Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-03-17
CAPTAIN STANLEY'S BODY
GUARD

"Well, yes, said my host, Captain Stanley,
as brave a soldier as ever drew a sabre, II
have seen some hard times since l have been
out here, and so have we all man in our
profession can't pass five years of his life on
the plains without getting some hard knocks,
l tell you"
We had Just finished late supper, and
having drawn our chairs about the wide fire.
place, had filed our pipes preparatory to in
dulging in social smoke. There were doz-
en- of US in the room, all except myself wear
ing Uncle Sans "honored blue" l was at
that time correspondent for an Eastern paper,
and had been ordered to the frontier to
write up" the campaign which Gen. Crook
was about to undertake against the Cheyennes
who had broken away from their reservation.
Finding that detachment led by Capt. Stan
ley, the commander of old Fort Frazier, was
expected to bear the brunt of the work,
joined my fortunes with it, accompanied it
on perilous scout of fourteen hundred miles,
and we had but 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 every thug
before it, the cold is SO piercing that one
shivers over the hottest FIRE, and the air is
filled. not with 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 in
their boxes, and those of us who were fortu-
nate enough to have no duty TO call us out
into the storm, spread our hands over the
cheerful wood fire and congratulated our
selves on the safe ending of our tedious
scout
l said there were dozen of us in the room !;
but must not forget to mention Capt Stan
ley's body. guard, four magnificent Scotch
deerhounds, 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 evidences of the bat
ties 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 accompanied US
on the scout, and could not imagine why it
was that they were treated with so much
kindness and consideration by every member
of the command. On this particular night
was to find out
"How the wind blows !" exclaimed young
lieutenant, from his seat in the chimney cor
ner. II declare, II will tear the stockade up
by the roots"
Eyes, it is a wild night and / hadn't been
on the plains as long as you have, Jack, said
the captain, addressing himself TO the lieuten-
ant, 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 hor-
ror turned my hair white as you see it now,
and made me an old man before my time.
cannot recall them without shuddering."
The captain puffed vigorously at his we'll
blackened brier root for few minutes, and
after making sure that it was we'll lighted con-
tinued:
81 always was fond of horses, dogs, and
guns, and can scarcely remember the time
when did not own some of the very best
My pointers could not be beaten, my pony
would take fence almost as well as any of
my fathers thoroughbreds, and my little fowl
ing 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 creditable examination
at the end of my school term, he would pre-
sent me with pack of dogs that would more
than take the place of the one left behind !;
my father, a veteran of the Mexican war,
and a 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 another. 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, F" said the captain, his stern face soften
ing as he gazed almost lovingly at the splen-
did animals before him, ''and the horses
we'll, one was killed during a fight on the
Sweetwater, and the other-poor Gipsy She
was my mothers gift.
"As soon as / received my commission
was ordered to report to the commanding Of
fcer 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 constantly /;
there was little scouting TO be done, for the
Indians were quietly settled on their reserva-
ton, and when winter came and the first snow
covered the ground, the sport we had in
coursing antelope was simply magnificent.
early one morning while was return
ing to the post with freshly killed 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 with almost dazzling brilliancy,
seemed to be covered with floating specks.
Now and then something that looked like a
chain danced across the range of my vision,
and this wonld be followed by multitudes of
miniature pin-wheels and sky-rockets. knew
that the glare of the sun on the snow had af-
fected my eyes, but thought nothing OF it,