The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-05-31
A BABY MARTYR.

The stage was descending a sloping hillside or the road between Santa Bar bara and the OJai, the horses waking xith painful exactness n the miccle oi ihe deep ruis. and siaaeiug with oeca sienal nervous oistrust a; the boreeT oi Tank looking grass or either side the way. The constant rains. alternating with herce suns. had renoered he whole soil continuous pufiy, sPongy mass aLd more than once they had passed by the ceoaying. half-sunken carcasses oi stock mired within easy reach oi the driser's whip. the ble hing bones of which will long recall the famous wet year of g.
 As the stage took an extra heavy rut faint whimpeE from d bundle, carried by woman on d back seat. reminded the passengers of the presence of oaoy.
 ' That puts me in mind. said an erect. gray-whiskerec man Tn the front seat, - of queer experience 10; of Us army felloss had with baby way back in in-'
 In sixty-four. major. put in hand some young lady oi abou, sSenty who Sd, beside the speaker. and who had re- oeived the undivided attention oi a couple oi drummers on the back seat. they evi- gently taking her tor the old gentleman 5 daughter.
 p .- Won, you tell us abou, t. sir' said one of the party. lngrstia;ingly. all the lady passengers, married and sinsle, in- dorsing the request
 We'll said the major. with retro spective smile. you see was stationed at Fort Laramie at the tune and was sent with detachment of twenty-five men to escort General Whlpple, who was visiting the fort. and his staff to another post about four hundred miles further north. The country was full of indians on the war-paih, but we didn' mind them so much as the weather, which was simply fearful. Snow breast high, and a steady norther blowing that would cu, the eyes out of you. We struggled along somehow for couple of days but tlnaily the snow began to fall again and we los, the trail. The whole party was lust on the point of giving up for good when one of the scouts came in to report Iha, ne had found few miles further on eer- tain fog house and s,ockade that we had been aiming for. Of course that braced
  1 the house and started up a roaring Ire. as you may suppose. As the men were bringing in their las. armfuls of wood they heard faint cali tor help on the wind. A forlorn hope volunteered 10 go out and see what was the matter. and pretty soon they brought Tn an emigran, family, whose teams had go, snowed in and who had jus, about lain down to die some half a mile from the house. There vas the father, three boys, little girl carrying kitten, and the mother with a small baby wrapped in a dozen saAwls v
 Dear, dear me" exclaimed the lady passengers in chorus.
 The log house had small room Tn one corner. and we gave ;h A: to the poor family and made them comfortable That night It blew gale, and the sind swept the traI so clear tha. the en- grants decided to push on south. Our party concluded 10 wait another day for the weather to settle, and we'll enough i, vas. as the spow soon began again. Sometime daring the mex, evening one of the ofhcers happened to go into the room that had been occupied by the emigrant family, when he heard a sort of low cry, and, going toward a bunk, saw some thing move inside bundle lying there l wrapped in an old red shawl-" A blue shawl, major,- interrupted the young lady, mesriiy.
 So it was,' sad the old officer. glanc- ing fondly at his companion He was brave fellow, that lieutenant but he ran out to us as pale as death. Gentle men, said he, in the excitement of get ting away those people have lief, their baby
 -iou never saw sach a scared lot of men in your life. There we were. snowed l in three hundred miles from civiLz ation, with baby La grirriy bear would have \ been more welcome
 "Oh. you horrid thing sniffed the mother, on the back seat.
 You don't seem to grapple with the | proposition, ma am, explained the ma jor. -On cznvassing the marter, we dis covered that there wasn't bat one mar ried man in the whole command, and he. ak luck would have it, had never had a baby. We didn't have any more idea how to take care of baby than the man in the moon- Oh. it was dreadful :" and the major wiped the preparation from his lace al the mere recollection.
 Had the poor darling been all that dzy without anything to ezi ? indignant Y nq zired young bride vho sat up with Ithe dnyex.
 To drink, you mean,' said the major. Ayes, that was just t. There wasn't leyea can of condensed milk h the out I6s, Q ve vent into a council of var as to Ithe proper thing to give il to eat One &o66cex said that flour and water WAS the yccxEe1 thing. Captain Brown insisted na soup Boggs thought that meat yEAopped up fine would answer. Some sody eise argued that the proper ration