Omaha daily bee., 1885-10-13
RECALLING STAkED PLAINS.
Was Capt. Framework a Coward in Rat
Ting the Indians.
His Promotion and the Senator's Re-
view ofHis Rccord-The Sacrifice
Of Two Heroic Mentions of
silver Displayed.

a Washington correspondent oi the
New York Telegram writes. The recent
appointment by the president of Capt.
Henry j. Farncsworth of the Eighth
Cavalry to be major and iuspcctor-gcn-
cral, docs not appear to be well received
in the army, and he is likely to cncoun.
ter considerable opposition when it
comes before the senate for confirmation.
Immediately following the
ment of Capt. F~arncsworth'S appoint.
mcnt il was alleged that Gen. Miles had
entered u protest with the president,
charging that Capt. Farncsworth had cN-
hibitcd cowardicc in II campaign against
the Indians. The reported action OF Gen.
Miles has since been denied upon the au-
thority of Adit Gen. Drum.
Before the promotions were made in
the inspector kCnCral'S department an
noumccmcnt wasmatlc in the ~wSpap
and apparently upon authority from the
war department, that the selection of an
officer from the line to fill the vacancy
would be made upon the record of field
service, due regard being paid to qualiii-
cations for the duties of Inspector gen.
eral. Following this announcement the
appointment of Captain FarncswOrth
created great surprise in the army, rs
his record cannot he compared with that
of many captains of the line who were
applicants Tor the appointment. Captain
fNrnsworth was appointed captain and
q~uartcrmaStcr in July, 1861, and per-
formed Office duty until the close of the
war, which occurred nine months after
his appointment. In July, 1857, he was
appointed to the regular army with the
rank Of first lieutenant, and in 1876 was
made captain. Captain F~arneswOrth has
doubtless performed faithful service on
al- -.N -.tI a.. l-N 90
faithful and mCritoriOuS service were
made the test for prefermcnt, there are u
hundred captains who would be selected
before FarneSWorth would be even con
SidCrcu.
AMBUsHED IN A CANON.
As the alleged cOwardico of Capt.
Farncsworth will form the basis of the
opposition that will be made to his con
lirmation, IL recital of the facts on winch
this allegation is based will be of inter
est. Some time in 1870, when Gen. Miles
was commanding an expedition against
the hostile Chcycnncs, Capt. FarnGs-
worth was sent with II troop of caValrytO
attack an Indian camp on the Staked
Plains of Texas. A captured Cheyenne
accompanied the command to act as
guide. Before reaching the hostile
camp the command was fired upon by
Indians concealed in a canon for raYine,
and several men and horses were killed.
Instead of making an offensive demon
s%traiion Capt. Framework ut once ord
cred II retreat. Two of his men who had
been dismOunted by the fire of the In
dams were unable to keep up with the
retrcating column, and received special
attention from the pursuing savageS.
Finally these two brave men, realizing
that they had been shamefully abandon
ed by their officer. made II stand against
the Indians. The two soldiers were killed
one mile from the place where the In
dians fired ON Capt. Farncsworth'sscom-
mand. The empty shells that surrounded
the dead bodies testified to their unflinch-
ing bravery and to the desperate charac-
ter of their resistance. The conduct of
Capt. Earncsworth on this Occas on was
severely criticised ut the time, and there
was talk of II court martial, but the mat
ter was permitted to pass without official
notice. III is, perhaps, in view OF the re-
missness OF the military authorities, un-
fair to revive this matter ten years after
the occurrence, but in view of the an
nouncement that Capt. Farneswortil was
selected for promotion over his seniors
in rank, and who had four years service
in the rebellion before he entered the
army as II quartcrmastcr, it is but natur-
al that FarnSworth's competitors for the
appointment should feel disappointed
and make comparisons of their and his
records. Ifthis story of the Stakcd Plains
be substantiated before the senate com
mittee on military affairs, Capt. Farnes-
worth Will experience some difficulty in
obtaining affirmative action on his APP
pointmcnt as major and inspector gen
Cral.
Capt. Farncsworth is Il New York man,
and this fact gave rise to the report that
he is Il son of Adjutant General Farms
worth OF that state. The captain, how
ever, is not related to General Farms
worth. His appointment rs inspector
general was made by the president on
was mayor of Buffalo Capt. Farnesworth
was on recruiting service ut that city and
while there became well acquainted with
Mr.. Cleveland.