dreadful things that could so easily happen. And then I tried to forget
my anxiety by taking a brisk ride on Bettie, but when I returned I found
that Faye had not come, so I worried all the more. The hours passed and
still he was away, and I was becoming really alarmed. At last there was
a shout at a side door, and running out I found Faye standing up very
tall and with a broad smile on his face, and on the ground at his feet
was an immense white-tail deer! He said that he had walked miles on the
mountain but had failed to find one living thing, and had finally come
down and was just starting to cross the valley on his way home, when
he saw the deer, which he fortunately killed with one shot at very long
range. He did not want to leave it to be devoured by wolves while he
came to the corral for a wagon, so he dragged the heavy thing all the
way in. And that was why he was gone so long, for of course he was
obliged to rest every now and then. I was immensely proud of the
splendid deer, but it did not convince me in the least that it was safe
for Faye to go up in that forest alone. Of course Faye has shot other
deer, and mountain sheep also, since we have been here, but this was the
first he had killed when alone.
Of all the large game we have ever had--buffalo, antelope, black-tail
deer, white-tail deer--the mountain sheep is the most delicious. The
meat is very tender and juicy and exceedingly rich in flavor. It is very
"gamey," of course, and is better after having been frozen or hung for
a few days. These wary animals are most difficult to get, for they are
seldom found except on the peaks of high mountains, where the many big
rocks screen them, so when one is brought in, it is always with great
pride and rejoicing. There are antelope in the lowlands about here, but
none have been brought in since we came to the post. The ruffed grouse
and the tule hens are plentiful, and of course nothing can be more
delicious.
And the trout are perfect, too, but the manner in which we get them this
frozen-up weather is not sportsmanlike. There is a fine trout stream
just outside the post which is frozen over now, but when we wish a few
nice trout for dinner or breakfast. Cagey and I go down, and with a
hatchet he will cut a hole in the ice through which I fish, and usually
catch all we want in a few minutes. The fish seem to be hungry and rise
quickly to almost any kind of bait except flies. They seem to know that
this is not the fly season. The trout are not very large, about eight
and ten inches long, but they are delicate in flavor and very delicious.
Cagey is not a wonderful cook, but he does very well, and I think that
I would much prefer him to a Chinaman, judging from what I have seen of
them here. Mrs. Conrad, wife of Captain Conrad, of the --th Infantry,
had one who was an excellent servant in every way except in the manner
of doing the laundry work. He persisted in putting the soiled linen in
the boiler right from the basket, and no amount of talk on the part of
Mrs. Conrad could induce him to do otherwise. Monday morning Mrs. Conrad
went to the kitchen and told him once more that he must look the linen
over, and rub it with plenty of water and soap before boiling it. The
heathen looked at her with a grin and said, "Allee light, you no likee
my washee, you washee yousel'," and lifting the boiler from the stove he
emptied its entire steaming contents out upon the floor! He then went to
his own room, gathered up his few clothes and bedding, and started off.
He knew full well that if he did not leave the reservation at once he
would be put off after such a performance.
CAMP BAKER, MONTANA TERRITORY, February, 1878.
HOME seems very cozy and attractive after the mountains of snow and ice
we crossed and re-crossed on our little trip to Helena. The bitter cold
of those canons will long be remembered. But it was a delightful change
from the monotonous life in this out-of-the-way garrison, even if we did
almost freeze on the road, and it was more than pleasant to be with old
friends again.
The ball at the hall Friday evening was most enjoyable, and it was
simply enchanting to dance once more to the perfect music of the
dear old orchestra. And the young people in Helena are showing their
appreciation of the good music by dancing themselves positively thin
this winter. The band leader brought from New Orleans the Creole music
that was so popular there, and at the ball we danced Les Varietes four
times; the last was at the request of Lieutenant Joyce, with whom I
always danced it in the South. It is thoroughly French, bringing in the
waltz, polka, schottische, mazurka, and redowa. Some of those Creole
girls were the personification of grace in that dance.
We knew of the ball before leaving home, and went prepared for it, but
had not heard one word about the bal masque to be given by "The Army
Social Club" at Mrs. Gordon's Tuesday evening. We did not have one
thing with us to assist in the make-up of a fancy dress; nevertheless we
decided to attend it. Faye said for me not to give him a thought, that
he could manage his own costume. How I did envy his confidence in man
and things, particularly things, for just then I felt far from equal to
managing my own dress.
I had been told of some of the costumes that were to be worn by friends,
and they were beautiful, and the more I heard of these things, the
more determined I became that I would not appear in a domino! So Monday
morning I started out for an idea, and this I found almost immediately
in a little shop window. It was only a common pasteboard mask, but
nevertheless it was a work of art. The face was fat and silly, and
droll beyond description, and to look at the thing and not laugh was
impossible. It had a heavy bang of fiery red hair. I bought it without
delay, and was wondering where I could find something to go with it in
that little town, when I met a friend--a friend indeed--who offered me
some widths of silk that had been dyed a most hideous shade of green.
I gladly accepted the offer, particularly as this friend is in deep
mourning and would not be at the ball to recognize me. Well, I made this
really awful silk into a very full skirt that just covered my ankles,
and near the bottom I put a broad band of orange-colored cambric--the
stiff and shiny kind. Then I made a Mother Hubbard apron of white
paper-cambric, also very stiff and shiny, putting a big full ruche of
the cambric around neck, yoke, and bottom of sleeves. For my head I made
a large cap of the white cambric with ruche all around, and fastened it
on tight with wide strings that were tied in a large stiff bow under the
chin. We drew my evening dress up underneath both skirt and apron
and pinned it securely on my shoulders, and this made me stout and
shapeless. Around this immense waist and over the apron was drawn a wide
sash of bright pink, glossy cambric that was tied in a huge bow at the
back. But by far the best of all, a real crown of glory, was a pigtail
of red, red hair that hung down my back and showed conspicuously on the
white apron. This was a loan by Mrs. Joyce, another friend in mourning,
and who assisted me in dressing.
We wanted the benefit of the long mirror in the little parlor of the
hotel, so we carried everything there and locked the door. And then
the fun commenced! I am afraid that Mrs. Joyce's fingers must have been
badly bruised by the dozens of pins she used, and how she laughed at me!
But if I looked half as dreadful as my reflection in the mirror I must
have been a sight to provoke laughter. We had been requested to give
names to our characters, and Mrs. Joyce said I must be "A Country
Girl," but it still seems to me that "An Idiot" would have been more
appropriate.
I drove over with Major and Mrs. Carleton. The dressing rooms were
crowded at Mrs. Gordon's, so it was an easy matter to slip away, give my
long cloak and thick veil to a maid, and return to Mrs. Carleton before
she had missed me, and it was most laughable to see the dear lady go
in search for me, peering in everyone's face. But she did not find me,
although we went down the stairs and in the drawing-room together, and
neither did one person in those rooms recognize me during the evening.
Lieutenant Joyce said he knew to whom the hair belonged, but beyond that
it was all a mystery.
That evening will never be forgotten, for, as soon as I saw that no one
knew me, I became a child once more, and the more the maskers laughed
the more I ran around. When I first appeared in the rooms there was a
general giggle and that was exhilarating, so off I went. After a time
Colonel Fitz-James adopted me and tagged around after me every place; I
simply could not get rid of the man. I knew him, of course, and I
also knew that he was mistaking me for some one else, which made his
attentions anything but complimentary. I told him ever so many times
that he did not know me, but he always insisted that it was impossible
for him to be deceived, that he would always know me, and so on. He was
acting in a very silly manner--quite too silly for a man of his years
and a colonel of a regiment, and he was keeping me from some very nice
dances, too, so I decided to lead him a dance, and commenced a rare
flirtation in cozy corners and out-of-the-way places. I must admit,
though, that all the pleasure I derived from it was when I heard the
smothered giggles of those who saw us. The colonel was in a domino and
had not tried to disguise himself.
We went in to supper together, and I managed to be almost the last one
to unmask, and all the time Colonel Fitz-James, domino removed, was
standing in front of me, and looking down with a smile of serene
expectancy. The colonel of a regiment is a person of prominence,
therefore many people in the room were watching us, not one suspecting,
however, who I was. So when I did take off the mask there was a shout:
"Why, it is Mrs. Rae," and "Oh, look at Mrs. Rae," and several friends
came up to us. Well, I wish you could have seen the colonel's face--the
mingled surprise and almost horror that was expressed upon it. Of course
the vain man had placed himself in a ridiculous position, chasing around
and flirting with the wife of one of his very own officers--a second
lieutenant at that! It came out later that he, and others also, had
thought that I was a Helena girl whom the colonel admires very much.
It was rather embarrassing, too, to be told that the girl was sitting
directly opposite on the other side of the room, where she was watching
us with two big, black eyes. And then farther down I saw Faye also
looking at us--but then, a man never can see things from a woman's view
point.
The heat and weight of the two dresses had been awful, and as soon as
I could get away, I ran to a dressing room and removed the cambric. But
the pins! There seemed to be thousands of them. Some of the costumes
were beautiful and costly, also. Mrs. Manson, a lovely little woman of
Helena, was "A Comet." Her short dress of blue silk was studded with
gold stars, and to each shoulder was fastened a long, pointed train of
yellow gauze sprinkled with diamond dust. An immense gold star with a
diamond sunburst in the center was above her forehead, and around her
neck was a diamond necklace. Mrs. Palmer, wife of Colonel Palmer, was
"King of Hearts," the foundation a handsome red silk. Mrs. Spencer
advertised the New York Herald; the whole dress, which was flounced
to the waist, was made of the headings of that paper. Major Blair was
recognized by no one as "An American citizen," in plain evening dress. I
could not find Faye at all, and he was in a simple red domino, too.
I cannot begin to tell you of the many lovely costumes that seemed most
wonderful to me, for you must remember that we were far up in the Rocky
Mountains, five hundred miles from a railroad! I will send you a copy
of the Helena paper that gives an account of the ball, in which you will
read that "Mrs. Rae was inimitable--the best sustained character in the
rooms." I have thought this over some, and I consider the compliment
doubtful.
We remained one day longer in Helena than we had expected for the
bal masque; consequently we were obliged to start back the very next
morning, directly after breakfast, and that was not pleasant, for we
were very tired. The weather had been bitter cold, but during the night
a chinook had blown up, and the air was warm and balmy as we came across
the valley. When we reached the mountains, however, it was freezing
again, and there was glassy ice every place, which made driving over the
grades more dangerous than usual. In many places the ambulance wheels
had to be "blocked," and the back and front wheels of one side chained
together so they could not turn, in addition to the heavy brake, and
then the driver would send the four sharp-shod mules down at a swinging
trot that kept the ambulance straight, and did not give it time to slip
around and roll us down to eternity.
There is one grade on this road that is notoriously dangerous, and
dreaded by every driver around here because of the many accidents that
have occurred there. It is cut in the side of a high mountain and has
three sharp turns back and forth, and the mountain is so steep, it is
impossible to see from the upper grade all of the lower that leads down
into the canon called White's Gulch. This one mountain grade is a mile
and a half long. But the really dangerous place is near the middle turn,
where a warm spring trickles out of the rocks and in winter forms thick
ice over the road; and if this ice cannot be broken up, neither man nor
beast can walk over, as it is always thicker on the inner side.
I was so stiffened from the overheating and try-to-fool dancing at Mrs.
Gordon's, it was with the greatest difficulty I could walk at all on the
slippery hills, and was constantly falling down, much to the amusement
of Faye and the driver. But ride down some of them I would not. At
Canon Ferry, where we remained over night, the ice in the Missouri was
cracked, and there were ominous reports like pistol shots down in the
canon below. At first Faye thought it would be impossible to come over,
but the driver said he could get everything across, if he could come at
once. Faye walked over with me, and then went back to assist the driver
with the mules that were still on the bank refusing to step upon the
ice. But Faye led one leader, and the driver lashed and yelled at all of
them, and in this way they crossed, each mule snorting at every step.
There were the most dreadful groans and creakings and loud reports
during the entire night, and in the morning the river was clear, except
for a few pieces of ice that were still floating down from above. The
Missouri is narrow at Canon Ferry, deep and very swift, and it is
a dreadful place to cross at any time, on the ice, or on the cable
ferryboat. They catch a queer fish there called the "ling." It has three
sides, is long and slender, and is perfectly blind. They gave us some
for supper and it was really delicious.
We found everything in fine order upon our return, and it was very
evident that Cagey had taken good care of the house and Hal, but Billie
grayback had taken care of himself. He was given the run of my room, but
I had expected, of course, that he would sleep in his own box, as usual.
But no, the little rascal in some way discovered the warmth of the
blankets on my bed, and in between these he had undoubtedly spent most
of the time during our absence, and there we found him after a long
search, and there he wants to stay all the time now, and if anyone
happens to go near the bed they are greeted with the fiercest kind of
smothered growls.
The black horse has been sold, and Faye has bought another, a sorrel,
that seems to be a very satisfactory animal. He is not as handsome as
Ben, nor as fractious, either. Bettie is behaving very well, but is
still nervous, and keeps her forefeet down just long enough to get
herself over the ground. She is beautiful, and Kelly simply adores her
and keeps her bright-red coat like satin. Faye can seldom ride with me
because of his numerous duties, and not one of the ladies rides here,
so I have Kelly go, for one never knows what one may come across on the
roads around here. They are so seldom traveled, and are little more than
trails.
CAMP BAKER, MONTANA TERRITORY, March, 1878.
THE mail goes out in the morning, and in it a letter must be sent to
you, but it is hard--hard for me to write--to have to tell you that my
dear dog, my beautiful greyhound, is dead--dead and buried! It seems so
cruel that he should have died now, so soon after getting back to his
old home, friends, and freedom. On Tuesday, Faye and Lieutenant Lomax
went out for a little hunt, letting Hal go with them, which was unusual,
and to which I objected, for Lieutenant Lomax is a notoriously poor shot
and hunter, and I was afraid he might accidentally kill Hal--mistake him
for a wild animal. So, as they went down our steps I said, "Please do
not shoot my dog!" much more in earnest than in jest, for I felt that
he would really be in danger, as it would be impossible to keep him with
them all the time.
As they went across the parade ground, rifles over their shoulders, Hal
jumped up on Faye and played around him, expressing his delight at being
allowed to go on a hunt. He knew what a gun was made for just as well as
the oldest hunter. That was the last I saw of my dog! Faye returned long
before I had expected him, and one quick glance at his troubled face
told me that something terrible had happened. I saw that he was unhurt
and apparently well, but--where was Hal? With an awful pain in my heart
I asked, "Did Lieutenant Lomax shoot Hal?" After a second's hesitation
Faye said "No; but Hal is dead!" It seemed too dreadful to be true, and
at first I could not believe it, for it had been only such a short time
since I had seen him bounding and leaping, evidently in perfect health,
and oh, so happy!
No one in the house even thought of dinner that night, and poor black
Cagey sobbed and moaned so loud and long Faye was obliged to ask him
to be quiet. For hours I could not listen to the particulars. Faye
says that they had not gone out so very far when he saw a wild cat some
distance away, and taking careful aim, he shot it, but the cat, instead
of falling, started on a fast run. Hal was in another direction, but
when he heard the report of the rifle and saw the cat running, he
started after it with terrific speed and struck it just as the cat fell,
and then the two rolled over and over together.
He got up and stood by Faye and Lieutenant Lomax while they examined the
cat, and if there was anything wrong with him it was not noticed. But
when they turned to come to the post, dragging the dead cat after them,
Faye heard a peculiar sound, and looking back saw dear Hal on the ground
in a fit much like vertigo. He talked to him and petted him, thinking he
would soon be over it--and the plucky dog did get up and try to follow,
but went down again and for the last time The swift run and excitement
caused by encountering an animal wholly different from anything he had
ever seen before was too great a strain upon the weak heart.
Before coming to the house Faye had ordered a detail out to bury him,
with instructions to cover the grave with pieces of glass to keep the
wolves away. The skin and head of the cat, which was really a lynx, are
being prepared for a rug, but I do not see how I can have the thing in
the house, although the black spots and stripes with the white make the
fur very beautiful. The ball passed straight through the body.
The loneliness of the house is awful, and at night I imagine that I hear
him outside whining to come in. Many a cold night have I been up two and
three times to straighten his bed and cover him up. His bed was the skin
of a young buffalo, and he knew just when it was smooth and nice, and
then he would almost throw himself down, with a sigh of perfect content.
If I did not cover him at once, he would get up and drop down again,
and there he would stay hours at a time with the fur underneath and
over him, with just his nose sticking out. He suffered keenly from the
intense cold here because his hair was so short and fine. And then he
was just from the South, too, where he was too warm most of the time.
It makes me utterly wretched to think of the long year he was away from
us at Baton Rouge. But what could we have done? We could not have had
him with us, in the very heart of New Orleans, for he had already been
stolen from us at Jackson Barracks, a military post!
With him passed the very last of his blood, a breed of greyhounds that
was known in Texas, Kansas, and Colorado as wonderful hunters, also
remarkable for their pluck and beauty of form. Hal was a splendid
hunter, and ever on the alert for game. Not one morsel of it would he
eat, however, not even a piece of domestic fowl, which he seemed to look
upon as game. Sheep he considered fine game, and would chase them
every opportunity that presented itself. This was his one bad trait, an
expensive one sometimes, but it was the only one, and was overbalanced
many times by his lovable qualities that made him a favorite with all.
Every soldier in the company loved him and was proud of him, and would
have shared his dinner with the dog any day if called upon to do so.
NATIONAL HOTEL, HELENA, MONTANA TERRITORY, May, 1878.
TO hear that we are no longer at Camp Baker will be a surprise, but
you must have become accustomed to surprises of this kind long ago.
Regimental headquarters, the companies that have been quartered at the
Helena fair grounds during the winter, and the two companies from Camp
Baker, started from here this morning on a march to the Milk River
country, where a new post is to be established on Beaver Creek. It is
to be called Fort Assiniboine. The troops will probably be in camp until
fall, when they will go to Fort Shaw.
We had been given no warning whatever of this move, and had less than
two days in which to pack and crate everything. And I can assure you
that in one way it was worse than being ranked out, for this time there
was necessity for careful packing and crating, because of the rough
mountain roads the wagons had to come over. But there were no accidents,
and our furniture and boxes are safely put away here in a government
storehouse.
At the time the order came, Faye was recorder for a board of survey
that was being held at the post, and this, in addition to turning over
quartermaster and other property, kept him hard at work night and day,
so the superintendence of all things pertaining to the house and
camp outfit fell to my lot. The soldiers were most willing and
most incompetent, and it kept me busy telling them what to do. The
mess-chest, and Faye's camp bedding are always in readiness for ordinary
occasions, but for a camp of several months in this climate, where it
can be really hot one day and freezing cold the next, it was necessary
to add many more things. Just how I managed to accomplish so much in
so short a time I do not know, but I do know that I was up and packing
every precious minute the night before we came away, and the night
seemed very short too. But everything was taken to the wagons in very
good shape, and that repaid me for much of the hard work and great
fatigue.
And I was tired--almost too tired to sit up, but at eight o'clock I got
in an ambulance and came nearly forty miles that one day! Major Stokes
and Captain Martin had been on the board of survey, and as they were
starting on the return trip to Helena, I came over with them, which not
only got me here one day in advance of the company, but saved Faye the
trouble of providing for me in camp on the march from Camp Baker. We
left the post just as the troops were starting out. Faye was riding
Bettie and Cagey was on Pete.
I brought Billie, of course, and at Canon Ferry I lost that squirrel!
After supper I went directly to my room to give him a little run and
to rest a little myself, but before opening his box I looked about for
places where he might escape, and seeing a big crack under one of the
doors, covered it with Faye's military cape, thinking, as I did so, that
it would be impossible for a squirrel to crawl through such a narrow
place. Then I let him out. Instead of running around and shying at
strange objects as he usually does, he ran straight to that cape, and
after two or three pulls with his paws, flattened his little gray
body, and like a flash he and the long bushy tail disappeared! I was en
deshabille, but quickly slipped on a long coat and ran out after him.