ambulance with us, and the poor general is now quite ill, the result of
an ice bath in the Arkansas River! When we started to come across on the
ice here at the ford, the mule leaders broke through and fell down
on the river bottom, and being mules, not only refused to get up, but
insisted upon keeping their noses under the water. The wheelers broke
through, too, but had the good sense to stand on their feet, but they
gave the ambulance such a hard jerk that the front wheels broke off more
ice and went down to the river bottom, also. By the time all this had
occurred, I was the only one left inside, and found myself very busy
trying to keep myself from slipping down under the front seat, where
water had already come in. General Dickinson and Faye were doing
everything possible to assist the men.
Just how it was accomplished would make too long a story to tell, but
in a short time the leaders were dragged out and on their feet, and the
rear wheels of the ambulance let down on the river bottom, and then we
were all pulled up on the ice again, and came on to the post in safety.
All but General Dickinson, who undertook to hold out of the water the
heads of the two leaders who seemed determined to commit suicide by
keeping their noses down, the general forgetting for once that he was
commanding officer. But one of those government mules did not forget,
and with a sudden jerk of his big head he pulled the general over and
down from the ice into the water, and in such a way that he was wedged
tight in between the two animals. One would have expected much objection
on the part of the mules to the fishing out of the general, but those
two mules kept perfectly still, apparently satisfied with the mischief
that had already been done. I can fancy that there is one mule still
chuckling over the fact of having gotten even with a commanding officer!
It is, quite warm now, and the ice has gone out of the river, so there
will be no trouble at the ford to-morrow, when we start back.
There is one company of Faye's regiment stationed here, and the officer
in command of the post is major of the Third, so we feel at home. We are
staying with Lieutenant Harvey, who is making it very pleasant for us.
Hal is with us, and is being petted by everybody, but most of all by the
cavalry officers, some of whom have hunted with Magic, Hal's father.
Last evening, while a number of us were sitting on the veranda after
dinner, a large turkey gobbler came Stalking down the drive in front of
the officers' quarters. Hal was squatted down, hound fashion, at the
top of the steps, and of course saw the gobbler at once. He never moved,
except to raise his ears a little, but I noticed that his eyes opened
wider and wider, and could see that he was making an estimate of the
speed of that turkey, and also making up his mind that it was his duty
as a self-respecting hound to resent the airs that were being assumed
by the queer thing with a red nose and only two legs. So as soon as the
turkey passed, down he jumped after him, and over him and around him,
until really the poor thing looked about one half his former size. Then
Hal got back of the turkey and waited for it to run, which it proceeded
to do without loss of time, and then a funny race was on! I could have
cried, I was so afraid Hal would injure the turkey, but everyone else
laughed and watched, as though it was the sporting event of the year,
and they assured me that the dog would have to stop when he got to
the very high gate at the end of the line. But they did not know that
greyhound, for the gate gave him still another opportunity to show the
thing that had wings to help its absurd legs along what a hound puppy
could do. When they reached the gate the turkey went under, but the
puppy went over, making a magnificent jump that landed him yards in
advance of the turkey, thereby causing him the loss of the race, for
before he could stop himself and turn, the gobbler had very wisely
hidden himself in a back yard.
There was a shouting and clapping of hands all along the line because
of the beautiful jump of so young a dog, but I must confess that all I
thought of just then was gratitude that my dog had not made an untimely
plucking of somebody's turkey, for in this country a turkey is something
rare and valuable.
Hal came trotting back with his loftiest steps and tail high in the air,
evidently much pleased with his part in the entertainment. He is
very tall now, and ran by the ambulance all the way up, and has been
following me on my rides for some time.
CIMARRON REDOUBT, KANSAS, January, 1873.
WHEN Faye was ordered here I said at once that I would come, too, and
so I came! We are at a mail station--that is, where the relay mules
are kept and where the mail wagon and escort remain overnight on their
weekly trips from Camp Supply to Fort Dodge. A non-commissioned officer
and ten privates are here all the time.
The cause of Faye's being here is, the contractor is sending big trains
of grain down to Camp Supply for the cavalry horses and other animals,
and it was discovered that whisky was being smuggled to the Indians in
the sacks of oats. So General Dickinson sent an officer to the redoubt
to inspect each sack as it is carried past by the ox trains. Lieutenant
Cole was the first officer to be ordered up, but the place did not agree
with him, and at the end of three weeks he appeared at the post on a
mail wagon, a very sick man--very sick indeed! In less than half an hour
Faye was ordered to relieve him, to finish Lieutenant Cole's tour in
addition to his own detail of thirty days, which will give us a stay
here of over five weeks.
As soon as I heard of the order I announced that I was coming, but it
was necessary to obtain the commanding officer's permission first. This
seemed rather hopeless for a time, the general declaring I would "die
in such a hole," where I could have no comforts, but he did not say I
should not come. Faye did not want to leave me alone at the post, but
was afraid the life here would be too rough for me, so I decided the
matter for myself and began to make preparations to come away, and that
settled all discussion. We were obliged to start early the next morning,
and there were only a few hours in which to get ready. Packing the mess
chest and getting commissary stores occupied the most time, for after
our clothing was put away the closing of the house was a farce, "Peu de
bien, peu de soin!" Farrar was permitted to come, and we brought Hal and
the horse, so the family is still together.
The redoubt is made of gunny sacks filled with sand, and is built on
the principle of a permanent fortification in miniature, with bastions,
flanks, curtains, and ditch, and has two pieces of artillery. The
parapet is about ten feet high, upon the top of which a sentry walks all
the time. This is technically correct, for Faye has just explained it
all to me, so I could tell you about our castle on the plains. We have
only two rooms for our own use, and these are partitioned off with
vertical logs in one corner of the fortification, and our only roof is
of canvas.
When we first got here the dirt floor was very much like the side of a
mountain--so sloping that we had difficulty in sitting upon the chairs.
Faye had these made level at once, and fresh, dry sand sprinkled
everywhere.
We are right in the heart of the Indian country, almost on the line
between Kansas and the Indian Territory, and are surrounded by any
number of villages of hostile Indians. We are forty miles from Camp
Supply and about the same distance from Fort Dodge. The weather is
delightful--sunny and very warm.
I was prevented from finishing this the other day by the coming of a
dozen or more Arapahoe Indians, but as the mail does not go north until
to-morrow morning, I can tell you of the more than busy time we have had
since then.
For two or three days the weather had been unseasonably warm--almost
like summer--and one evening it was not only hot, but so sultry one
wondered where all the air had gone. About midnight, however, a terrific
wind came up, cold and piercing, and very soon snow began to fall, and
then we knew that we were having a "Texas norther," a storm that is
feared by all old frontiersmen. Of course we were perfectly safe from
the wind, for only a cyclone could tear down these thick walls of sand,
but the snow sifted in every place--between the logs of the inner wall,
around the windows--and almost buried us. And the cold became intense.
In the morning the logs of that entire wall from top to bottom, were
white inside with snow, and looked like a forest in the far North. The
floor was covered with snow, and so was the foot of the bed! Our rooms
were facing just right to catch the full force of the blizzard. The
straightening-out was exceedingly unpleasant, for a fire could not be
started in either stove until after the snow had been swept out. But a
few soldiers can work miracles at times, and this proved to be one
of the times. I went over to the orderly room while they brushed and
scraped everywhere and fixed us up nicely, and we were soon warm and
dry.
The norther continued twenty-four hours, and the cold is still freezing.
All the wood inside was soon consumed, and the men were compelled to
go outside the redoubt for it, and to split it, too. The storm was so
fierce and wholly blinding that it was necessary to fasten the end of a
rope around the waist of each man as he went out, and tie the other
end to the entrance gate to prevent him from losing his direction and
wandering out on the plains. Even with this precaution it was impossible
for a man to remain out longer than ten minutes, because of the terribly
cold wind that at times was almost impossible to stand up against.
Faye says that he cannot understand why the place has never been made
habitable, or why Lieutenant Cole did not have the wood brought inside,
where it would be convenient in case of a storm. Some of the men are
working at the wood still, and others are making their quarters' a
little more decent. Every tiny opening in our own log walls has been
chinked with pieces of blanket or anything that could be found, and the
entire dirt floor has been covered with clean grain sacks that are held
down smooth and tight by little pegs of wood, and over this rough
carpet we have three rugs we brought with us. At the small window are
turkey-red curtains that make very good shades when let down at night.
There are warm army blankets on the camp bed, and a folded red squaw
blanket on the trunk. The stove is as bright and shining as the strong
arm of a soldier could make it, and on it is a little brass teakettle
singing merrily.
Altogether the little place looks clean and cheerful, quite unlike the
"hole" we came to. Farrar has attended to his part in the kitchen also,
and things look neat and orderly there. A wall tent has been pitched
just outside our door that gives us a large storeroom and at the same
time screens us from the men's quarters that are along one side of the
sandbag walls.
On the side farthest from us the mules and horses are stabled, but one
would never know that an animal was near if those big-headed mules did
not occasionally raise their voices in brays that sound like old squeaky
pumps. When it is pleasant they are all picketed out.
At the first coming of the blizzard the sentry was ordered from the
parapet, and is still off, and I am positive that unless one goes on
soon at night I shall be wholly deaf, because I strain my ears the whole
night through listening for Indians. The men are supposed to be ever
ready for an attack, but if they require drums and cannon to awaken them
in a garrison, how can they possibly hear the stealthy step of an Indian
here? It is foolish to expect anything so unreasonable.
CIMARRON REDOUBT, KANSAS, January, 1873.
FANCY our having given a dinner party at this sand-bag castle on the
plains, miles and miles from a white man or woman! The number of guests
was small, but their rank was immense, for we entertained Powder-Face,
Chief of the Arapahoe Nation, and Wauk, his young squaw, mother of his
little chief.
Two or three days ago Powder-Face came to make a formal call upon the
"White Chief," and brought with him two other Indians--aides we would
call them, I presume. A soldier offered to hold his horse, but he would
not dismount, and sat his horse with grave dignity until Faye went out
and in person invited him to come in and have a smoke. He is an Indian
of striking personality--is rather tall, with square, broad shoulders,
and the poise of his head tells one at once that he is not an ordinary
savage.
We must have found favor with him, for as he was going away he announced
that he would come again the next day and bring his squaw with him.
Then Faye, in his hospitable way, invited them to a midday dinner! I was
almost speechless from horror at the very thought of sitting at a table
with an Indian, no matter how great a chief he might be. But I could say
nothing, of course, and he rode away with the understanding that he was
to return the following day. Faye assured me that it would be amusing to
watch them, and be a break in the monotony here.
They appeared promptly, and I became interested in Wauk at once, for she
was a remarkable squaw. Tall and slender, with rather a thin, girlish
face, very unlike the short, fat squaws one usually sees, and she had
the appearance of being rather tidy, too. I could not tell if she was
dressed specially for the occasion, as I had never seen her before, but
everything she had on was beautifully embroidered with beads--mostly
white--and small teeth of animals. She wore a sort of short skirt, high
leggings, and of course moccasins, and around her shoulders and falling
far below her waist was a queer-shaped garment--neither cape nor
shawl--dotted closely all over with tiny teeth, which were fastened on
at one end and left to dangle.
High up around her neck was a dog collar of fine teeth that was really
beautiful, and there were several necklaces of different lengths hanging
below it, one of which was of polished elk teeth and very rare. The
skins of all her clothing had been tanned until they were as soft as
kid. Any number of bracelets were on her arms, many of them made of tin,
I think. Her hair was parted and hung in loose ropes down each shoulder
in front. Her feet and hands were very small, even for an Indian, and
showed that life had been kind to her. I am confident that she must have
been a princess by birth, she was so different from all squaws I have
seen. She could not speak one word of English, but her lord, whom she
seemed to adore, could make himself understood very well by signs and a
word now and then.
Powder-Face wore a blanket, but underneath it was a shirt of fine skins,
the front of which was almost covered with teeth, beads, and wampum. His
hair was roped on each side and hung in front, and the scalp lock on top
was made conspicuous by the usual long feather stuck through it.
The time came when dinner could no longer be put off, so we sat down.
Our menu in this place is necessarily limited, but a friend at Fort
Dodge had added to our stores by sending us some fresh potatoes and
some lettuce by the mail wagon just the day before, and both of these
Powder-Face seemed to enjoy. In fact, he ate of everything, but Wauk was
more particular--lettuce, potatoes, and ham she would not touch. Their
table manners were not of the very best form, as might be expected, but
they conducted themselves rather decently--far better than I had feared
they would. All the time I was wondering what that squaw was thinking
of things! Powder-Face was taken to Washington last year with chiefs of
other nations to see the "Great Father," so he knew much of the white
man's ways, but Wauk was a wild creature of the plains.
We kept them bountifully supplied with everything on the table, so our
own portion of the dinner would remain unmolested, although neither Faye
nor I had much appetite just then. When Farrar came in to remove the
plates for dessert, and Powder-Face saw that the remaining food was
about to disappear, he pushed Farrar back and commenced to attend to the
table himself. He pulled one dish after another to him, and scraped each
one clean, spreading all the butter on the bread, and piled up
buffalo steak, ham, potatoes, peas--in fact, every crumb that had been
left--making one disgusting mess, and then tapping it with his finger
said, "Papoose! Papoose!" We had it all put in a paper and other things
added, which made Wauk almost bob off her chair in her delight at having
such a feast for her little chief. But the condition of my tablecloth
made me want to bob up and down for other feelings than delight!
After dinner they all sat by the stove and smoked, and Powder-Face told
funny things about his trip East that we could not always interpret, but
which caused him and Wauk to laugh heartily. Wauk sat very close to him,
with elbows on her knees, looking as though she would much prefer to be
squatted down upon the floor.
The tepee odor became stifling, so in order to get as far from the
Indians as possible, I went across the room and sat upon a small trunk
by the window. I had not been there five minutes, however, before that
wily chief, who had apparently not noticed my existence, got up from
his chair, gathered his blanket around him, and with long strides came
straight to me. Then with a grip of steel on my shoulder, he jerked me
from the trunk and fairly slung me over against the wall, and turning to
Faye with his head thrown back he said, "Whisk! Whisk!" at the same time
pointing to the trunk.
The demand was imperious, and the unstudied poise of the powerfully
built Indian, so full of savage dignity, was magnificent. As I calmly
think of it now, the whole scene was grand. The rough room, with its
low walls of sand-bags and logs, the Indian princess in her picturesque
dress of skins and beads, the fair army officer in his uniform of
blue, both looking in astonishment at the chief, whose square jaws and
flashing eyes plainly told that he was accustomed to being obeyed, and
expected to be obeyed then!
Faye says that I missed part of the scene; that, backed up against
sand-bags and clinging to them on either side for support, stood a
slender young woman with pigtail hanging down one shoulder, so terrified
that her face, although brown from exposure to sun and wind, had become
white and chalky. It is not surprising that my face turned white; the
only wonder is that the pigtail did not turn white, too!
It was not right for Faye to give liquor to an Indian, but what else
could be done under the circumstances? There happened to be a flask of
brandy in the trunk, but fortunately there was only a small quantity
that we had brought up for medicinal purposes, and it was precious, too,
for we were far from a doctor. But Faye had to get it out for the chief,
who had sat there smoking in such an innocent way, but who had all the
time been studying out where there might be hidden some "whisk!" Wauk
drank almost all of it, Powder-Face seeming to derive more pleasure in
seeing her drink his portion than in drinking it himself. Consequently,
when she went out to mount her horse her steps were a little unsteady,
over which the chief laughed heartily.
It was with the greatest relief I saw them ride away. They certainly had
furnished entertainment, but it was of a kind that would satisfy one for
a long time. I was afraid they might come for dinner again the following
day, but they did not.
Powder-Face thought that the pony Cheyenne was not a good enough horse
for me, so the morning after he was here an Indian, called Dog, appeared
with a very good animal, large and well gaited, that the chief had sent
over, not as a present, but for a trade.
We let poor Cheyenne go back to the Indians, a quantity of sugar,
coffee, and such things going with him, and now I have a strawberry-roan
horse named Powder-Face.
Chief Powder-Face, who is really not old, is respected by everyone,
and has been instrumental in causing the Arapahoe nation to cease
hostilities toward white people. Some of the chiefs of lesser rank have
much of the dignity of high-born savages, particularly Lone Wolf and his
son Big Mouth, both of whom come to see us now and then. Lone Wolf is no
longer a warrior, and of course no longer wears a scalp lock and strings
of wampum and beads, and would like to have you believe that he has ever
been the white man's friend, but I suspect that even now there might
be brought forth an old war belt with hanging scalps that could tell
of massacre, torture, and murder. Big Mouth is a war chief, and has the
same grand physique as Powder-Face and a personality almost as striking.
His hair is simply splendid, wonderfully heavy and long and very glossy.
His scalp lock is most artistic, and undoubtedly kept in order by a
squaw.
The picture of the two generations of chiefs is unique and rare. It
shows in detail the everyday dress of the genuine blanket Indians as we
see them here. Just how it was obtained I do not know, for Indians
do not like a camera. We have daily visits from dozens of so-called
friendly Indians, but I would not trust one of them. Many white people
who have lived among Indians and know them well declare that an Indian
is always an Indian; that, no matter how fine the veneering civilization
may have given him, there ever lies dormant the traits of the savage,
ready to spring forth without warning in acts of treachery and fiendish
cruelty.
CIMARRON REDOUBT, January, 1873.
IT was such a pleasant surprise yesterday when General Bourke drove up
to the redoubt on his way to Camp Supply from dear old Fort Lyon. He
has been ordered to relieve General Dickinson, and was taking down
furniture, his dogs, and handsome team. Of course there was an escort,
and ever so many wagons, some loaded with tents and camp outfits. We
are rejoicing over the prospect of having an infantry officer in command
when we return to the post. The general remained for luncheon and seemed
to enjoy the broiled buffalo steak very much. He said that now there
are very few buffalo in Colorado and Kansas, because of their wholesale
slaughter by white men during the past year. These men kill them for the
skins only, and General Bourke said that he saw hundreds of carcasses on
the plains between Lyon and Dodge. They are boldly coming to the Indian
Territory now, and cavalry has been sent out several times to drive them
from the reservation.
If the Indians should attempt to protect their rights it would be called
an uprising at once, so they have to lie around on the sand hills and
watch their beloved buffalo gradually disappear, and all the time they
know only too well that with them will go the skins that give them
tepees and clothing, and the meat that furnishes almost all of their
sustenance.
During the blizzard two weeks ago ten or twelve of these buffalo hunters
were caught out in the storm, and being unable to find their own camps
they wandered into Indian villages, each man about half dead from
exposure to the cold and hunger. All were suffering more or less from
frozen feet and hands. In every case the Indians fed and cared for them
until the storm was over, and then they told them to go--and go fast
and far, or it would not be well with them. Faye says that it was truly
noble in the Indians to keep alive those men when they knew they had
been stealing so much from them. But Faye can always see more good in
Indians than I can. Even a savage could scarcely kill a man when he
appeals to him for protection!
There is some kind of excitement here every day--some pleasant, some
otherwise--usually otherwise. The mail escort and wagon are here two
nights during the week, one on the way to Fort Dodge, the other on the
return trip, so we hear the little bits of gossip from each garrison.
The long trains of army wagons drawn by mules that carry stores to the
post always camp near us one night, because of the water.
But the most exciting times are when the big ox trains come along that
are taking oats and corn to the quartermaster for the cavalry horses and
mules, for in these sacks of grain there is ever a possibility of liquor
being found. The sergeant carefully punches the sacks from one end to
the other with a long steel very much like a rifle rammer; but so far
not a thing has been found, but this is undoubtedly because they
know what to expect at this place now. Faye is always present at the
inspection, and once I watched it a short distance away.