The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1873-11-20
LIFE AT A FRONTIER POST.
The (Fragrant) Topic Of the Times,
FoRr WALLACE, KANSAS,
Nov 10 19R

tn. (Fr"grant> Topic Of the Times.
FoRr WALLACE, KANSAS,
Nov. Is, 1873. {
EDITOR JouRNAL.-I find that four
months and half Of quiet residence
in frontier military post is not to be
considered highly conducive to literary
enterprise, and though I have often in
tended to write to you, the details Of
our existence here have scarcely seemed
worth relating. 1t is true tho red man
hath stirred Us up = little, but it vas
With such a very long pols that No
couldn't see to tho other end Of it, aud
so vs. have not seen him in persou.-
A rad Of some of the southern tribes
through lower Colorado disturbed our
oeighbors there and deprived u ten.
porarily Of part Of our garrison who
went in pursuit OF the noble game, but
returned without glory, having seen no
more of the Indians than We did.
TO tell tho honest truth, We have de-
rived more excitement-albeit, unsa.
vory-from the chase, capture and ex-
tinction OF that ienoble aud highly
perfumed beast, the skunk, than from
any other source (urlesa, perhaps, the
genial flow Of rye and bourbon be ex.
cepted.) These pleasing little animals,
whose corpulent, sharp.nosed bodies
suggest nothing so much as dropsical
and exaggerated pumpkin seeds, are ex-
tremely numerous on these plains, and
delight in the superior society Of man.
I think l must be very popular among
them, for the subspace of nv quarters
is more abundantly and constantly PEG.
pied with them than any other part Of
the camp, although all the officers
quarters are pretty freely patronized.
In your humble servants premises no
less than seven have been gathered to
their fathers-fragrant promised land,
theirs during the past month or two,
maybe: twenty more 10 other parts Of
the post. We vatoh him at night, 10
steel spring trap, and then in the
morning, in very unsportsmaolike man.
ner, and with superolious oountenance,
We gather about our viotim-at re-.
spectful distance, fourteen feet is the
minimum-while 44-ba]l from Hen.
~ rifle terminates the ceremony and
the mourners dispense. That is the
officers method Of dealing with these
unwelcome guests. The men are less
oeremonious.
As soon as the evening dusk gath.
ers the quadrupeds in question come
out of their abodes and commence
their regular nocturnal labor, search
for food. If it chances to be moonlight,
it ia quite amusing to stand in some
prudent position and watch them sail.
ing about the yards. l say sailing, for
with their large and very bushy tails
high in air like phantom sails, and being
but. short'paced, their motion is quite
like gliding on water or ice. Darker
evenings walking out of doors is not
to be esteemed agreeable, owing to TIE
risk of stepping on them, for they ave
tolerably bold. Should soldier or ser.
want meet one, the attack is conducted
with cord-vood, and I have heard .
hospital attendant complain that after
he had slain his game it rose and fed
from him, SO we'll protected by enor.
nous layers Of adiposs tissue are their
diminutive vital parts. One evening
the most energetic female servant in
camp. fell toul-a foul fall, in f.ct-of
MIR. s., ADD with characteristic pluck
assailed the foe Having ,mpaled him
With a pitch fork she seized an axe and
10 spite Of probable and obvious disas.
ter, despatched him-well! there was
quite run on the Suffers assortment
Of Jockey Club, Milleaeurs, etc., the
ensuing week. She ought to be pro-
noted for valor extraordinary.
Their raids on our chicken coops are
very destructive. My neighbors on
either side have lost dozen hen.
apiece in the last week. The skuuks
are very strong, and actually tear away
the lower Stats and boards of the ooops,
aud then often destroy half dozen fowls
at a time-only sucking their blood, and
leaving the oaroasses for the owners
pathetic contemplation "Six dinners
gone at one fell swoopw Once . cap.
tive of this genus escaped from me
during the night and feloniously car.
ried away with him large and heavy
beaver trap, and on another occasion
my trap was broken by one ; SO strone
are they. ! saw these two specimen.
10 the traps, but in order to avoid
alarming the garrison We usually do moi
shoot them until the next morning.
aud 50 they fed. Unfortunately thes,
steel traps are quite impartial in thsi,
duties, 50 that, ia my zeal to emulate
Nimrod, 1 have taken besides the above
ono dog, two inqai.isivee cats and an rs.
pi'iog hen.
20 ~ -"