -'awagon. After we had sepu. ' '' *' ' :nn, ill" I the engineers remarkt-d to I; i ily sanguine the general i^ that he will make this trip succt^ssfully." And so I was. I assured him from the first, and from day to day. that the 7lh Cavalry would bring them throu<;h all right. We had the good luck to strike across and encounter, instead of serious ob- stacles, the mo«t favorable country yet met by us for marching. Hitherto we had made a!>oul fifteen miles ]■ ^ ' - . when we btartcil on this irij) we marched twoiity-lwo milt- _■ and thirty- live tlie next, an.ad«tl with foni;:e U> ( t!j«* r-^t of i!n' rf>m- mand. Our . \\.- fludl U Ki coin, a:.-. ... ne arc any the wiser, for the simple reason that I have not decided the matter yet in the case of a single troop. It is a delicate, and in some respects an undesirable task, as all. so far as 1 know, desire to go to Fort Lincoln. If no accident occurs, wc shall reach there before October Isl — less than a month from this date, and j ' ' ' ' "' n ten days from the time you receive this, so that all . . juI me will be at an end. I do not * Thla referecc* is to hlmMlC 293 xrrESDix. mtcnd to relax my caution on the march Ix'twccn here and Lincoln, as I do not forget that the two ofticcrs killed last year met their deaths near the close of the expedition. I think I told you in my Utter of eighty jxijcs abont my chasing elk four miles and killing thR'C. Since then I have had the good- fortune to kill a tine large buck-elk taller than " Dandy."* weighing, cleaned, eight hundred pounds, and with the handsomest pair of antlers I ever .«aw, and such a beautiful coot, I killed him only a mile and a half from camp, sent ft»r a wagon, and carrieil him entire back with us, when the ofticcrs and men, and even those belonging to the scientitic party, flockeil to the gmss^' plot in front of my tent to ^e him. The photographer who accompanied IIk? scientista hitched op his photograph-wagon antl drove over to take a picture of what they called the "King of the Forest." AH the onictrs and the pholog- rij»lur insistctl that not only tlic game but the huntir should api)car in t lie picture. So I ^t down, drcaecd as 1 waa in my buclc^kinB, resting one hand on an antler, and you may judge of the immense size of the elk when I tell you that an I Rat Iherr my bead only reached to al)out half the height of the antlers. The picture is to form one of the scries now being collected on the expedition under the auspices of the Smiths<)nian Institute. t>incc the exiKiliiion starteti I have become acquainted with the gentlemen of the scientific corpf», particularly with the zoologist and the taxidermist. The latter lias l)een kind enough to make me a pupil of his. and I can now presen'c animals for all practical pur- poses. I have Ixx'n able to supply the gentlemen referred to with many specinH-ns of animals, and, in return, tl>ey have not only tiuight me but supplied me with all the means necessary to prescnre preivirtd animals. You should sec how very devoted I am to Ihis, to mc, verj' pleas- ant and interesting pastime. Often, after marching all day, a light may be seen in my tent long after the entire camp is asleep, and a looker-on might see me, w ith sleeves rolled above the elbow, busily engaged preparing the head of some animal killed in the chase. As- sisting me might be seen tlic orderly and Iluglies, both, from their * Uia (ATorite kuntlos bor»*. APPEN'DIX. 298 sleepy loob?, seeming to say, "How much longer arc ttc to be kept out of our beds?" I have succeeded so well in taxidermy that I can take the head &n<\ ' f an antelope, fresh from the body, and in two hours have it 1 . ly for preservation. I liavc prepared a most beautiful buck-anU*lo|)e head and neck for Tom, He intends it for his sweet- heart, and will send it by express from Bismarck. I have just fini^ed heads for two ofliccrs, which they intend as presents for their wives, and one I shall give to the Audubon Club. Then I have the headn of two bUcktailed deer, of a buck and doc antelope for us, and the hernl n: ! ' ' ' !i claws of a grLsly-bear. The latter is not thoroughly cui' > our constant marching and the immense amount of fat contained in the neck and hide. The n€ ptuf ' : of the Forest.'' I have succeeiled inprcisc: . . head, nwk. body, legs, and hixjfs — in flue condition, so that lie can be mounted and look exaftly at im life. To prevent the hair lx*ing rubbed, I have caused the head to be well covered with graioHnck*. ajuI this, with the entire skin, to be •ewed up securely in conrfts. The scientists informed mc tliat there were but few specimens on this continent of elk preterrcd en' ! none so fine u mine. When I flfit began work on it I < udcil to aare the head. neck, and antlers, but finding that I was able to save the whole, I decided \i\mm\ the latter course. Had I kept the head and neck only, it was intended for you; but hnv • - =• tniplele alten^ my intention, as it would require a room t" i it. Sj I have concluded, with your approval, to present it to the Audubon Club in Detroit* I have a tine buffalo head for you, beautifully haired and with symmetrical horns. A pair of sage-chickens, a pair of curlew, un J a jack-rabbit complete my presi'ut collection. . . . One day I sliot three antelope without ehauu'ii^g my poesiiiou, the nearest of the three being three hundred uud twenty yards from me. Our mess continues to be successful. Nearly every day we have something nice to send to Lieutenant Braden.f Only think of him, • It is uow iu Detroit. t Lieuteuant Bradco was woaudcdin tb« iMtUe descrKMd hi tbeofflcial report which aocoropaules this letter. 294 APPEXDIX. with his shattered thiirh, having to trail over a rough country for three hundred miles! lie is not transported in an ambulance, but a long stretcher arranged on wheels about thirty feet apart, pulled and pushed by men on foot. They carry him nmch more steadily than would horses or mules. It reriuires a full company of men each day to transport Mr. liraden in this way. He is with the main com- mand, but was doing well when we left. The day the command divided I had the band take a position near the route wlu-re the rpst of the expedition would pass, and when he and his escort approached they struck up "Qany'owen." lie acknowledged the attention as well as he could. Upon our arrival here what w:ls our joy to find quite a largo mail awaiting us! It had been forwarded from Uicc and Lincoln to Fort Buford, and from there came here by scouts, I reccivcti four letters from you. . . . Do you know, on the 4th of August — the ver\* day you were writing mc one of tin It ttrrs I receivetl — I was fighting, probably at the some tim< \fti r I received my four letters I threw myself down on the Ud to read them. When any one poked his heatl inside my large and comfortable tent, and ventureer, I could now cover five times five and then only have begun my letter, but where the time is to Ix; found I cannot tt^-11. We are just taking the men across the river on the Josephine, which arrived yesterday. My head - quarters and about half the troops arc over, the rest will have followed by night. As Shel- don & Co., publishers of the Gahtxij, siiy, I am going to "boil down " this letter to as many brief allusions as passible. Instead of waiting here for the rest of the command to move, to- morrow will lind us on our way to Lincoln. I take six tro(»ps of the Tlh, two companies of infantry, and with the engineers hct out on our return. We rely confidently on reacliing Lincoln before APPENDIX. 2W October 1st. The reports brought by those \vho came on the boat phicc everything in a bright light regarding our new quarters at Lincoln. I think we will have a charming giirrison this winter. I wi^h we liad some one competent to give us lessons in private thealric-als. I learn by the boat that Department Headquarters have telegraphed to Liufohi that it is possible I may wish t ' long leave. They almost take it for granted I will go, but 1 Do you remem- ber, on my return from the Washita campaign, I was offered a leave in a similar manner ? I have no desire to be absent from my post now. . . . I have enjoyed a few ver}* great luxuries today. At dinner, on the Jo$fphiiu, for the first time this season (September 10th) I tasted new i>olatoes and cucumbers; but these were not tl What do you imagine was a greater luxury? H.\.\. ■ ^ 1 1 ! 1* Even at this great distance I almost tremble when I inform you that I not only had onions for dinner, but the captain of (he boat gave me a whole bushel of fine large ones. I suppeil on UAW ONIONS; I will prolmbly breakfast, lunch, and dine on them to- morrow, and the next day. and the day after ad Ubitum ad infinitum, until— not time, but onions — sliall !x? no more. A ' I dis- poM of each goodly -sized fragment uf a huge oni i :x, $otto tKXt," Qo it, old fellow ! Make tlie moot of your liberties! You are on the home -stretch now, and school soon • ' in other wonls, " If you inteiv? »"•>» r"v ,,.;,,,, ,;,.-... , limr. f"r 'missus is comin*.' " 1 would be glad to have every one of the ofliccrs now with mo F' ''■ 1 at my iw)st. Myrel •' ••■'•'- • - • il and ofllcial, rinely agreeable. Th- ng to Lincoln, but I know some of them will have to be disappointed. . . . The steamer Josrphine will proljably leave for Lincoln to morrow or next day, and should reach there in four or five days, so that you should receive this letter in about one week. . . . The steamer brought me two splendid letters from you, one dated the 18lh, an- other the 25th of Aiftnist. I received them on the 9th, which is pretty quick, considering. . . . * I bare coi>ied the xrorUa as he pdiited Ibem. 296 APrEXDIX. My collection of geological specimens for the Michigan University is growing satisfactorily. The Indian battles hindered the work of collecting, while in that immediate region it was unsafe to go far from the command. , . . PS. — Good-moming! . . . I am sitting in my large, comfortable tent, writing before breakfast. And now I must refer to a matter which thrusts itself upon my attention almost daily, yes, hourly, and that is the great degree of comfort which I have enjoyed through- out this long and ever-changing march; and it is all due to your thoughtfulness and foresight, and the manner in which you fitted me up surpasses all my comrades. No mess has compared with mine in its appointments and outfit. I have the best cook, and certainly no bed can equal mine. "Whenever I look around me I see the evi- dences of your handiwork and care for my welfare. . . . You never knew people more enthusiastic over the 7th than the engineers connected with the railroad party. . . . AVell, I must ter- minate this letter, as I see no likelihood of my being able to tell you one-tenth of w hat I have to say. However, we will have all winter in our "brand, spankin'" new house to talk it over and over. . . . Here I have reached my thirty-second page of this large paper, I only thought of writing three or four, and have "boiled down " as bard as I could. . . . Fort Lincoln, September 23, 1573. . . . Where are the numerous bridges now which you have been crossing and recrossiug in regard to our return being delayed until late in October, perhaps until the first of November? Well, here we are, not only "as good as new," but, if anything, heartier, healthier, and more robust than ever. I have not drawn a single unhealthy breath since we started on the expedition, and if ever a lot of hard}', strong, and athletic young fellows were as-sembled in one party, it is to be seen in a group of the officers of the Tth, What a history and reputation this 7th Cav- alry has achieved for itself! Although a new and young regiment, it has left all the older fellows in the lurch, until to-day it ia the best and most widely known of any in the service, I am provoked to think I wrote you a long letter on the Yellow- APPENDIX. 297 stone, also a telegram, and intrusted them to an officer who was to take passage in the steamer JoMphine, and leave about the time we did. It should have reached here several days before we arrived, but I took six troops of cavalry and the engineers, crossed the Yel- lowstone to this side, and reached Fort Lincoln in eight days. We took everybody by surprise, and beat the steamer here, so that your letter and telegram are still on the boat somewhere between this point and the stockade. You may rely upon it that no grass grew under our feet on our return march. I knew that my family — consisting of one — was in advance somewhere, and, as the saying is, I just "lit out." ♦ I am so comfort^ibly fixed in my large, heavy canvas railroad tent that was given me on the expedition, I am sure that you and I could live comfortably in it all winter. I am much pleased with the api>earancc of tlic citizens who have come across the river from Bismarck to pay their respects and offer congratulations on the summer's campaign. Some of the Yankton gentlemen are here attending court, and they also came over to see me. I have just had a telegram from General Sheridan: "Welcome home." Furl Lincoln, September 2S, 1S73. . . . When you liiui that 1 ijavc just sent the 7th Cavalry band to serenade on his departure, you will say to yourself, "He has been too forgiving again." Well, perhaps I have. I often think of the beautiful expression uttered by Prc>idrnt Lincoln at the conse- cration of the Gettysburg monument, and feel how nearly it expressea my belief, " With malice toward none, with charity for alll" and I hope this will ever be mine to »ay.f • Here follows n de?cription of Port Lincoln. His ean^ine temperament made it seem little short of au earthly paradii>e. He did not seem to realize that the profaic and plain Government building^s were placed on a treeless and barren plain. lu a carefully prepared plan of our house which he had drawn, he gave the dimensions and description of ench room, and over the door of his library a triple underlining of his word.*, "MY ROOM," and the motto, "Who enters here le.ives hope behind." He thus began, before we had even occupied the boose, playfully to threaten any one who disturbed his writing or studies. t The officer to whom reference is made had been a i)er8i8tent and exasperat- iag enemy of my husband during the summer, and I could not forget or forgive, 13* 298 APrEXDIX. Adopting your wise and deserved suggestion, I Lave at last written my long delayed letter to Mr. Ford, and among other things told him I would send him per express the skins of two young elk that I killed, to have them tanned, and a pair of shoes made for each of us. 80, you see, I did as I generally do, obeyed my " other half," who nine times out of ten is right, and generally the tenth time, too. During a halt of two days, ju.st before we started for home, I wrote a long Galaxy article, and shall mail it with this. Not only did I do that instead of resting, because of the appeals of the magazine editors, but it lx?hooved mc to get off my contributions with some regularity; for if I stop now, those who attribute them to you would fy\y all the more it was because you were not along to do the work for me. If people only knew the nmuscmcut they have afforded us by laying the responsibility of these articles on your shoulders. I must not forget to tell you that during the expedition 1 killed with my rille and brought into camp forty-one anteloi)o, four buffa- lo, four elk, seven deer (four of Ihcm black-tails), two white wolves, and one red fox. Geese, ducks, prairie-chickens, and sagc-hcns without number cora- pletetl my summers record No one a&sistcd mc in killing the antelope, deer, or elk, except one of the latter. One porcupine and a wildcat I brought in alive. Both of these amiable creatures I intend to send to Central Park. . . . LETTERS FROM THE DLACK HILLS, 1574. The following Extracts art taken from Letttrs Metit from the ^ipedition to tite JMack UilU, rtj'errtd to in Chapter XX. Tlilrleen Miln from Fort Unoiln, July 8, 1874. . . . Yesterday waa a hanl day on the tnun-i^. The recent rains had so softened the ground that the heavily-loaded wagons sunk to the hubs, and instead of getting in camp by noon as wc expected, one battalion did not get in until after dark. But wc had a good even after apologies were offered, eypecially a« they were not oflTered in the prea- «Dce of others. APPENDIX- dlnncr. and every one is fecliDg well this morning. I am making a late start in order to give the mules a chance to graze. I send you by bearer a young curlew, as a playmate to the wild- goose. *-' ': ii live, its wings had better be clipped. Grasshoppers arc \i» I . i diet. Our mess is a great success. La^^t night, notwithstanding the late hotir at which we reached camp, John.>ion, our new coloreti cook, had hot biiicuit, and this morning hot cakes and biscuit. We will not be over twenty or twenty-flve miles from the post to-night. The men are standing around waiting to take down the tents, so I must •ay good bye. Protpecl V«ney, Dftkuta, Twdre miles fh>in tbe Muduim Hue, Jiilj ISib. . . . We are makiiii: a halt of one day at Ihi " in order to rest the animals and give the men an o; , ..... .^: dAi their clothes. I will begin by saying ever)'thmg is and has been perfectly sat isf actor}-. Every one— officers, men, and citizens — are In the best of health and Kpirits. Wc liave marclutl through an cxcccdyigly interesting countr}'. We are now m the moMt beautiful valley wc have seen thus far, and encami' ■•mall Irl" ' " " ' Minsouri, an ' Ivo miles li hitler, r place seem ■ iien we flrst came in sight of it. I directed the enginecrofflocr, who ia making a m.tp of the country, to call it I*ro«pt*cl Valley. ThriH* days ago we reached the cave referrvd to, before we started, by the Indian calkxl " (joobc." It was found to be about four hun- dred feet long, and just as he described, the walls and top covered with it! IS and drawings. The prints of hands and feet are also in ..<«. I think this was all the work of Indians at an early day, although I cannot satisfactorily account for the drawings of ships found there. "Bos,"* though this is his first expempt. We breakfast at four o'clock evrry moniinir. Kvtn' day I invile some officer to dine with us I renunilxr your wishes and ride at the hcatl of the column, keeping inside our lines all the time, although it is a great depriva- tion to me not to go outside and hunt. I feel exactly like some young lady extremely fond of dancing, who, having a cold, has been forbidden by her an.xious mamma to do more than look on at some eleg:iut i)arty. I receiveil my orders from my commanding oflicer before starting, and I am going to trj' and render strict obedience. f * Thb was oar yoans TUitor, whoee borror qf tiiAkes General Caster well kuew. t This reference to commanding offlcer meant bis wife, whose anthority only extended to precautionary ineiroctioas as to bis safety and health. The reiter** ted petition was tbat be choold never leore the colamn alone. 302 APPENDIX, ... In looking for a road I sometimes get a mile or perhaps two ahead of the command, but I always have seventy or eighty men with me, and after to-day I mean to take in addition two more companies. I have no intention of getting beyond sight and hear- ing of the main column. There is an advance-guard always, and the Indian scouts at the front and on the Hanks. . . . I have killed six antelojic at the head of the command. . . . Only think! onc-fifili of the time expired day before yesterday, and by the time this reaches you one-third of our time of separation will have passeil. We will not be delayed in our return later than I cxi)ected when we left Fort Lincoln. . . . As I write, the dogs surround me : " Cardigan " is sleeping on the edge of my bed, '* Tuck " at the head, and " BlUchcr " near by. . . . I am not certain whether I will be able to send back more scouts or not. This mail is to Ix; carried by two Hees, IJull Hear and Skunk's Head, liloody Knife is doing splendidly on this trip. There is not a single man on the sick rejHirt in this entire com- mand—a fact which the medical ollicer regarils as uni)recedenteil. . . . "NVe will move into the valley of the Little Missouri to-morrow, and probably follow that stream to the Black Hills. You mny judge of the fine countrj' we have passed over by the fact that our mules and beef -herd have actually imjiroved since we left Lincoln. "NVe have travelled two hundred and twenty-seven and a half miles, and in a stniight line we are one hundred and seventy miles from Lin- coln. I must stop now and write my ollicial report. Camp ncnr Harney's Peak, An^ust 2, 1S74. I wish you could sec me at this moment as I am pnpared to write to you. First I must tell you that I cannot send a very long letter — not that I have not volumes to say to you, but for reasons which I will briefly explain. In the evening, after reaching camp, I am too much occupied and have too much hard work to find time to write. After dinner I usually take an escort and search out a few miles of road for the follow ing day. When I return I am ready to hasten to my comfortable bed.* • Nothing bat excessive fatigue and a determination to make the best of every- thing could have prompted him to dcecribe it as comfortable. On the first day's APPENDIX. 303 We Lave ret/xUe re^larly at a quarter before lliree, so that it be- hooves one to get to bed as early as possible. . . . To-day lias been letter-day. Charlie Reynolds leaves in the morning with the mail for Fort Laramie. I am going to explore some twenty-live or thir- ty miles iu that direction, and Reynolds will go wiih me. I take five eompanies. Two others started ofl in another direction this morning to Ixj absent three days; so you sec they arc kept mov- ing. 1 will be gone three days; the next d;iy after that we turn our faces northward and begin our homeward march. I must not forget to explain the other reason why I cannot send you a letter of thirty pages or so this time— one of those that Tom calls my "little notes " to you. I was busy with the ofllce duties until ten to-day, and then I began my c^icial report. I had so many interruptions I wa« at la.<s, shullinT my>h I could go more into dctiiil in dt't*c'ribing the exiKnlition, whirh has exceedeil all previous ones, and in success has suriKLNScd my most Kinguinc expectations. 1 did not hi>i»o to have my wu/ ' i with ni ' ' -» fullowid lUL' t vtT\ wlun*. Wt* h.; • vercdai .1 country. We have had no Indian fight« and will have none. We have discoviTcd gt>ld without a doubt, ai; My other valuable metals. All are well, and have been the i; ...\k My report, which you will see, will contain much that I would have sent you in a letter. . . . Angnct 8d. P.S. — . . . We have marched forty-five miles to-day, in a souther- ly direction from Harney's Peak, and are now encamped on the south fork of the Cheyenne River, about ninety miles from Fort Laramie. Reynolds* leaves us here. We arc now all seated or lying around a camp-lire, writing the closing words to our letters. . . . innrcb ont from g^arrison a careless soldier forgot the three boards that were io- teuded to keep the bedding from nbsijrbinjj the dumpness iu case of raiu. During the cutire sninmer, owing to this piece of forjjelfuluesj?, the mattress was laid down ev«ry ni;;ht on ground th.it was always uneven and soroenmes wet. • The scout mentioned in Chapter XXVI, It w.is on this trip to Fort Laramie, carrying the despatches and m.til, that he Buffered rnch hardehipe and periL 304 APPENDIX. I must say good-bye. A few clays more and wc shall be at home, for we start north at live o'clock iu the moruing. . . . Bcnr Butte, Dakota, Aagui>t 15ib. Though we shall so soon be at home, I must send a few lines by the scout who takes the official despatches. I cannot tell you how busy I have been, and how hard and constantly I have worked to try and make the expedition successful. I have attempted to be several other things besides commanding-oflicer— particularly guide — since the expedition startcxl. Now that wc have been in and through the Black Hills, I have the satisfjiction of knowing that the whole undertaking has proved a success, exceeding the exjx'ctations of the most sanguine. I think that my superior ofllcers will be surprised and gratified at the extent and thoroughness of our explorations. . . . The photographer who accompanied us has obtained a complete set of magnificent slortostopic views of Black Hills scenery, so I will not attempt to allude to this lovely country until I can review it with you by aid of the photographs. I send you one that will show you that at last I have killed a grisly after a most exciting hunt and contest. . . . Colonel Ludlow, Blooily Knife, and Private ^oonan arc with me in the group, as we constituted the hunting-party. The bear measured eight feet. 1 have his claws. The scouts are on their ponies waiting for the mail, and I must hasten. . . . It would have been such a treat to have had you sec all that wc have seen this summer, and shared the enjoyment of this beautiful land. But, never mind, you shall come next summer, for we all hope to return again. . . . No Indians have been seen lately, but I intend to be careful until the end of the trip. . . . LETTERS FROM THE YELLOWSTONE, 16T6. Extracts from Letters ttrilten on Vie Second ErjyedUion to the Tcllowstone, during the Summer of IbTG. Forty-fix Miles from Fort Lincoln, May 2ftlb, 1ST»— 9.15 p.m. ... It has just been decided to send scouts back to Lincoln. They leave here at daylight, and will remain there thirty-six hours, AITENDIX. 305 rt'tuniiag to us with despatches and mail. We are Imviui]' the "parrot's time" with the expedition. It is raining now, and has been since we started. The roads are fearfully bad. Here we arc on the Little Muddy, after marchinj^ four days, and only forty-six miles from home. Everj-body is more or less di.xg^usted except me, and I feel the relief of not having to bear the resix)n.sibility of the delays. The elements seem against us, but a wet season and bad roads can be looked for always in this region in the montlis of May and June. We have not seen any signs of Indians thus far, and hanlly look for any for a few days yet. I have been extremely prudent— sufficiently BO to satisfy you. I go nowhere without taking an escort with me. I act as if Indians were near all the time. The mess prospers well. Tom and I have fried onions at breakfast and dinner, and raw onions for lunch!"* The scouts that were left at Lincoln joined us yester- day about 10 .v.M. with the mail. I wi>h that you knew how good it was to get the Utters. You must send me more by the scouts wo send out to-morrow. . . . Since beginning this letter it is decided that llioy go at once, for I know it is best to get il •» at night; so Ihcy have bei-n directc. even though it is ten o'clock, and write to you, : ; I have had a tremendous day's work. I breakfasted at four o'clock, was in the saddle at five, and between that hour and p.m. I rotle lifiy miles over a rough country, un- known to everybody, and only myself for a guide. We had halted here for one day in order to determine the truth of the many rumors which you and all of us have heard so long and • They both took adrantage of tbf ir first absence from home to partake of their farorite rentable. Ouions were permitted at oar table, bat after indalgiug iu them tbej found themselves eererely let alone, and that they did not enjoy. 300 APPENDIX. often, to the effect that the hostile Indians were gathered on the Little Missouri Kivcr, with the intention of lighting us here. I suggested to General Terry to send out a strong scouting-party up the river to find out all that could be ascertained. lie left the raatter to me, and I took four companies of cavalry and a part of the scouts, and at five o'clock we were off. The valley of the river averages about one mile in width, hemmed in on both sides by impassable Bad Lands. The river is crooked beyond descrip- tion. To shorten the story, we marched the fifty miles nnd got back before dark, having settled the question beyond a doul)t that all stories about large bodies of Indians being here are the merest bosh. None have l^oen here for six months, not even a small hunt- ing-party. We took p:i' i. inuics with us to carry feed for the horses. When we lunched, all the ofiicers got together and we had a jolly time. Only think, wc found the Little Jlissouri River so crooked and the Bad Lands so impassable that in marching fifty miles today we forded the river thirty-four (oi) times. The bottom is (luieksand. iMany of the horses went down, frequently tumbling their riders into the water; but all were in good spirits, and every one laughed at every one else's mishaps. General Terry just left my tent a few moments since, and when I asked him not to be in a hurry he said," Oh, I'll leave you, for you must be tired and want to go to l)cd." I did not tell him that I was going to write to j'ou before 1 slept. Blootly Knife looks on in wonder at me because I never get tired, and says no other man could ride all night and never sleep. I know I shall sleep soundly when I do lie down; but, actually, I feel no more fatigued now than I did before mounting my horse this morn- ing. . . . "What I am going to tell you is for you alone. But came to me the other day, and asked me to arrange that he should be stationed at our post next winter. He says he wants to be in a garrison where the duty is strict, and, above all, he desires to prove that he is, and desires to be, a man, and he believes that he could do much Ix-tter than he has if he could serve under me. He says the very atmo- sphere of his post seems filled with evil for him. I have a scheme APPENDIX. 307 by wliicli I think I can accomplish his coming, and I bcIicTC that you will approve.* The scouts reached here in good time, and glad was I to get my letters. . . . lu Camp, abont Ten Miles West of the Little Missonrl, May 3 1st. . . . "We left camp about eight o'clock. After marching a few miles, Tom, "Bo.«,"and I, taking some men, started on a near route across the country, knowing that we would intercept the column later on. This is the second time I have left the main command, and both times the}' hxuc lost their way; so you .«ec my "bump of Icx-alily " is of some use out here. "We reached this camp about three- quarters of an hour from the time we left the column, but the latter strayed off, and while we were here by 9 a.m., the nst did not n'acli here until two o'clock. When they found they were lost, the oflicers all assembled at the head of the column to consult together and try and find the right way. To day, while out with Tom and '* Bo's." we were ridin- tui wugh a part of the country filled with snuU butUi, in which it was ea-«»y to lose one's self. "Bos" stopped a few moments as we were riding through a ravine, and di ^ 1 to take a p- " " ' * ' ' iiy's shoe. I ob8cr\'ed it, and > i om, " Let's -1 , : . . .. ...;1 be- hind ' Bos.' where he can't find us, and when be starts we'll fire in the air near him." The moment we pa.'^scd out of hight our entire party galloped around the hill behind him and concealed ourselves. Tom and I crawled to the top of the hill and peeped through the grass without being seen. Sure enough, " Bos " thought he was lost, as we could nowhere be seen in the direction he expected to find us. Tom ami I were watchiug him, and just as he seemed in a quan- dary as to where we were, I fired my rifle so that the bullet whizzed over his head. I popped out of sight for a moment, and when I looked again "Bos" was heading his pony towards the command, miles awa}'. I fired another shot in his direction, and so did Tom, and away "Bos" flew across the plains, thinking, no doubt, the Sioux • We hnd been extremely nnxions tibotit the ofBcer to whom my hasband re- fere, and longed to eave him from hiraeelf. Since he Is gone, I think that I am not Vetraylug confidence in qaoting from this letter. 308 APrEXDIX. were after him. Tom and I mounted our horses and soon over- hauled him. He will not hear the last of it for some time. Charlie Reynolds killed two hig-horn sheep to-day and gave me the finest of the two heads. I have it in my tent now and hope to preserve it, although I came away without my preservative powders. Nearly all my amusement is with "Bos" and Tom. We lunch together every day. ... I have ahout made up my mind that when I go on expeditions like this you are to go too. You could have endured this as well as not. . . . rowiler River, about Tweuty Miles above its Month, June 9, 1S76. . . . We are now in a country heretofore unvisited by white men. Reynolds, who had been guiding the command, lost his way the other day, and General Terry did not know what to do about find- ing a road from O'Fallon's Creek across to Powder River. I told him I thought I could guide the column. He assented ; so Tom, "Bos, "and I started ahead, with company D and the scouts as escort, and brought the command to this point, over what seems to be the only practicable route for miles on cither side, through the worst kind of Bad Lands. The general did not believe it possible to find a road through. When, after a hard day's work, we arrived at this river by a good, easy road, making thirty-two miles in one day, he was delighted and came to congratulate me. Yesterday I finii^hed a Galary article, which \fill go in the next mail ; so, you see, I am not entirely idle. Da}' before yesterday I rode nearly fifty miles, arose yesterday morning, and went to work at my article, determined to finish it before night, which I did, amidst constant interruptions. It is now nearly midnight, and I must go to my bed, for reveille comes at three. As a slight evidence that I am not very conceited regarding my personal appearance, I have not looked in a mirror or seen the reflec- tion of my beautiful (?) countenance, including the fine growth of auburn whiskers, since I looked in the glass at Lincoln.* • This reference to the color of his beard, which he only allowed to grow on campai^iuB, was a reoiiuder of the fact upon which we had long since agreed : that though Titian might have found beauty in that tint, we did not. ArrEXDIX. 309 Ou Yellowstone, at Mouth of Powder River, Jane lllh— 10.30 p.m. . . . This morning we left our camp on Powder River, I acting again as guide. The expedition started to make its way through unknown Bad Lands to the mouth of the river. General Terry felt great anxiety in regard to the trip, as he feared that we could not get through with the wagons. lie had been down the river to its mouth with cavalry, and he and those with him said that wagons could not make the march in a month, and the Bad Lands looked Btill more impracticable. lie came to my tent before daylight, and asked me if I would try to find the road. He sceros to think I have a gift in that way, and he hoped that we might get within ten miles of the river's mouth to-day. What rendered our condition more embarrassing was that the men had only rations for one day left. I started with one company and the scouts, and in we "plunged boldly." One company had been sent out the previous day to look for a road, and their failure to return the same daj* increased the anxiety, I thought likely they had lost their way and had slept in the Bad Lands. Sure enough we found them about 10 a.m. After passing through some perfectly terrible country I finally struck a beautiful road along a high plateau, and instead of guiding the commaml within ten miles of here we have all arrivctl and the wagon-train beside. If you will look on the map near my de.»k you avIH find the mouth of Powder Uivor and our present location ou the Yellowstone, almost due west from Lincoln. Follow up the Yellowstone a short distance, and the first stream you come to is the Tongue River, to which point we will move after resting three or four days. We will there be joined by the six companies of the regiment now ab- sent on a scout, and I shall then select the nine companies to go with me. . . . The steamer Far West leaves for Fort Buford to-mOTTOw. . . . As I was up at three this morning, and have had a hard day's march, and as it is now going on to twelve, I must hie to bed to get a little rest and slumber. . . . Monday, June 12th— before Breakfast. ... I rose early this morning, without waiting to be called to breakfast, in order that I might write my letter. The Yellowstone 810 APPENDIX. is very high ; steamers loaded to their utmost capacity can go up some dislauce above the mouth of the IVig; Iluru. 1 wauled to seiul you a letter that I wished you to read and afterwards re-mail, had I not thought you might have found an opportunity to come up the river iu the Josephine. The new supplies for our mess — of onions, potatoes, and dried apples — have just come from tlie boat. " Tuck " * regularly comes when I am writing, and lays her head on the desk, rooting up my hand with her long nose until I consent to stop and notice her. She and Swift, Lady and Kaiser sleep in my tent. You need not be anxious about my leaving the column with small escorts; I scarcely hunt any more.f . . . Mtmth of Tocignc River, June l«lh. ... I fear that my last letter, written from the mouth of Powder lUvcr, was not received in very good couilitiou by you. The mail was sent iu a row-boat from the stockade to Huford, under charge of o sergeant and three or four men of the Clh Infantry. Just as they were pushing off from the FarWrnt the boat capsized, and mail and Boldiers were thrown into the rapid current; Uic sergeant sank and was never seen again. The mail was recovered, after being sub- merged for five or ton minute."^ Captain Marsh and several otliers 8J\t up all night and dried it by the stove, I was told tliat my letter to you went off all right, also my Galaxjf article. The latter was recognized by a young newspaper reporter and telegraph operator who came up on the train with us fr'»m St IVml nuA li<- look special pains in drying it. With six com|vmies of the 7lh, the Galling batlvry, the scouts, and the pack-mules, 1 left the mouth of Powder River Thursday morn- ing, leaving all our wagons behind, and directing our march for this point, less than forty miles tlistant Gcnend Terrj' and staff fol- lowed by steamer. We marched here in about one and a quarter days. The boat arrived yesterday evening. . . . The oftlcei-s were ordered to leave their tents behind. They arc now lying under tent- flics or in shelter-tents. "NVhcn we leave here I shall only take a tent- fly. We are living delightfully. This morning we had a splendid • She w.is my husb.ind's favorite do^. t This letter was scorched aud defaced, bat forlanatcly I coald read it all, thanks to tboec irho Mt op all n\g\it to dry the mall. APrENDIX. 311 dUh of fried fibb, which Tom, " Bo*;," and I caught a few steps from my tent lafct evening. The other day, on our march from Powder River, I shot an antelope. That night, wliilc sitting round the camp - fire, and while Hughes was making our coffee, 1 roasted some of the ribs Indian fashion, and I must say they were delicious. We all slept in the open air around the fire, Tom and I under a fly, "Bos" and Autic Reed on the opposite tide. Tom pelted "Bos" with sticks and clods of earth after we had retired. I don't know what wc would do with- out " Bos " to tease. . . . Yesterday Tom and I raw a wild - goose flying overhead quite liigh in the air, Wc were in the bushes and could not see each other. Neither knew that the other intenf villages tx ' '< r. I was at the heailof .... ...mn as werc»'_i :• n- ly came upon a human skull lying under the remains of an extinct fire. I halted to examine it, and lying near by I found the uniform of a soldier. Evidently it was a cavalry uniform, as the buttons on the overctMit had " C *' on them, and the dress coat had the yellow cord of the cavalrj* uniform running through it The skull was w< ■ and had evidently been there several months. All the ' va went to show that the skull was that of some poor mortal who had been a priM)ner in the hands of the savages, and who doubtless had Ut-n torturwi to death, probably burned. . . . "We are e.xiK'Cting the Jo«tpJtin( to arrive in a day or two. I hope that it w ill bring nie a good long letter from you, otherwise I do not feel particularly interested in her arrival — unless, by good-luck, you should be on b(Kird; you might just as w(41 l>c here as not. ... I hope to begin another (Jalaxy article, if the t-piril is favorable. . . . Month of Roecbod, June 21, 1^«. . . . Look on my map and you will find our present location on the Yellowstone, about midway between Tongue River and the Big Horn. The scouting- party has returned. They saw the trail and deserted camp of a village of three hundred and eighty (380) l