attention had been given the house since my return from the East,
therefore it was not in the very best of order. It was closed during my
two months' absence, as Faye had lived down with the bachelors. The very
day that Mrs. Rae came the quartermaster had sent a man to repair one of
the chimneys, and plaster and dirt had been left in my room, the one I
had intended Mrs. Rae to occupy. And then, to make matters just as bad
as possible, there was a sand storm late in the afternoon that had, of
course, sifted dust over all things.
But this was not all! My nerves had not recovered from the shock at
Granada, and had given out entirely that day just before dinner, and
had sent me to bed with an uncomfortable chill. Still, I was not
disheartened. Before I went East many things had been put away, but West
had unpacked and polished the silver several days before, and the glass
was shining and the china closets in perfect order, all of which had
been attended to with my own hands. Besides, the wife of one of the
sergeants was to come the next morning to dust and clean the little
house from top to bottom, so there was really nothing to worry about,
as everything would be in order long before time for the stage to arrive
that would bring Mrs. Rae.
But after the chill came a fever, and with the fever came dreams,
most disturbing dreams, in which were sounds of crunching gravel, then
far-away voices--voices that I seemed to have heard in another world. A
door was opened, and then--oh! how can I ever tell you--in the hall came
Faye's mother! By that time dreams had ceased, and it was cruel reality
that had to be faced, and even now I wonder how I lived through the
misery of that moment--the longing to throw myself out of the window,
jump in the river, do anything, in fact, but face the mortification of
having her see the awful condition of her son's house!
Her son's house--that was just it. I did not care at all for myself, my
only thought was for Faye whose mother might find cause to pity him for
the delinquencies of his wife! First impressions are indelible, and
it would be difficult to convince Mrs. Rae ever that the house was not
always dusty and untidy. How could she know that with pride I had ever
seen that our house, however rough it might have been, was clean and
cheerful. And of what use would it be to arrange things attractively
now? She would be justified in supposing that it was only in its company
dress.
I was weak and dizzy from fever and a sick heart, but I managed to
get dressed and go down to do the best I could. West prepared a little
supper, and we made things as comfortable as possible, considering the
state of affairs. Mrs. Rae was most lovely about everything--said she
understood it all. But that could not be, not until she had seen one of
our sand storms, from the dust of which it is impossible to protect a
thing. I have been wishing for a storm ever since, so Mrs. Rae could see
that I was not responsible for the condition of things that night.
Now this was not all--far, far from it. On the way out in the cars, Mrs.
Rae met the colonel of the regiment--a real colonel, who is called a
colonel, too--who was also on his way to this post, and with him was
Lieutenant Whittemore, a classmate of Faye's. Colonel Fitz-James was
very courteous to Mrs. Rae, and when they reached Kit Carson he insisted
upon her coming over with him in the ambulance that had been sent to
meet him. This was very much more comfortable than riding in the old
stage, so she gladly accepted, and to show her appreciation of the
kindness, she invited the colonel, also Lieutenant Whittemore, to dine
with us the following evening!
Yes, there is still more, for it so happens that Colonel Fitz-James
is known to be an epicure, to be fussy and finical about all things
pertaining to the table, and what is worse takes no pains to disguise
it, and in consequence is considered an undesirable dinner guest by
the most experienced housekeepers in the regiment. All this I had often
heard, and recalled every word during the long hours of that night as
I was making plans for the coming day. The combination in its entirety
could not have been more formidable. There was Faye's mother, a splendid
housekeeper--her very first day in our house. His colonel and an
abnormally sensitive palate--his very first meeting with each of us.
His classmate, a young man of much wealth--a perfect stranger to me. A
soldier cook, willing, and a very good waiter, but only a plain everyday
cook; certainly not a maker of dainty dishes for a dinner party. And
my own experiences in housekeeping had been limited to log huts in
outlandish places.
Every little thing for that dinner had to be prepared in our own house.
There was no obliging caterer around the corner where a salad, an ice,
and other things could be hurriedly ordered; not even one little market
to go to for fish, flesh, or fowl; only the sutler's store, where their
greatest dainty is "cove" oysters! Fortunately there were some young
grouse in the house which I had saved for Mrs. Rae and which were just
right for the table, and those West could cook perfectly.
So with a head buzzing from quinine I went down in the morning, and with
stubborn determination that the dinner should be a success, I proceeded
to carry out the plans I had decided upon during the night.
The house was put in splendid order and the dinner prepared, and Colonel
Knight was invited to join us. I attempted only the dishes that could
be served well--nothing fancy or difficult--and the sergeant's wife
remained to assist West in the kitchen. It all passed off pleasantly
and most satisfactorily, and Colonel Fitz-James could not have been more
agreeable, although he looked long and sharply at the soldier when he
first appeared in the dining room. But he said not a word; perhaps he
concluded it must be soldier or no dinner. I have been told several
nice things he said about that distracting dinner before leaving the
garrison. But it all matters little to me now, since it was not found
necessary to take me to a lunatic asylum!
Mrs. Rae saw in a paper that Faye had been shot by a desperado, and
was naturally much alarmed, so she sent a telegram to learn what had
happened, and in reply Faye telegraphed for her to come out, and
fearing that he must be very ill she left Boston that very night. But we
understood that she would start the next day, and this misinterpretation
caused my undoing--that and the sand storm.
That man Oliver has at last been arrested and is now in the jail at
Las Animas, chained with another man--a murderer--to a post in the dark
cellar. This is because he has so many times threatened the jailer. He
says that some day he will get out, and then his first act will be to
kill the keeper, and the next to kill Lieutenant Rae. He also declares
that Faye kicked him when he was in the guardhouse at the post. Of
course anyone with a knowledge of military discipline would know this
assertion to be false, for if Faye had done such a thing as that, he
might have been court-martialed.
The sheriff was actually afraid to make the arrest the first time he
went over, because so many of Oliver's friends were in town, and so he
came back without him, although he saw him several times. The second
trip, however, Oliver was taken off guard and was handcuffed and out of
the town before he had a chance to rally his friends to his assistance.
He was brought to Las Animas during the night to avoid any possibility
of a lynching. The residents of the little town are full of indignation
that the man should have attempted to kill an officer of this garrison.
He is a horse thief and desperado, and made his escape from their jail
several months back, so altogether they consider that the country can
very well do without him. I think so, too, and wish every hour in the
day that the sheriff had been less cautious. Oliver cannot be tried
until next May, when the general court meets, and I am greatly
distressed over this fact, for the jail is old and most insecure, and he
may get out at any time. The fear and dread of him is on my mind day and
night.
FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, December, 1873.
EVERYONE in the garrison seems to be more or less in a state of
collapse! The bal masque is over, the guests have departed, and all that
is left to us now are the recollections of a delightful party that gave
full return for our efforts to have it a success.
We did not dream that so many invitations would be accepted at far-away
posts, that parties would come from Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, Fort
Dodge, and Fort Wallace, for a long ambulance ride was necessary from
each place. But we knew of their coming in time to make preparations
for all, so there was no confusion or embarrassment. Every house on
the officers' line was filled to overflowing and scarcely a corner left
vacant.
The new hospital was simply perfect for an elaborate entertainment.
The large ward made a grand ballroom, the corridors were charming for
promenading, and, yes, flirting, the dining room and kitchen perfect for
the supper, and the office and other small rooms were a nice size for
cloak rooms. Of course each one of these rooms, big and small, had to
be furnished. In each dressing room was a toilet table fitted out with
every little article that might possibly be needed during the evening,
both before and after the removal of masks. All this necessitated
much planning, an immense amount of work, and the stripping of our own
houses. But there were a good many of us, and the soldiers were cheerful
assistants. I was on the supper committee, which really dwindled down
to a committee of one at the very last, for I was left alone to put the
finishing touches to the tables and to attend to other things. The vain
creatures seemed more interested in their own toilets, and went home to
beautify themselves.
The commanding officer kept one eye, and the quartermaster about a dozen
eyes upon us while we were decorating, to see that no injury was done
to the new building. But that watchfulness was unnecessary, for the many
high windows made the fastening of flags an easy matter, as we draped
them from the casing of one window to the casing of the next, which
covered much of the cold, white walls and gave an air of warmth and
cheeriness to the rooms. Accoutrements were hung everywhere, every bit
of brass shining as only an enlisted man can make it shine, and the long
infantry rifles with fixed bayonets were "stacked" whereever they would
not interfere with the dancing.
Much of the supper came from Kansas City--that is, the celery, fowls,
and material for little cakes, ices, and so on--and the orchestra
consisted of six musicians from the regimental band at Fort Riley. The
floor of the ballroom was waxed perfectly, but it is hoped by some of
us that much of the lightning will be taken from it before the hospital
cots and attendants are moved in that ward.
Everybody was en masque and almost everyone wore fancy dress and some
of the costumes were beautiful. The most striking figure in the rooms,
perhaps, was Lieutenant Alden, who represented Death! He is very tall
and very slender, and he had on a skintight suit of dark-brown drilling,
painted from crown to toe with thick white paint to represent the
skeleton of a human being; even the mask that covered the entire head
was perfect as a skull. The illusion was a great success, but it made
one shiver to see the awful thing walking about, the grinning skull
towering over the heads of the tallest. And ever at its side was a red
devil, also tall, and so thin one wondered what held the bones together.
This red thing had a long tail. The devil was Lieutenant Perkins, of
course.
Faye and Doctor Dent were dressed precisely alike, as sailors, the
doctor even wearing a pair of Faye's shoes. They had been very sly about
the twin arrangement, which was really splendid, for they are just about
the same size and have hair very much the same color. But smart as they
were, I recognized Faye at once. The idea of anyone thinking I would not
know him!
We had queens and milkmaids and flower girls galore, and black starry
nights and silvery days, and all sorts of things, many of them very
elegant. My old yellow silk, the two black lace flounces you gave me,
and a real Spanish mantilla that Mrs. Rae happened to have with her,
made a handsome costume for me as a Spanish lady. I wore almost all the
jewelry in the house; every piece of my own small amount and much
of Mrs. Rae's, the nicest of all having been a pair of very large
old-fashioned "hoop" earrings, set all around with brilliants. My comb
was a home product, very showy, but better left to the imagination.
The dancing commenced at nine o'clock, and at twelve supper was served,
when we unmasked, and after supper we danced again and kept on dancing
until five o'clock! Even then a few of us would have been willing
to begin all over, for when again could we have such a ballroom with
perfect floor and such excellent music to dance by? But with the new day
came a new light and all was changed, much like the change of a ballet
with a new calcium light, only ours was not beautifying, but most trying
to tired, painted faces; and seeing each other we decided that we could
not get home too fast. In a few days the hospital will be turned over to
the post-surgeon, and the beautiful ward will be filled with iron
cots and sick soldiers, and instead of delicate perfumes, the odor of
nauseous drugs will pervade every place.
I have been too busy to ride during the past week, but am going out this
afternoon with the chaplain's young daughter, who is a fearless
rider, although only fourteen. King is very handsome now and his gait
delightful, but he still requires most careful management. He ran away
with me the other day, starting with those three tremendous strides,
but we were out on a level and straight road, so nothing went wrong. All
there was for me to do was to keep my seat. Lieutenant Perkins and Miss
Campbell were a mile or more ahead of us, and after he had passed them
he came down to a trot, evidently flattering himself that he had won a
race, and that nothing further was expected of him.
He jumps the cavalry hurdles beautifully--goes over like a deer, Hal
always following directly back of him. Whatever a horse does that dog
wants to do also. Last spring, when we came up from Camp Supply, he
actually tried to eat the corn that dropped from King's mouth as he
was getting his supper one night in camp. He has scarcely noticed
Powder-Face since the very day King was sent to me, but became devoted
to the new horse at once. I wonder if he could have seen that the new
horse was the faster of the two!
FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, May, 1874.
THERE is such good news to send you to-day I can hardly write it fast
enough. The Territorial Court has been in session, and yesterday
that horse thief, Billy Oliver, was tried and sentenced to ten years'
imprisonment in the penitentiary! The sheriff and a posse started for
Canon City this morning with him and another prisoner, and I hope that
he will not make his escape on the way over. The sheriff told Faye
confidentially the route he intended to take, which is not at all the
one he is supposed to be going over, and threw out strong hints to the
effect that if he wanted to put an end to the man's vicious career there
would be no interference from him (the sheriff) or his posse. He even
told Faye of a lonesome spot where it could be accomplished easily and
safely!
This was a strange thing for a sheriff to do, even in this country of
desperadoes, and shows what a fiend he considers Oliver to be. He said
that the man was the leader of a gang of the lowest and boldest type
of villains, and that even now it would be safer to have him out of the
way. Sheriffs are afraid of these men, and do not like to be obliged to
arrest them.
The day of the trial, and as Faye was about to go to the court room, a
corporal came to the house and told him that he had just come from Las
Animas, where he had heard from a reliable source that many of Oliver's
friends were in the town, and that it was their intention to kill Faye
as he came in the court room. He even described the man who was to do
the dreadful work, and he told Faye that if he went over without an
escort he would certainly be killed.
This was simply maddening, and I begged Faye to ask for a guard, but he
would not, insisting that there was not the least danger, that even a
desperado would not dare shoot an army officer in Las Animas in a public
place, for he knew he would be hung the next moment. That was all very
well, but it seemed to me that it would be better to guard against the
murder itself rather than think of what would be done to the murderer. I
knew that the corporal would never have come to the house if he had not
heard much that was alarming.
So Faye went over without a guard, but did condescend to wear his
revolvers. He says that the first thing he saw as he entered the court
room were six big, brawny cavalrymen, each one a picked man, selected
for bravery and determination. Of course each trooper was armed with
large government revolvers and a belt full of cartridges. He also saw
that they were sitting near, and where they could watch every move of
a man who answered precisely to the corporal's description, and as he
passed on up through the crowd he almost touched him. His hair was long
and hung down on his shoulders about a face that was villainous, and he
was "armed to the teeth." There were other tough-looking men seated near
this man, each one armed also.
Colonel Bissell had heard of the threat to kill Faye, and ordered a
corporal, the very man who searched so bravely through the dark house
for Oliver at Granada, and five privates to the court, with instructions
to shoot at once the first and every man who made the slightest move to
harm Faye! Those men knew very well what the soldiers were there for,
and I imagine that after one look at their weather-beaten faces, which
told of many an Indian campaign, the villains decided that it would be
better to keep quiet and let Oliver manage his own affairs.
A sergeant and one or two privates were summoned by Oliver to give
testimony against Faye, but each one told the same story, and said most
emphatically that Faye had not done more than speak to the man in the
line of duty, and as any officer would have done. Directly after guard
mounting, and as the new guard marches up to the guardhouse, the old
guard is ordered out, also the prisoners, and the prisoners stand in the
middle of the line with soldiers at each end, and every man, enlisted
man and prisoner, is required to stand up straight and in line. It was
at One of these times that Oliver claimed that Faye kicked him, when
he was officer of the day. Faye and Major Tilford say that the man was
slouching, and Faye told him to stand up and take his hands out of his
pockets. A small thing to murder an officer for, but I imagine that any
sort of discipline to a man of his character was most distasteful.
Of course Faye left the court room as soon as his testimony had been
given. When the sentence was pronounced the judge requested all visitors
to remain seated until after the prisoner had been removed, which showed
that he was a little afraid of trouble, and knew the bitter feeling
against the horse thief in the town. Several girls and young officers
from the post were outside in an ambulance, and they commenced to cheer
when told of the sentence, but the judge hurried a messenger out to
them with a request that they make no demonstration whatever. He is a
fearless and just judge, and it is a wonder that desperadoes have not
killed him long ago.
Perhaps now I can have a little rest from the terrible fear that has
been ever with me day and night during the whole winter, that Oliver
would escape from the old jail and carry out his threat of double
murder. He had made his escape once, and I feared that he might get out
again. But that post and chain must have been very securely fixed down
in that cellar.
FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, June, 1874.
BY this time you have my letter telling you that the regiment has been
ordered to the Department of the Gulf. Since then we have heard that it
is to go directly to Holly Springs, Mississippi, for the summer, where
a large camp is to be established. Just imagine what the suffering will
be, to go from this dry climate to the humidity of the South, and from
cool, thick-walled adobe buildings to hot, glary tents in the midst
of summer heat! We will reach Holly Springs about the Fourth of July.
Faye's allowance for baggage hardly carries more than trunks and a few
chests of house linen and silver, so we are taking very few things with
us. It is better to give them away than to pay for their transportation
such a long distance.
Both horses have been sold and beautiful King has gone. The young man
who bought him was a stranger here, and knew absolutely nothing about
the horse except what some one in Las Animas had told him. He rode him
around the yard only once, and then jumping down, pulled from his pocket
a fat roll of bills, counted off the amount for horse, saddle, and
bridle, and then, without saying one word more than a curt "good
morning," he mounted the horse again and rode out of the yard and
away. I saw the whole transaction from a window--saw it as well as
hot, blinding tears would permit. Faye thinks the man might have been
a fugitive and wanted a fast horse to get him out of the country. We
learned not long ago, you know, that King had been an Indian race pony
owned by a half-breed named Bent. He sent word from Camp Supply that I
was welcome to the horse if I could ride him! The chaplain has bought
Powder-Face, and I am to keep him as long as we are here. Hal will go
with us, for I cannot give up that dog and horses, too.
Speaking of Hal reminds me of the awful thing that occurred here a few
days ago. I have written often of the pack of beautiful greyhounds owned
by the cavalry officers, and of the splendid record of Magic--Hal's
father--as a hunter, and how the dog was loved by Lieutenant Baldwin
next to his horse.
But unless the dogs were taken on frequent hunts, they would steal off
on their own account and often be away a whole day, perhaps until after
dark. The other day they went off this way, and in the afternoon, as
Lieutenant Alden was riding along by the river, he came to a scene
that made him positively ill. On the ground close to the water was
the carcass of a calf, which had evidently been filled with poison for
wolves, and near it on the bank lay Magic, Deacon, Dixie, and other
hounds, all dead or dying! Blue has bad teeth and was still gnawing at
the meat, and therefore had not been to the water, which causes almost
instant death in cases of poisoning by wolf meat.
As soon as Lieutenant Alden saw that the other dogs were past doing for,
he hurried on to the post with Blue, and with great difficulty saved her
life. So Hal and his mother are sole survivors of the greyhounds that
have been known at many of the frontier posts as fearless and tireless
hunters, and plucky fighters when forced to fight. Greyhounds will
rarely seek a fight, a trait that sometimes fools other dogs and brings
them to their Waterloo. When Lieutenant Alden told me of the death of
the dogs, tears came in his eyes as he said, "I have shared my bed
with old Magic many a time!" And how those dogs will be missed at the
bachelor quarters! When we came here last summer, I was afraid that the
old hounds would pounce upon Hal, but instead of that they were most
friendly and seemed to know he was one of them--a wanderer returned.
ST. CHARLES HOTEL, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, September, 1877.
LIFE in the Army is certainly full of surprises! At Pass Christian
yesterday morning, Faye and I were sitting on the veranda reading the
papers in an indifferent sort of way, when suddenly Faye jumped up and
said, "The Third has been ordered to Montana Territory!" At first I
could not believe him--it seemed so improbable that troops would be sent
to such a cold climate at this season of the year, and besides, most of
the regiment is at Pittsburg just now because of the great coal strike.
But there in the Picayune was the little paragraph of half a dozen
lines that was to affect our lives for years to come, and which had the
immediate power to change our condition of indolent content, into one of
the greatest activity and excitement!