The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1884-06-21
A BABY MARTYR.
BX DERRICK DODD.

hillside on the road between Santa Bar
bara and the Oiai, the horses walking
with painful exactness in the middle of
the deep ruts, and glancing with occa-
sional nervous distrust at the border of
rank-looking grass on either side of
the way. The constant rains, alternat-
ing with fierce suns, had rendered the
whole soil a continuous, puffy, spongy
mass, and more than ONCE they had
passed by the decaying, half-sunken
carcasses of stock mired within easy
reach of the drivers whip, the bleach
ing bones of which will long recall the
famous wet year of 84,5.
As the stage took an extra heavy rut
faint whimper from bundle, carried
by woman on the back seat, reminded
the passengers of the presence of a
baby.
That puts me in mind" said an
erect, gray-whiskered man in the front
seat, 'of queer experience lot of us
army fellows had with baby way back
in-in-"
In '64, Major" put in handsome
young lady of about twenty, who sat be-
side the speaker, and who had received
the undivided attention of couple of
drummers on the back seat, they evil
IDENTIFY taking her for the old gentle
mans daughter.
won't you tell us about it, sir ?"
said one of the pair, overwhelmingly, all
the Lady passengers, married and sin
gle, indorsing the request.
WELL said the Major, with retro
spective smile, you see | was stationed
at Fort Laramie at the time and was
sent with detachment of twenty five
men to escort Gen Whlpple. who was
visiting the fort, and his staff to anoth-
er post about 400 miles further north.
The country was full of Indians, on the
war-path, but we didn't mind them SO
much as the weather, which was simply
fearful. Snow breast high, and steady
norther blowing that would cut the eyes
out of you. We struggled along some
how for 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, few miles further on, a
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 a
roaring fire, you may suppose. As the
men We're bringing In their last armfuls
of wood they heard faint call for help
on the wind. A forlorn hope volun-
teered to go 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, little girl carrying kitten and
the mother with a small baby wrapped
in dozen shawls."
Dear, dear me-" exclaimed the lady
passengers in chorus.
1.-The log house had a small room IN
one corner, and we gave that to the small
family and made them comfortable
That night it blew gale, and the wind
swept the trail SO clear tnat the emf,
grants decided to push on south Oul
party concluded to wait another day fol-
the weather to settle, and we'll enough
1T was, as the snow soon began to fall
again. Some time during the next
evening one of the officers happened tt
go into the room that had been occupied
by the emigrant family, when he heart
sort OF low cry, and going toward ,
bunk, saw something move inside s
bundle lying there wrapped in an OLD
red shawl"
"A blue shawl, Major" interrupted
the young lady, merriiy.
so it was" said the old officer, glanc
ing fondly at his companion. He wa
brave fellow, that lieutenant; but b.
ran out to us as pale as death. Gen
tlemen,' said he, in the excitement O
getting away those people have left thei
baby
You never saw such scared lot c
men in your life. There we wer,
showed in, three hundred miles fro1
civilization, with baby Ia grizzly bea
would have been more welcome"
"Ohl you horrid thing" shifted tn
mother on the back seat.
You don't seem TO grapple with til
proposition, ma'am," explained th
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, ha
never had baby. We didn't have an
more idea how to take care of a bah
than the man in the moon. Obi it wa
dreadfulF and the Major wiped til
perspiration from his face at the mer
recollection.
Had the poor darling been all tbs
day without anything to eat? indie
nantly inquired young bride who Sc
mp with the driver.
10 drink, you mean," said the Ms
lor 1es that was just it. Their
wasn't even can of condensed milk i
the OUTFIT, SO we went into a council c
war as to the proper thing to give it t
eat. One officer said that flour an
water was the correct thing. Cap
brown insisted on soup. Bogg
thought that meat chopped up fin
would answer. Somebody else argue
that the proper ration for baby wa
sugar tied up in rag somehow. .
young ensign believed that they sucke
the juice out of piece of rubber, SO t
speak, while old Whipple stuck it OF
that babies were fed exclusively o
paregorlc. You never heard such
wrangle.
And the poor little creature suffer
ing all that time" murmered the mothe
wlplng tear off her nose,
The result was that we agreed I
make an impartial mixture of all thos
things, on the theory that if one MISE
hre the others would sort eff counterae
1t as 1t were. So we made sort of ste,
IN coffee pot, which included whol
oottie OF paregoric from the medicin
chest Tor most of us rather leaned te
ward Whipple's ideas, after all. The
we hunted up small tin funnel use
Tor filing the whisky key"
What was that for? ?" gasped the lad
passengers, who by this time had worke