Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1884, 1880-08-06
THE WHITE RIVER.
WHERE THE SIXTH INFANTRY
DWELL.

a Letter From q Correspondent Fa
msliar to Tribune Readers---Cel-
ebrating the Atll Among tho
Sage Brush.
| Especial C0rrespon0ence- Of The T'fi6une.)
CAMP ON WHITE RIVER, COLORADO
July 25-The advent Of THE TRIRUN1
among us this morning reminded us for
chilly of Dakota, with its rich fields 0
grain and pleasant Surroundings. It tals(
brought to mind a promise made to TIL
TRIBUNE staff that faber should occas
ionally be used for their benefit. I can
not tell of adventures by field and flood
We haveNet with none. Our journey. tc
Rawlins and our march to this point
were devoid Of anything out of the com
mon course Of such affairs, and we only
remark that the journal of that march
seems to contain a vast amount of sand
sage brush and alkali dust The pres
ence Of these important articles and the
eXasperating absence of good mountain
streams along the-lin Of our march were
constant themes, and for that matter, arc
yet On the glorious 4th we were at Bear
River, and, in honor. of the day, we laid
over. The boys profited :hy. this, and
washing and scrubbing was the ord er of
the day. Now to properly celebrate our
national anniversary in accordance with
The customs of'the service, one needs a
certain amount Of liquid patriotism, and
alth Ough we were IN an unsettled region,
still the pioneer of civilization the
Whiskey tent-was abroad Acccptin g
Prof Junker's invitation, accompanied
him oo a prosp ecting tour. We were
looking for beer On a hot day, in a pra-
iric country, a glass Of beer is peculiarly
refreshing g, and when mine lost placed
all uncorked bottle between us, Sitting
with the glass in my hand, my mind
wandered off between sips to tar away
Dakota. | was in Bismarck, and passing
up Main street, the genial Joe Hare cali
I'd us into the lie Bon Ton to assist in
celebrating. Then the irreprcssible e
Charlie Williams seized upon US and we
were within the classic walls of the Min
nelaha, while later on Bob Roberts was
entertaining us with Grif1in's last escapalc
at the Capitol saloon; the y. T. C., with
2Wlde-awake Geo Elder On deck. furnish
ing a grand lunch; and we were Just
growing eloquent in eXpat1ating upon the
hospitality Of Bismarck ans and the
cheapness Of their invigorating elixirs,
when our castles in the air were sudden
ly demolished, and I was brought to re-
aljZing sense Of the situation bY the pro-
prictor Of our Bear River establishment,
who was giving us the amount of our
bill. It was only one dollar per bottle
that beer It is needless to remark that
Bismarck did indeed seem a long way
off Our camp here is surrounded by
high hills. / haven't measured them
yet The old agency is some six miles
from here, and naturally it is visited fre
quent]y by these who have yet fresh in
their minds the Meeker disaster Of last
year. Indians are scarce. There have
been a few in camp, but they only make
a casual call and don't have much to say
ColoroH has been here but once since our
arrival. 4 soldier remarked of him that
his face reminded one Of dlshonorable
discharge. If you ask me about the
country, agriculturally speaking I can't
cnthusc. There seems to my mind some
what OF consistency in the Indians object
ing to white men or any one else farming
IN this region. I doubt if the entire res
crvition would admit Of agricultural de
velopmen', except on limited scale. AS
far as precious metals are concerned, [
am not, OF course, prepared to make posi-
tive statements. I have seen some good
"specimens," but they did not come from
our Immediate vicinity. Frospectors are
continually passing through this camp.
They seem to come chiefly from Dead
wood, and give their destination as Ari-
Zona. The indications are at present that
the 9th infantry Will not remain here
lOng-at least not the entire regiment.
We have alieady received infol nation
that probably not more than four COM
Danies will be stationed here next win
ter, and as far as our poor faculties enable
us to judge, we much imagine that is l!st
four companies more than any necessity
demands here However we don't know
everything. and there may be more in
this than is seen on thc surface. We
have good water here, and the fishihg-ye
gods! don't mention it. But, my friend.
you who shortly before our departure
from Dakota were SO enthusiastic, who
enthuscd grandly over the new fields and
pastures green, whese mantle of rich ver-
durc would eclipse Dakota, what are you
saying nov-what were you saying in
those hot July days when the hot sun was
beating down upon your head, and with
a huge cloud Of alkali dust around YOU
your vision was filled with the sage brush
not bear you remark
that this was the worst country you ever
saw, and that little remark by way of ad
denda-"nakota is 8 paradise compared
to this?' This. remark may be suag in
chorus to a we'll known relrair-"So say
VIC all of us.'' REX.
A Deserved Concession.
Through the cyertions of Gen. Hazen,
the secretary Of war has issued an oldcr