The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-04-27

CioSSs LII d DiS pAlS GilS Captain SOC,
says he. I'D like to be road agent and
nab him. When told him it couldn't
be over eleven hundred dollars, he says
That's only part. He has his own pay
and six hundred dollars company fund
and wad of greenbacks he's been car
ryin' around all summer. It's nigh on tc
four thousand dollsrs he's got in his sad
die bags this day.
Sand that night, instead of Lieut..
Cranes coming back, he sent word he had
found the trail of big band of Indians.
and the whole crowd went in pursuit.
There was four companies of infantry, I'M
der Capt. Rayner, and F and K troops
what was left of them-that were ordered
to stay by the wagons and bring them safe
ly down; and we started with them over
towards Battle Butte, keeping south of
the way the regiment had gone to follow
Mr.. Crane. And the very next day Capt.
Rayner got orders to bring his battalion
to the river and get on the boat, while
the wagons kept on down the bank with
us to guard them. And MIR. Hayne was
acting quartermaster, and he stayed with
US; and him and Capt. Hull was together
a good deal. There was some trouble,
we heard, because Capt. Rayner thought
another officer should have been made
/ quartermaster and Mr.. Hayne should
have stayed with his company, and
they had some words; but Capt.
Hull gave Mr.. Hayne a horse
and seemed to keep him with
him; and that night, in sight of Battle
Butte, the steamboat was out of sight
ahead when we went into camp, and I
was sergeant of the guard and had my
fire near the captains tent, and twice in
the evening Cover came to me and said
now was the time to lay hands on the
money and skip. At last he says to me,
You are fiat broke, and they'll all be
be down on you when you get back to
the post No man in America wants five
hundred dollars more than you do. I'll
! give you five hundred in one hour from
now if you'll get the captain out of his
tent for half an hour Almost everybody
was asleep then; the captain was, and SO
was Mr.. Hayne, and he went on to tell
me how he could do it. He'd been watch
ing the captain. It made such a big
bundle, did the money, in all the sepa-
rate envelopes that he had done it all up
different-made memorandum of the
amount due each man, and packed the
greenbacks all together in one solid pile
his own money, the lieutenant's and
the men's-done it up in paper and
tied it firmly and put big blotches of
green sealing wax on it and sealed them
with the seal on his watch chain. Saws
Cover, You get the captain out, as
tell you, and I'll slip right in, get the
money. stuff some other paper with few
ones and twos in the package; his seal,
his watch and everything is there in the
saddle bags under his head, and l can re-
seal and replace it in five minutes, and
he'll never suspect the loss until the COM
mand all gets together again next week.
By that time I'll be three hundred miles
away. Everybody will say twas Cover
that robbed him, and you with your five
hundred will never be suspected asked
him how could he expect the captain to
go and leave so much money in his
bags with no one to guard it; and he
said he'd bet on it if did it right. The
captain had had no luck tracking In
dians that summer, and the regiment
was laughing at him. He knew they
were scattering every which way now,
and was eager to strike them. All had
to do was to creep in excited like, wake
him up sudden, and tell him | was sure
l had heard an Indian drum and their
scalp dance song out beyond the pickets
that they were over towards Battle
Butte, and he could hear them if he
would come out on the river bank. He'd
go quick says Cover, and think of
nothing
"And-I wouldn't believe it, but he
did. He sprang up and went right out
with me, just finging his overcoat round
him; and he never seemed to want to
come in. The wind was blowing soft
like from the southeast, and he stood
there straining his ears trying to hear
the sounds [ told him of; but at last
he gave it up, and we went back to
camp, and he took his lantern and
looked in his saddle bags, and 1 shook
for fear; but he seemed to find every
thing all right, and in the next
ten minutes he was asleep, and Cover
came and whispered to me, and [ went
with him, and he gave me five hundred
dollars, in twenties. Now you're bound,
says he; keep the sentries off while |
get my horse And that's the last
ever saw of him. Then q strange thing
happened. Twas hardly daylight when
a courier came galloping up, and I called
the captain, and he read the dispatch,
and says he, BY heaven, Clancy, you
were right after all. There are Indians
over there. Why didn't l trust your
ears? Call up the whole command.
The Riflers have freed them at Battle
Butte, and Capt Rayner has gone with
his battalion. We are to escort the
wagons towhere the boat lies beyond the
bend, and then push over with all the
horsenen we can take
1t was after daylight when we got
started, but we almost ran the wagons
cross country to the boat, and there
Capt Hull took F troop and what there
was of his own, leaving only ten men back
with the wagons, and not till then was
Cover missed; but all were in such a
hurry to get to the Indians that no one
paid attention. Dir. Hayne he begged
the captain to let him go, too, SO the
train was left with the wagon master
and the captain of the boat, and away
we went. You know all about the fight,
and how twas Mr.. Hayne the captain
called to and gave his watch and the