to get there first--I sat down on the back seat and made myself
comfortable, but I must admit that my heart was giving awful thumps, for
Mrs. Barker's sharp tongue and spitfire temper are well known. My head
was aching because of my having ridden backward, and I was really cross,
and this Mrs. Barker may have noticed, for not one word did she say
directly to me, but she said much to her son--much that I might have
resented had I felt inclined. The small boy sat on his mother's lap and
expressed his disapproval by giving me vicious kicks every few minutes.
Not one word was said the next morning when I boldly carried the puppy
to that seat. Mrs. Barker looked at the dog, then at me, with great
scorn, but she knew that if she said anything disagreeable Mrs. Phillips
would side with me, so she wisely kept still. I think that even Faye has
come to the conclusion that I might as well have the dog--who lies
so quietly in my lap--now that he sees how I am sandwiched in with
rocking-chairs, small boys, and servants. The men march fifty minutes
and halt ten, each hour, and during every ten minutes' rest Harold and I
take a little run, and this makes him ready for a nap when we return to
the ambulance. From this place on I am to ride with Mrs. Cole, who has
her own ambulance. This will be most agreeable, and I am so delighted
that she should have thought of inviting me.
Camping out is really very nice when the weather is pleasant, but the
long marches are tiresome for everybody. The ambulances and wagons are
driven directly back of the troops, consequently the mules can never go
faster than a slow walk, and sometimes the dust is enough to choke us.
We have to keep together, for we are in an Indian country, of course.
I feel sorry for the men, but they always march "rout" step and seem to
have a good time, for we often hear them laughing and joking with each
other.
We are following the Arkansas River, and so far the scenery has been
monotonous--just the same rolling plains day after day. Leaving our
first army home was distressing, and I doubt if other homes and other
friends will ever be quite the same to me. Lieutenant Baldwin was
assisted to the porch by his faithful Mexican boy, so he could see
us start, and he looked white and pitifully helpless, with both arms
bandaged tight to his sides. One of those dreadful dogs is in camp and
going to Camp Supply with us, and is as frisky as though he had done
something to be proud of.
This cannot be posted until we reach Fort Dodge, but I intend to write
to you again while there, of course, if I have an opportunity.
FORT DODGE, KANSAS, May, 1872.
IT was nearly two o'clock yesterday when we arrived at this post, and
we go on again to-day about eleven. The length of all marches has to be
regulated by water and wood, and as the first stream on the road to
Camp Supply is at Bluff Creek, only ten miles from here, there was no
necessity for an early start. This gives us an opportunity to get fresh
supplies for our mess chests, and to dry things also.
There was a terrific rain and electric storm last evening, and this
morning we present anything but a military appearance, for around each
tent is a fine array of bedding and clothing hung out to dry. Our camp
is at the foot of a hill a short distance back of the post, and during
the storm the water rushed down with such force that it seemed as though
we were in danger of being carried on to the Arkansas River.
We had just returned from a delightful dinner with Major and Mrs.
Tilden, of the cavalry, and Faye had gone out to mount the guard for the
night, when, without a moment's warning, the storm burst upon us. The
lightning was fierce, and the white canvas made it appear even worse
than it really was, for at each flash the walls of the tent seemed to
be on fire. There was no dark closet for me to run into this time, but
there was a bed, and on that I got, taking the little dog with me for
company and to get him out of the wet. He seemed very restless and
constantly gave little whines, and at the time I thought it was because
he, too, was afraid of the storm. The water was soon two and three
inches deep on the ground under the tent, rushing along like a mill
race, giving little gurgles as it went through the grass and against the
tent pins. The roar of the rain on the tent was deafening.
The guard is always mounted with the long steel bayonets on the rifles,
and I knew that Faye had on his sword, and remembering these things made
me almost scream at each wicked flash of lightning, fearing that he
and the men had been killed. But he came to the tent on a hard run, and
giving me a long waterproof coat to wrap myself in, gathered me in his
arms and started for Mrs. Tilden's, where I had been urged to remain
overnight. When we reached a narrow board walk that was supposed to run
along by her side fence, Faye stood me down upon it, and I started to do
some running on my own account. Before I had taken two steps, however,
down went the walk and down I went in water almost to my knees, and then
splash--down went the greyhound puppy! Up to that instant I had not been
conscious of having the little dog with me, and in all that rain and
water Faye had been carrying me and a fat puppy also.
The walk had been moved by the rushing water, and was floating, which
we had no way of knowing, of course. I dragged the dog out of the
water, and we finally reached the house, where we received a true army
welcome--a dry one, too--and there I remained until after breakfast
this morning. But sleep during the night I did not, for until long after
midnight I sat in front of a blazing fire holding a very sick puppy. Hal
was desperately ill and we all expected him to die at any moment, and I
was doubly sorrowful, because I had been the innocent cause of it. Ever
since I have had him he has been fed condensed milk only--perhaps a
little bread now and then; so when we got here I sent for some fresh
milk, to give him a treat. He drank of it greedily and seemed to enjoy
it so much, that I let him have all he wanted during the afternoon. And
it was the effect of the milk that made him whine during the storm, and
not because he was afraid of the lightning. He would have died, I do
believe, had it not been for the kindness of Major Tilden who knows all
about greyhounds. They are very delicate and most difficult to raise.
The little dog is a limp bunch of brindled satin this morning, wrapped
in flannel, but we hope he will soon be well.
A third company joined us here and will go on to Camp Supply. Major
Hunt, the captain, has his wife and three children with him, and they
seem to be cultured and very charming people. Mrs. Hunt this moment
brought a plate of delicious spice cake for our luncheon. There is a
first lieutenant with the company, but he is not married.
There is only one mail from here each week, so of course there will be
only one from Camp Supply, as that mail is brought here and then carried
up to the railroad with the Dodge mail. It is almost time for the tents
to be struck, and I must be getting ready for the march.
CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, May, 1872.
THIS place is quite as dreadful as it has been represented to us. There
are more troops here than at Fort Lyon, and of course the post is very
much larger. There are two troops of colored cavalry, one of white
cavalry, and three companies of infantry. The infantry companies that
have been stationed here, and which our three companies have come to
relieve, will start in the morning for their new station, and will use
the transportation that brought us down. Consequently, it was necessary
to unload all the things from our wagons early this morning, so they
could be turned over to the outgoing troops. I am a little curious to
know if there is a second lieutenant who will be so unfortunate as to be
allowed only one half of a wagon in which to carry his household goods.
Their going will leave vacant a number of officers' quarters, therefore
there will be no selection of quarters by our officers until to-morrow.
Faye is next to the junior, so there will be very little left to select
from by the time his turn comes. The quarters are really nothing more
than huts built of vertical logs plastered in between with mud, and the
roofs are of poles and mud! Many of the rooms have only sand floors. We
dined last evening with Captain and Mrs. Vincent, of the cavalry,
and were amazed to find that such wretched buildings could be made so
attractive inside. But of course they have one of the very best houses
on the line, and as company commander, Captain Vincent can have done
about what he wants. And then, again, they are but recently married, and
all their furnishings are new and handsome. There is one advantage
in being with colored troops--one can always have good servants. Mrs.
Vincent has an excellent colored soldier cook, and her butler was
thoroughly trained as such before he enlisted. It did look so funny,
however, to see such a black man in a blue Uniform.
The march down from Fort Dodge was most uncomfortable the first two
days. It poured and poured rain, and then poured more rain, until
finally everybody and everything was soaked through. I felt so sorry for
the men who had to march in the sticky mud. Their shoes filled fast with
water, and they were compelled constantly to stop, take them off,
and pour out the water. It cleared at last and the sun shone warm and
bright, and then there was another exhibition in camp one afternoon, of
clothing and bedding drying on guy ropes.
All the way down I was on the lookout for Indians, and was laughed at
many a time for doing so, too. Every time something unusual was seen in
the distance some bright person would immediately exclaim, "Oh, that
is only one of Mrs. Rae's Indians!" I said very little about what I saw
during the last day or two, for I felt that the constant teasing must
have become as wearisome to the others as it had to me. But I am still
positive that I saw the black heads of Indians on the top of ever so
many hills we passed. When they wish to see and not be seen they crawl
up a hill on the side farthest from you, but only far enough up to
enable them to look over, and in this position they will remain for
hours, perfectly motionless, watching your every movement. Unless you
notice the hill very carefully you will never see the black dot on top,
for only the eyes and upper part of the head are exposed. I had been
told all this many times; also, that when in an Indian country to be
most watchful when Indians are not to be seen.
Camp Supply is certainly in an Indian country, for it is surrounded by
Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes--each a hostile
tribe, except the last. No one can go a rod from the garrison without an
escort, and our weekly mail is brought down in a wagon and
guarded by a corporal and several privates. Only last week two
couriers--soldiers--who had been sent down with dispatches from Fort
Dodge, were found dead on the road, both shot in the back, probably
without having been given one chance to defend themselves.
We are in camp on low land just outside the post, and last night we
were almost washed away again by the down-pouring rain, and this morning
there is mud everywhere. And this is the country that is supposed never
to have rain! Mrs. Vincent invited me most cordially to come to her
house until we at least knew what quarters we were to have, and Captain
Vincent came early to-day to insist upon my going up at once, but I
really could not go. We have been in rain and mud so long I feel that I
am in no way fit to go to anyone's house. Besides, it would seem selfish
in me to desert Faye, and he, of course, would not leave the company as
long as it is in tents. We are delighted at finding such charming people
as the Vincents at this horrid place.
CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, June, 1872.
WE are in our own house now and almost settled. When one has only a few
pieces of furniture it does not take long to get them in place. It is
impossible to make the rooms look homelike, and I often find myself
wondering where in this world I have wandered to! The house is of logs,
of course, and has a pole and dirt roof, and was built originally for an
officers' mess. The dining room is large and very long, a part of which
we have partitioned off with a piece of canvas and converted into a
storeroom. We had almost to get down on our knees to the quartermaster
before he would give us the canvas. He is in the quartermaster's
department and is most arrogant; seems to think that every nail and tack
is his own personal property and for his exclusive use.
Our dining room has a sand floor, and almost every night little white
toadstools grow up all along the base of the log walls. All of the logs
are of cottonwood and have the bark on, and the army of bugs that hide
underneath the bark during the day and march upon us at night is to be
dreaded about as much as a whole tribe of Indians!
I wrote you how everyone laughed at me on the march down because I was
positive I saw heads of Indians on the sand hills so many times.
Well, all that has ceased, and the mention of "Mrs. Rae's Indians" is
carefully avoided! There has been sad proof that the Indians were there,
also that they were watching us closely and kept near us all the way
down from Fort Dodge, hoping for a favorable opportunity to steal the
animals. The battalion of the --th Infantry had made only two days'
march from here, and the herders had just turned the horses and mules
out to graze, when a band of Cheyenne Indians swooped down upon them and
stampeded every animal, leaving the companies without even one mule!
The poor things are still in camp on the prairie, waiting for something,
anything, to move them on. General Phillips is mightily pleased that the
Indians did not succeed in getting the animals from his command, and I
am pleased that they cannot tease me any more.
My ride with Lieutenant Golden, Faye's classmate, this morning was very
exciting for a time. We started directly after stable call, which is at
six o'clock. Lieutenant Golden rode Dandy, his beautiful thoroughbred,
that reminds me so much of Lieutenant Baldwin's Tom, and I rode a troop
horse that had never been ridden by a woman before. As soon as he was
led up I noticed that there was much white to be seen in his eyes, and
that he was restless and ever pawing the ground. But the orderly said he
was not vicious, and he was sure I could ride him. He did not object in
the least to my skirt, and we started off in fine style, but before we
reached the end of the line he gave two or three pulls at the bit, and
then bolted! My arms are remarkably strong, but they were like a child's
against that hard mouth. He turned the corner sharply and carried me
along back of the laundress' quarters, where there was a perfect network
of clothes lines, and where I fully expected to be swept from the
saddle. But I managed to avoid them by putting my head down close to the
horse's neck, Indian fashion. He was not a very large horse, and lowered
himself, of course, by his terrific pace. He went like the wind, on
and up the hill in front of the guard house. There a sentry was walking
post, and on his big infantry rifle was a long bayonet, and the poor
man, in his desire to do something for me, ran forward and held the
gun horizontally right in front of my horse, which caused him to give a
fearful lunge to the right and down the hill. How I managed to keep my
seat I do not know, and neither do I know how that mad horse kept right
side up on that down jump. But it did not seem to disturb him in the
least, for he never slackened his speed, and on we went toward the
stables, where the cavalry horses were tied to long picket ropes, and
close together, getting their morning grooming.
All this time Lieutenant Golden had not attempted to overtake me,
fearing that by doing so he might make matters worse, but when he saw
that the horse was running straight for his place on the line, he pushed
forward, and grasping my bridle rein, almost pulled the horse on his
haunches. He said later that I might have been kicked to death by the
troop horses if I had been rushed in among them. We went on to the
stables, Lieutenant Golden leading my horse, and you can fancy how
mortified I was over that performance, and it was really unnecessary,
too. Lieutenant Golden, also the sergeant, advised me to dismount and
try another horse, but I said no! I would ride that one if I could have
a severer bit and my saddle girths tightened. Dismount before Lieutenant
Golden, a cavalry officer and Faye's classmate, and all those staring
troopers--I, the wife of an infantry officer? Never! It was my first
experience with a runaway horse, but I had kept a firm seat all the
time--there was some consolation in that thought.
Well, to my great relief and comfort, it was discovered that the chin
chain that is on all cavalry bits had been left off, and this had made
the curb simply a straight bit and wholly ineffective. The sergeant
fastened the chain on and it was made tight, too, and he tightened the
girths and saw that everything was right, and then Lieutenant Golden and
I started on our ride the second time. I expected trouble, as the horse
was then leaving his stable and companions, but when he commenced to
back and shake his head I let him know that I held a nice stinging whip,
and that soon stopped the balking. We had to pass three long picket
lines of horses and almost two hundred troopers, every one of whom
stared at me with both eyes. It was embarrassing, of course, but I was
glad to let the whole line of them see that I was capable of managing my
own horse, which was still very frisky. I knew very well, too, that the
sergeant's angry roar when he asked, "Who bridled this horse?" had
been heard by many of them. Our ride was very delightful after all its
exciting beginning, and we are going again to morrow morning. I want
to let those troopers see that I am not afraid to ride the horse they
selected for me.
I shall be so glad when Hal is large enough to go with me. He is growing
fast, but at present seems to be mostly legs. He is devoted to me, but
I regret to say that he and our old soldier cook are not the dearest
friends. Findlay is so stupid he cannot appreciate the cunning things
the little dog does. Hal is fed mush and milk only until he gets his
second teeth, and consequently he is wild about meat. The odor of a
broiling beefsteak the other day was more than he could resist, so he
managed to get his freedom by slipping his collar over his head, and
rushing into the kitchen, snatched the sizzling steak and was out again
before Findlay could collect his few wits, and get across the room to
stop him. The meat was so hot it burned his mouth, and he howled from
the pain, but drop it he did not until he was far from the cook. This
I consider very plucky in so young a dog! Findlay ran after the little
hound, yelling and swearing, and I ran after Findlay to keep him from
beating my dog. Of course we did not have beefsteak that day, but, as I
told Faye, it was entirely Findlay's fault. He should have kept watch
of things, and not made it possible for Hal to kill himself by eating a
whole big steak!
Yesterday, Lieutenant Golden came in to luncheon, and when we went in
the dining room I saw at once that things were wrong, very wrong. A
polished table is an unknown luxury down here, but fresh table linen we
do endeavor to have. But the cloth on the table yesterday was a sight
to behold, with big spots of dirt all along one side and dirt on top.
Findlay came in the room just as I reached the table, and I said,
"Findlay, what has happened here?" He gave one look at the cloth where
I pointed, and then striking his knuckles together, almost sobbed out,
"Dot tamn dog, mum!" Faye and Lieutenant Golden quickly left the room
to avoid hearing any more remarks of that kind, for it was really very
dreadful in Findlay to use such language. This left me alone, of course,
to pacify the cook, which I found no easy task. Old Findlay had pickled
a choice buffalo tongue with much care and secrecy, and had served it
for luncheon yesterday as a great surprise and treat. There was the
platter on the table, but there could be no doubt of its having been
licked clean. Not one tiny piece of tongue could be seen any place.
The window was far up, and in vain did I try to convince everyone that
a strange dog had come in and stolen the meat, that Hal was quite too
small to have reached so far; but Findlay only looked cross and Faye
looked hungry, so I gave that up. Before night, however, there was
trouble and a very sick puppy in the house, and once again I thought he
would die. And every few minutes that disagreeable old cook would
come in and ask about the dog, and say he was afraid he could not get
well--always with a grin on his face that was exasperating. Finally,
I told him that if he had served only part of the tongue, as he should
have done, the dog would not have been so ill, and we could have had
some of it. That settled the matter--he did not come in again. Findlay
has served several enlistments, and is regarded as an old soldier, and
once upon a time he was cook for the colonel of the regiment, therefore
he sometimes forgets himself and becomes aggressive. I do not wonder
that Hal dislikes him.
And Hal dislikes Indians, too, and will often hear their low mumbling
and give little growls before I dream that one is near. They have a
disagreeable way of coming to the windows and staring in. Sometimes
before you have heard a sound you will be conscious of an uncomfortable
feeling, and looking around you will discover five or six Indians, large
and small, peering at you through the windows, each ugly nose pressed
flat against the glass! It is enough to drive one mad. You never know
when they are about, their tread is so stealthy with their moccasined
feet.
Faye is officer of the guard every third day now. This sounds rather
nice; but it means that every third day and night--exactly twenty-four
hours--he has to spend at the guard house, excepting when making the
rounds, that is, visiting sentries on post, and is permitted to come
to the house just long enough to eat three hurried meals. This is doing
duty, and would be all right if there were not a daily mingling of white
and colored troops which often brings a colored sergeant over a white
corporal and privates. But the most unpleasant part for the officer of
the guard is that the partition in between the officer's room and guard
room is of logs, unchinked, and very open, and the weather is very hot!
and the bugs, which keep us all in perpetual warfare in our houses, have
full sway there, going from one room to the other.
The officers say that the negroes make good soldiers and fight like
fiends. They certainly manage to stick on their horses like monkeys. The
Indians call them "buffalo soldiers," because their woolly heads are so
much like the matted cushion that is between the horns of the buffalo.
We had letters from dear old Fort Lyon yesterday, and the news about
Lieutenant Baldwin is not encouraging. He is not improving and Doctor
Wilder is most anxious about him. But a man as big and strong as he was
must certainly get well in time.
CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, June, 1872.
IT seems as if I had to write constantly of unpleasant occurrences, but
what else can I do since unpleasant occurrences are ever coming
along? This time I must tell you that Faye has been turned out of
quarters--"ranked out," as it is spoken of in the Army. But it all
amounts to the same thing, and means that we have been driven out of our
house and home, bag and baggage, because a captain wanted that one set
of quarters! Call it what one chooses, the experience was not pleasant
and will be long remembered. Being turned out was bad enough in itself,
but the manner in which it was done was humiliating in the extreme. We
had been in the house only three weeks and had worked so hard during
that time to make it at all comfortable. Findlay wanted to tear down the
canvas partition in the dining room when we left the house, and I was
sorry later on that I had not consented to his doing so.
One morning at ten o'clock I received a note from Faye, written at the
guard house, saying that his set of quarters had been selected by a
cavalry officer who had just arrived at the post, and that every article
of ours must be out of the house that day by one o'clock! Also that, as
he was officer of the guard, it would be impossible for him to assist
me in the least, except to send some enlisted men to move the things.
At first I was dazed and wholly incapable of comprehending the
situation--it seemed so preposterous to expect anyone to move everything
out of a house in three hours. But as soon as I recovered my senses I
saw at once that not one second of the precious time must be wasted, and
that the superintendence of the whole thing had fallen upon me.