National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-12-26
A RACE FOR LIFE.
LIEUT.. wETMoRE'S ADvENTUR as IN
THE TEXAS PANHANDLE

LlEUT, WETMOhEO ADN GNA IN Is IN
THE TEXAS PANHANDLE.
A recent number Of the Leaver. sorth CONNER
ciaI contains an interesting account Of an inter
view between its reporter End the two children Of
the Germaine family who were rescued from the
Cheyenne Indians after the recent Smoky Hill
massacre. Just before the interview the reporter
obtained the details Of an adventure Of Lieut..
wetmore, which we copy, as follows:
At Gen. Pope's headquarters We had most In
teresting conversation with Lieut. W. b. Wet
more, of the United States 9Th cavalry, aide-de-
camp to Gen. Miles, commanding in the field
was reported captured and scalped by the saw
ages. From his own lips we learned the facts In
regard TO his race for life IN the Texas Pan-Han-
die, and the intense suffering Of himself and COM
panion while lost in the storm
1t appears that on the 10th of November Lieut..
MstmGre accompanied oy servant ieis Gen da
patches to Camp Supply. Reaching the Canadian
river, he concluded 70 leave the train and escort
Supply, accompanied only by his servant. This
was very risky undertaking, as the remainder
Of the story viii show. Scarcely had Wetmore
and Hamilton, his servant, LETT the train before
they saw signs Of the Indians
But they were both full of pluck and anxious
TO reach their destination, and so, unmindful Of
towards the north. Towards night on the 18th
the two reached stream, where they deter
suddenly on a band Of three Indians, who, on
seeing the blue coats scattered like leaves before
winter wind. Here was nice position I ioT the
they had met were but stragglers Of q still
larger party in the immediate neighborhOOd.
And so It proved Retracing their steps they put
spurs to their horses only to ride in the midst Of
party Of nine mounted savages, who were so COM
Pletely taken by surprise at the appearances Of
the soldier boys that they merely turned on their
horses and gave one steady, prolonged stare at
the blue-coated intrudeTs. But Wetmore and his
companion did not take the Introduction coolly.
Quickly wheeling their horses they started
down the slope and out on the sleety and frozen
prairie with the speed Of the wind. They were in
Tor it now. One look behind them revealed the
Indians in full pursuit. But they had 9 good
start. The wind was blowing a gale from the
northwest, and the piercing needles Of sest drove
straight into their faces with binding fury, but
they could neither stop nor change their course.
On went the fugitiyes, and on came the blood
thi rsty puTsuers. 1t was Teritable for life.
None Of your dime-novel hctiOns, but living,
breathing, FACILITATING, exciting fact. Nine blood
hounds OF the frontier after two blue-coats and
their scalps. This was the exact situation, and
Wetmore and his companion knew it. They also
knew that heir horses would not bold .Out long
against the terrible storm, and began to devise
ways and means to sell their lives as dearly as
possible. They thought OF making stand in the
Buffalo WallOWs, when the remembrance Of the
terrible fate Of Chapman and his companions
made them dig in the spurs little deeper and
seek more favorable situation.
At last It was evident they could 90 no further,
and something must be done. The trail they were
making on the sleety surface told them there
was no escape by flight. so unsllnging their car
bines they dropped behind q small thieket and
had set in, and the storm Of sleet and snow was
raging with undated fury. Long and anxiously
these two benumbed and benighted men knelt on
the frozen crust and waited for the appearance Of
their savage foes, but they came not. Either the
Indians had been pelted out Of their purpose by
the terrific storm, or else they had come to the
conclusion that the market price Of two scalps
would not Justify more than one or two twenty
mile heats on stiff and slippery prairie. At all
events they gave up the chase. Lieutenant Wet
more and Hamilton staid behind the thicket all
night narrowly escaping freezing 70 death. and
expecting every moment that tho WhOOps OF the
saVages would be heard, and the crash Of toma-
hawk put them out Of their misery, and end the
| terrible suspense.
When morning dawned the sayages had dIsap-
| peared, but the beleaguered men were in another
| pickle. They were lost in the prairie. Lost as
| efectually as though they were in mid-oeean.
| The storm howled as fierce as it did during the
night. By nothing in tho heavens above or in
the earth beneath could the points Of the compass
be determined. Weary, frozen, hungry and dis
cOura Red, the wanderers began to feel that their
| miraculous escape Of the night before was only q
putting off of the inevitable. Finally, seeing that
| they were completely beWildered, they struck
| for the nearest stream, and followed IL to the
mouth. 1t emptied into a larger one, and thus
these men kept On until, after innumeFable hard
ships they succeeded In striking the old trail hfty
| miles south Of Camp Supply. Forty miles from
| the post they met the cavalry out in search OF
them, and were escorted to quarters, having been
nearly three days without food, and with thefr
| clothing frozen tight to their bodies. It was a
most thrilling end exciting adventure.
| Told as IL was by the brOnZed lieutenant, still
clad in his rORgh wooden shirt, cavalry boots End
pants, the stripes Of which proclaimed the wear
| and tear Of the race through the underbrush, It
| only wanted the charm Of q campfire to hnish
| the word picture of one OF tho most exciting ad-
ventures Of the Indian campaign. Lieutenant
Wetmore says his hands and feet are badly frost
| bitten, but otherwise he is in good health and
! spirits. Hamilton, his companion in the adven-
/ ture, has not yet arrived from the frontier,
| owing to his exhausted condition.