Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-20
GEN. MERRIrT. At rIrssEII..

10 meet Chief Joseph. should he come that
way. Ali the third and fifth cavalry near the
railway were hustled aboard the cars and ship
ped TO Green River station. whittier the gem
eral and L, his adiutant. fastened bv first train,
reached there the morning of the 3Oth of Au-
gust; Jumped on blackboard; drove north
ward all that dav. that night and the next day.
reaching Camp Brown at 430 D. m The cavalry
followed by forced marches. Gen. Crook soon
arrived. and on the 9Th Of September. with
seven fine troops of veteran cavalry and thirty
hve picked Shosh0ne scouts. away we went.
stlll northward under orders to reach the head
water OF the Sinking river aud tackle Joseph
II we could possibly find him. 1t was certain
ne was coming southeast and Gen. Crook. who
had not been consulted. apparently, in the or
ders coming from his superiOrs shook his head
over the plan. You won't be apt to find him -
he said; ''he will be over and away long before
you can get there, and he Is making for the
British Possessions, or I'm mistaken"
IN THE MOUNTAINS.
Never have / seen anything in wild beauty
to match the magnificent mountain country
through which we marched day after dav. We
climbed and crossed the Owl Creek mountains
on the 18th of SePtember-a wonderful ex-
perlence. Then came range after range val
ley after yalley-the MeeyerO, the Beaver the
Gray Bull, the Meeteetse-all clear running
streams from the towering Shoshone peaks on
our left. We lHg2ed our wagons along until
the l4th, but they hdmpered us so that Merritt
could stand 1t no longer. and We left them.
We ran into binding snow storm on the
10Th and 1 ''topogging usual out on the
Hanks, lost all sight or trail of the regiment
until catching a view of some four-footed OBJ
jects few yards ahead trotted unhesitatinglv
among them. never discovering until my
horse almost turned back sOmersault in
his fright, that We had darted into the midst
of a herd of buffalo. Then it cleared as sud-
denly as 1t stormed. leaving the face of nature
inches deep IN pOwdery white with our col
umn crawling like n black snake over the
divide to the next valley, and finally. after a
rapid ZJ-mile march on the morning of the
nth, through an atmosphere clear as bell
and sweep of scenery simply superb. we
reached the forks of the Sinking river and
struck 1t recent and heavy cavalry trail
Sturgis Hart? 9TH or 9Th? that was the
question. At p. H., the general had his COM
mand bivouackcd between the beautiful
streams. the north and south branches of the
river with the inf licitous name. Cedar mountain
doomed right To the east of u.s. Pure as snow.
clear a. crystal the waters plunge into and
under II on the western side and REISSUE on
tie other, Shiny, yellow and thick. and SMELL
ing like sheol. II wOuid seem as though they
had plunged through sulphurettcd hydrogen.
Long RIDE.
And now came the longest ride of my life.
1t necessary that the general should
know at once whether the Indians had passed
that he should know at once whether Sturgis or
Hart had made these trails and whittier the
makers had gone. Take any lieutenant in the
regiment You choose. aud what scouts Won need.
and find out" were his brief orders to me,and.
after cup OF sttamIng coffee ana a hearty
lunch. mounting my spare horse who had been
led along during our 25-mile jog Of the morn
ing, at ! 30. rode ont nOrthwarl with seven
companions. six ShOshOne Indians Gu their
airy ponies and nv statesman" Lieutenant
hon 1tt.1 oil. ]. l
all muscle and sinew-a man who never
tired, and who could stand all nights work
II need tie and be Just ready tor a chase
on the morrow. We rode light -burdened.
with nothing bu: our arms and ammunition,
and at sunset We were looping up-uD-up-
following winding trail leading TO the sum-
init of the lofty crest. beyond which lay the
valley of Clark's Fork. 1t was the old Ban
mock trail, said one of our ShOshones To
our right was the long narrow range that at its
southeastern end Is called Cedar mountain.
10 our left the main divide between us and
Yellowstone lake-the backbone of the conti-
nent. Ahead OF us the bold range connecting
the two.
LOOKING FOR SIGNS.
We had ridden miles along that twisting.
tOrtuous trail. and still could not say whether
twas made by the seventh or the fifth. That they
had gone i'll eager haste was evident. We passed
horseshOcs, We picked up abandoned Iariats. u
saddle blanket, two canteens. but oddly enough
there was distinguishing mark At last
under the rays of the full moon. | found the
evidence | wanted. Generally the trail was
that of double file of horses following in each
others track. Here and there were places.
though. where in crossing the brook. or ascend
ing or descending steep places. each troop
leader company commander had chosen IL
separate path for his men. We had passed sew
eral where four or five separate trails were
made, but Hart had five troops and that proved
nothing. Far up III the narrowing gorge we
came upon grassy ridge they had clambered
across, and here were seven distinct trails of
troops III columns of twOs. 1t was the seventh
cavalry, and they had unquestionably crossed
the range to Clark's fork. SO much was set
tied.
BACK DOWN THE BASSoCK TRAIL
We cantered-the full moon high in the
heavens nOw-and turning westward when we
reached the broad, beautiful valley of the North
Fork We rode in wide. dispersed order, scouting
IT for miles toward Yellowstone lake, finding
game trails lnnumerable. but not trace OF
lodge pole. pony hOof or Indian property, and
at last, at IL ?. m. | gave the word to rein
about and made for camp-a glorious gallon
over sprlnglng turf through silvery moonlight
that made the valley bright as day At mid
night We were challenged by our sentries after
our i0-mlle jaunt, and at daybreak. changing
horses once more, Bishop and /, with Il We OF our
SIX ShoshOnes. were off again. Twenty miles
we trotted around Cedar mountain to the
fords of the Sinking river. Fifteen miles
further up the highlands to the north we went
back Oh the StHrgis trail, nearly running over
a magnificent elk rounded sudden turn
and then my field glasses detect dust cloud
miles away down III the valley. Thither we
galtOp, and in an hour waving our hats we
ride full tilt into the halted column of Harris
battalion. Twenty-Five miles We lead them
back around the mountain to Merritt's camp
reaching there at pm, i'll time for supper
having been in saddle twenty-nine hours out Of
thirty-six, and ridden nearly $40 miles Where
was Joseph! OH He had lodged past Sturgis
ten days before We got there and was far be-
yOnd the Yellowstone. CHARLES KISa.
Baby Bird.
Baby bird, baby bird
Ne'cr a song on earth
May be heard. may be heard