Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1884-06-18

AS the stage took an extra heavy rut
q faint whimper from a bundle, carried
by a woman on the back seat, reminded
n passengers of the presence of 8
baby.
THAT puts me in mind" said an
erect, gray-whiskered man in the front
seat, "ot a queer experience a lot of us
army fellows had with a baby way back
I'm "a, Major" put in a handsome
young lady of about twenty, who sat be.
side the speaker, and who had received
the undivided attention of q couple Of
drummer5 on the back seat, they evi.
IDENTITY taking her for the old gentle.
mans daughter.
wont you tell us about it, sir?'
said one of the pair, ingratiatingly, all
the Lady passengers, married and sin
gle, indorsing the request.
SWELL" said the Major, with q retro.
spective smile, "you see I was stationed
at Fort Laramie at the time and wa
sent with a detachment of twenty-five
men to escort Gen Wh1pple, who wal
visiting the fort, and his staff to anoth.
or post about 400 miles further north
The country was full of Indians, on the
~war.path, but we didn't mind them SC
much as the weather, which was simply
fearful. Snow breast high, and a steady
norther blowing that would cut the eyes
out OF you. We struggled along some
how for a couple of days, but finally the
snow began to fall again, and we lost
the trail. The whole party was just on
the point of giving up for good, when
one OF the scouts came in to report that
he had found, a few miles further on. q
certain log house aud stockade that we
had been aiming for. Of course, that
braced us up once more, and we soon
reached the house and started up q
roaring fire, you may suppose. As the
men were bringing in their last armfuls
OF wood they heard a faint call for help
on the wind. A forlorn hope volun-
teered to 60 out and see what was the
matter, and pretty soon they brought
in an emigrant family whose teams had
got showed in and who had Just about
lain down to die some half mile from
the house. There was the father, three
boys, a little girl carrying a kitten and
the mother with a small baby wrapped
in q dozen shawls."
"Dear, dear mel" exclaimed the ladv
passengers in chorus.
"The log house had q small room IN
one corner, and we gave that to the small
family and made them comfortable,
That night it blew q gale, and the wind
swept the trail SO clear that the emf.
grants decided to push on south. On,
party concluded to wait another DAY TO,
the weather to settle, and well enough
it was. as the snow soon began to fall
again. Some time during the next
evening one of the officers happened to
60 into the room that had been occupied
by the emigrant family, when he heard
q sort OF a low cry, and going toward 8
bunk, saw something move inside 9
bundle lying there wrapped in an old
"a blue shawl, Major" interrupted
the young lady, merrily. : !
$50 it was" said the old officer, glanc
ing fondly at bis companion. He wa.
9 brave fellow, that lieutenant; but hi
ran out to us as pale as death. Gen
tlemen,' said he, in the excitement O
getting away those people have left thei
baby - 1~:s.>'
you never saw such aiscared lot O.
men in your life. There we were
showed in, three hundred miles from
civilization, with a babyl-agrizzly bea,
would have been more welcome"
"Ohl you horrid thing" shifted til,
mother on the back seat.
!"You don't seem TO. grapple with tn.
proposition, ma'am," explained tn,
Major. "On CONTRASTING the matter, W,
discovered that there wasn't but on,
married man in the whole command
and he, as luck would have it, hat
never had a baby. We didn't have an,
more idea how to take care of q bah!
than the man in the moon. OIL it wa.
dreadfulp and the Major wiped tn,
perspiration from his face at the mer'
recollection.
"Had the poor darling been all tina
day without anything to eat? indiQ
nantly inquired q young bride who SO
mp with the driver.
ITO; drink. You mean" said the Ma
jor. 9Yes that was just it. Their,
wasn't even q q of condensed milk j,
the outfit, so We went into q council o
war as to the proper thing to give it t,
eat. One officer said that flour AMI
water was the correct thing. Capt
Brown insisted on soup. Bogg
thought that meat chopped up fin,
would answer. Somebody else argue,
that the proper ration for q baby wa
sugar tied up in q rag somehow. 4
young ensign believed that they sucket
the juice out of q piece of rubber, so {.
speak, while old Whipple stuck it on
that babies were fed exclusively Of
paregoric. You never heard such
wrangle.
sAnd the poor little creature suffer
ing all thattime," murmeredt the mother
wiping q tear off her nose,
sThe result was that we agreed Il
make an impartial mixture of all thos'
things, on the theory that If onemisset
fire the others would sort Of counterac
it as it were. So We made 9 sortof stew
in q coffee pot, which included . who'll
bottle Of paregoric from the medicin,
chest for most Of Ms rather leaned 20
ward Whipples ideas, after al. Thel
We hunted up : small tin funnel usei
for filing the whiskkykeg."
What was that for2 rUasped the lad,
passenger, who bythistia e had WORKED