River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-03-02
BRINGING HIM TO TERMS.
a rrasf HI. a.annra n ar..ax

i O6Htfhl 1uSlCi uullllS your lie vi
the frontier?" remarked the reporter
inquiringly, as the scout lighted hi
pipe and seated himself opposite.
g Yes, / WAS WITH his command oc
casionally from the time he came tt
| the plains until the time of his death
/ worked for him but very little as 9
scout or guide, but hunted for him a
various times. / was at the Rosebud
agency at the time he was massacred.
" He was good Indian fighter, was
he not ?"
THAT depends upon what you NEAR
by good Indian lighter He was q
very brave man, but rashly brave
man. | do not think the Indian was
ever born whom Custer was afraid of
He appeared to take perfect delight IL
exposing himself to danger, and often
times when there was no use or sense
in his so doing. He used to halt his
command at sight of Indians, and him.
self ride forward to reconnoiter. He
would ride up so near them that they
would open fire on him and then he
would turn in his saddle, swing his hal
for the troops to come on, and, without
waiting for them to come up with him
put spurs to horse and dash down upon
| the Indians with the bullets fairly rain
ing around him.
sNow. my idea of brave man and
good Indian fighter is one who first as
certains the strength of the enemy,
and then if he thinks he can win,
makes the attack with GOODNESS and
judgment. Then let him show his
bravery by fighting like the devil. In
my opinion it is poor generalship for
commanding officer to needlessly
put himself in position to be shot, at
the very outset of an engagement, and
thus take chance of leaving his COM
mand without its leader. If to be
afraid of nothing, is to be brave,
Custer was the bravest of the brave.
Harvey was the best military leader
for the plain / ever met. He was cool
and deliberate in his braveness, but was
a lion in a fight"
"When were you with him?"
II was with him al the time of the
Mountain Meadow massacre, and
went to Salt Lake City with him when
he went down there to interview Brig
ham Young. Now there was an Incl
dent connected with that trip that do
not think was then reported, or has
ever been written up. 1t shows the
kind of man Harvey was"
'"Ten me about it"
"When he heard about the massacre
he sent out scouts to find out who the
murderers were, and when they report
ed to him that they were Mormons, off
he went with his entire command for
Salt Lake City, swearing every rod of
the way that he would hang the muir
derers if he had to hang every Nor
mon in Utah. He intended to give
Brigham Young twenty-four hours to
surrender up the murderers, and unless
this was done, Latter-Day-Saints would
be mighty scarce around there. Before
we reached Salt Lake City messenger
overlook us with orders from the war
departm for Harvey to return to
camp; that the civil authorities would
attend to the massacre business. Then
you ought to have heard the old man
swear. never met a man who could
swear more violently than Harvey.
He thought the matter over for q
little while, and then declared that he
had started for Salt Lake City, and he
would go there if he was court-martialed
and shot for it. And he went, too; and
if the war department ever heard of it
no action was taken. We camped a
short distance outside the city, and
stayed few days to give the animals a
rest, and they needed it sadly, for we
had travelled fast. The morning that
we started back to Yuma a young girl,
seventeen or eighteen years old, came
out to the camp and applied to Brady,
the train master, to help her escape.
Her parents were English, who had
joined the Mormons rot long before,
and one of the elders wanted to marry
her. Her parents were trying to force
her to this polygamous marriage, and
she could only avoid it by running
away. She had an uncle and aunt in
San Francisco, and TO them she wanted
to go.
BRADY wasn't the man to say no ;
under such circumstances, and he
slowed her away in the flour wagon by
piling the barrels around her in such a
way that she couldn't be seen from
either end. We hadn't gone far before
dozen Mormons overlook us, the girls
father being along with them, and they
went through that train until they
found the girl. After they got her out
she turned to Brady and babe him
goodbye, at the same time thanking
him for trying to help her. That, of
course, gave him dead away, and the
Mormens arrested him for kidnapping
the girl, and away they all went toward
the city. Harvey saw that there was
something wrong with the train, and
back came d messenger to see what
was the matter. AS soon as Harvey
was informed of what had occurred,
he ordered the train to halt and stay
there till he got back, and, swearing
worse than before, away he and all the
troops went for the Mormons. They
had a long start on him, however, and
reached the city first. Do you suppose
Harvey stopped when he reached the
city? Not bit of it. Right up the
main street he went at gallop, and
when he jumped from his horse and
cried "Halt!" it was right in front of
Brigham's office. There was guard
on duty there with musket and fixed
bayonet, but as he brought his weapon
to a charge Harvey gave it a kick that
turned the guard half round, and the
next instant ne was disarmed. Harvey
strobe into the Office with a half dozen
soldiers at his heels, and two minutes
later Brigham was astraddle of horse
and galloping down the street in the
center of a troop of cavalry.
at was fun to see the Mormons
stare as they saw the old man in such
company, but before they had time TO
act we were out of the city. About
five miles out Harvey ordered halt,
and it was not long before lot of Nor
mons came riding up as fast as their
horses could carry them. When they
got up within sound of his voice Har-
ney ordered them to halt or he would
fire on them, and they halted. Then
he ordered Brigham to tell them to go
back to the city and bring Brady and
the girl back with them, and said to
Brigham: IF they are not here inside
of two hours, I'll fill your carcass full
of government lead
90 You don't dare to- says Brigham
why, you,' says Harvey, Tl
shoot you myselfp
"Long before the two hours were uI
Brady and the girl where there, and
when we got to Yuma Harvey sent 8
guard with her to San Benardino, or
her way to San Francisco. That's the
kind of man Harvey was. "-Detroi
Free Press.