The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-09-01
done more than make a couple Of patches

uOne mOre CnAn make couple OF EASone9
on HE own huge pants.
And bugler Billy was-never one hiew
chesrier reveille-never one blew asweet-
er, more heartrending TAPS" over poor
fellows grave in the wilderness-never one
Sould thrill you more when your horse was
Juggling at your bride arm and your saber
was in the air and you was longing for the
captain to tell him to sound the charged
Well, we loved him rs the best of buglers,
but we loved him for more than that.
When was down with malarial fever at
Fort s., and although was reckoned q
surly fellow enough, little Billy brought
me grapes, and he must have paid through
the nose for them, the poor little angel
And l guess other fellows had some sort of
the same experience Never a man in the
guardhouse but Billy would find some way
to ease his mind and raise his spirits, and
cheerful he was always and the cleverest
Jockey In the regiment except-but there,
he was y very light weight. He used to
Sing, too, and the boys would be cleaning
up for Sunday morning inspection, and
Billy would chirp up something jolly, and
we'd yell chorus, and then he'd sing
quietly some homelike song, and we'd for
get the snow on the prairie, and the trouble
to get wood, and the half ration, and the
boys wouldn't join in that chorus, but just
keep on wiping the rust from the carbines,
and some of them may be dropping some
thing on the barrel that would turn to rust
very soon.
Well, we'll, Custer was there, and that
meant fun and fighting-more Of the last
than the frst-and down we went in the
chill Of Il late autumn afternoon, Just our
old group under the captain, to do some
thing. l don't recollect now what 1t was
maybe to break up small village-maybe
to bring in a chief. Anyhow the captain
didn't seem from his manner to think it
was going to be very serious, whatever 1t
was, and Billy kept chirruping away as he
rode behind the captain, as jolly as If we
were going to break up the whole Sioux
nation. remember how he had his favor.
tie bugle slung on its yellow cord round his
shoulders, buSle he used to handle as
tenderly as girl does her doll-aye, and a
bugle that is handled tenderly to this day
by those who have the great privilege OF
cleaning it.
We took up trot after getting out of the
post and made for the Canadian river, and
we kept up trot for a long time, saving
when we halted every hour for four or five
minutes to tighten girths and breathe the
horses-A good practice. We had come at
sunset, while 1t was driEzling rain, and it
looked, we thought, like a bad night The
scout that was with us was little better
than greenhorn, but he was supposed to
know the country. and at any rate none of
us expected any trouble or the use of re-
volver or saber.
TThaaa aaOa hOrvauar
Whether the guide Numbered, or thecap-
tain, as some may say, was obstinate and
stuck to his opinion, it is needless to argue
here The "big chiefs" did that afterward,
but instead of keeping to the trail and go
ing the ordinary way down to the ford we
branched of and struck right into wan
dering band of Comanches The devils saw
US before we knew they were anywhere
near, and the first thing we knew we were
greeted with as horrible a yell as ever a
Comanche managed to make. 1t was, as
have said, raining and it was nighttime,
and, more than that, we did not expect
them, SO when we dimly saw them whirl-
ing round us at top speed, some lying on
the off side of their ponies bellies and some
Of them leaping to their feet in the saddle
and all Of them firing into us as best they
could, we were too ratified just at first to
do much. We had walked right into a
nest of them.
The old captain just realized the state of
affairs. He devoted just 80 seconds to ours
ing the guide and then began business.
We were near the river, and our immediate
safety WAS to get across that. Forming us
up-for we had already opened scattering
fire on the Indians-the old man, charged in
one direction, tented, and forming in col
umns of tours turned to the river, and
swimming and struggling we reached the
other bank. There we formed as dismount-
ed skirmishers, while the reserve held the
horses behind the bluff and waited the cross
ing of the Indians, but they either thought
we were stronger than they, or we really
were, or, as is likely, they remembered the
Indian principle, never fight in the dark"
AT any rate they did not come, and the
roll Of US, in the gray of the dawn, was
called In whispers. 1t was q disgraceful
affair, we all thought, but we could not
have done any more in the darkness, not
knowing the strength of the enemy. How
ever, we were pleased to find that only two
of us had dropped from their saddles, and
we hoped we had hit some Of the enemy in
the few minutes fight. 1 say we were
pleased for moment, but before daylight
1t was whispered along the line, "Billy's
missing"
The poor little rascal He had always
had fancy for riding Tip when he could,
because the brute was the hardest mouthed,
most unmanageable horse in the troop, and
Billy-as they say-fancied himself on his
riding. and Tip was now with us riderless.
don't remember much talking or swear
ing or lamenting on the part of the men
that night, but Big Healy was next to me,
and know l heard him sobbing He
wasn't alone In that weakness either. At
last morning came and we looked across
the Canadian, and there was never a sign
Of a Comanche.
We didn't talk much about what ought
to be done. The captain didn't say a word
until we hastily boiled some coffee and ate
biscuit, with bit of cold "sow belly"
for those who had been wise enough to put
piece of pork in their saddlebags Then
we fell in, and the captain gave order to
mount.
He was as grave as Judge and spoke
quite softly as he drew his saber and faced
the center Of the troop.
Men, Y he said, II was sent out here with
you to scout for cattle thieves round the
ranches here. Something has happened,
though no fault of yours or mine to make
me break through my instructions. Idon't
know the strength Of that band that we
ran into last night in the darkness, but one
Of your most cherished comrades is either
dead among the bluffs over there or with
n