St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-04-07
Captain StanIey's BOdy-Guard.

Captain Stanley's BOdy-Guard
"Well, yes" said my host, Captain
Stanley, as brave soldier as evel
drew sabre, ~ hare seen some hare
times since | have been out here, anG
so have we all. A man in our pro
fessiOn can't pass five years of his life
on the plains without getting some
hard knocks, tell you"
We had just finished late supper
and having drawn our chairs about the
wide fireplace, had filed our pipes
preparatory to indulging in Il social
smoke. There were a dozen of us in
the room, all except myself wearing
Uncle Sans ''honored blue" | was AT
that time correspondent for an eastern
paper, and had been ordered to the
frontier to ''write up" the campaign
which General Crook was about to un-
dertake against the Cheyennes who
had broken away from their reserva-
ton. Finding that a detachment led
by Captain Stanley, the commander OF
old Fort Frazier, was expected to beaT
the brunt of the work, joined my for
tunes with it, accompanied it on Il
perilous scout of fourteen hundred
miles, and we had just returned to the
fort. We had got back, too, just in
time to escape what western men call
"blizzard." And what is that 1t
is an old fashioned New England snow
storm a dozen times intensified. The
wind blows as if it would sweep ev-
erything before it, the cold is so pierre
ing that one shivers over the hottest
| IA1 AN
snow, but with sharp needles of ice,
which seem to threaten destruction to
every living thing exposed to its fury:
We were all snugly housed, our jaded
horses were munching their barley in
their warm stables, the sentries were
standing grim and silent i'll their boxes,
and those of us who were fortunate
enough to have no duty to call us out
into the storm, spread our hands over
the cheerful wood fire and cOngratu-
lated ourselves on the safe ending of
our tedious scout.
| said there were il dozen of us in
the room; but | must not forget to
mention Captain Stanley's bOdy-guard,
four magnificent Scotch deer hounds,
which lay stretched out in front of the
| fire. They were large shaggy animals,
with immense bone and muscle, and
bore on their bodies numerous evi-
dences of the battles through which
they had passed. They were terrible
| fighters, and the ease with which they
could overtake and pull down an ante
lOpe was surprising. They accompa-
MED us on the scout, and | could not
| imagine why it was that they We're
treated with so much kindness and
consideration by every member of the
command. On this particular night |
was to find out.
Glow the wind blows ~ exclaimed ii
young lieutenant, from his seat i'll the
chimney corner. Il declare it will tear
the stOckade up by the roots"
eyes, it is wild night; and had
MT been on the plains as long as you
have, Jack" said the captain, address
| ing himself to the lieutenant, "befOre
| was called upon to face just such a
storm as this without shelter of any
kind, except what was to be found in
the hills, and under circumstances
that were calculated to freeze the
blood in the veins of the bravest man
that ever stepped. Those hours Of
horror turned my hair as white as you
| SCC II uON1 anu Oih
before my time. | cannot recall them
without shuddering.n
The captain puffed vigorously ut his
we'll -blackened brier root for few
minutes, and after making sure that it
was well lighted continued
81 always was fond of horses, dogs
and guns, and | can scarcely remem-
Der the time when did not own some
of the very best. My pointers could
not be beaten, my pony would take Il
fence almost as well as any of my IA
theirs thoroughbreds, and my little
fOwling piece was sure death to any
bird that got up within any reasonable
distance. When | left home to go to
West Point it almost broke my heart
to part from my pets; but my uncle,
who was an ardent sportsman, assured
me that if | would pass "A creditable
examination at the end of my school
term, he would present me with a pack
of dogs that would more than take the
place of the one | left behind; nv fa-
ther, veteran of the Mexican war and
great admirer of the cavalry, told me
that if would fit myself to enter that
branch of the service, he would give
me the finest horse in his stable, and
my mother said she would give me an
other. Encouraged by these promises,
and ambitious to distinguish myself in
my chosen profession, | worked hard
and stood among the first five at the end
of the course. Here are the dogs my
uncle gave me,n said the captain, his
stern face softening as he gazed almost
lovingly at the splendid animals be-
fore him, land the hOrses-well. one
was killed during fight on the Sweet
water, and the other-poor Gipsy
She was my mothers gift.
As soon as | received my commits
sion | was ordered to report to the
commanding officer of Fort Scott for
duty. The officers were all lovers of
the chase, and at the sight of my horses
and hounds they received me with open
arms. In company with the neighbor-
ing ranchmen we hunted almost con-
stanly there was little scouting to be
done, for the Indians were quietly set
tied on their reservation, and when
winter came and the first snow cover
ed the ground, the sport we had in
cOursing antelope was simply magniti-
cent.
Early one morning, while | was re-
turning to the post with a freshly kill
ed antelope slung across my saddle,
noticed that my eyes burned and that
the surface of the snow, from which the
bright rays of the sun were reflected