Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-08-16

For her sake the troop buried her
mournfully, and without any method
| of procedure decided to adopt her son
the pet
The boy one day drew his father
away TO lock at his mothers grave in
the lonely cemetery Oh the bluffs. and
there the old soldier had a fit. and was
| found by the doctor and ambulance
men lying dead on the wife's grave.
Billy's father and Billy's mother
| having died without thinking it neces
sary to notify anybody of any rela-
| tives they may have had, Billy was
left with what pay was due his
| father and the debt to the sntler
which his father owed, which was
| rather rough on the four-year-old. for
the debt considerably exceeded the
pay.
When he was old enough to hold the
bugle to his lips he made a noise
which his partial stepfather said was
mighty near like taps" and he took
to the bugle after that as he might
to a sucking bottle.
When he was ten years old he could
blow all the calls and ride Tip to
water while leading two others. which
was more than any recruit could do
When he was Is and had had decent
education at the post schools, our dear
old captain (rest be to his sOuD held a
consultation with the colonel and ad-
jutant, and Billy was called in at the
end of it and asked if he would like
to enlist.
1t required a special order from
the headquarters at Washing ton, but
Billy got his hearts desire.
Well, we loved him as the best of
buglers, but we loved him for more
than that.
When | was down with the malarial
fever at Fort s, and although l was
reckoned a 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. 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 forget the snow on tie 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 might be dropping
something Oh the barrel that would
turn to rust very soon.
Well! we'll! Custer was there, and
that meant fun and fghting-mOre Of
the last than the first-and down we
went in the chill of a late autumn
afternoon, just our old group, under
the captain. to do something.
[ don't recollect now what it was
maybe to break UP a small village
maybe to bring in a chief. Anyhow
the captain didn't seem from his man
ner to think it was going to be very
serious, whatever it was, and Billy
kept chinuping away as he rode be-
hind the captain, as jolly as II we
were going to break up the whole
Sioux nation.
We took up a trot after getting out
of the post and made for the Cana
dian river, and we kept up trOt for
a long time, saving when he halted
every hour four or five minutes to
tighten girths and breathe the horses
"a good practice.
Whether the guide Numbered or the
captain, as some may say, was OBJ
stinate and stuck to his opinion, it is
needless to argue here-the "big
chiefs" would attend to that after
ward; but instead of keeping to the
trail and going the ordinary way
down to the ford, we branched off and
struck right into a wandering 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 yell as ever a Co
manche managed to make.
The old captain just realized the
state of affairs. He devoted just
thirty seconds to cursing the guide
and then began business.
We were near the river, and our i'm
mediate 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 direc-
ton, tented and, forming in columns
of tours, turned to the river, and
swimming and struggling, we reached
the other bank.
There we formed as dismounted Skin
mishers, while the reserve held the
horses behind the bluff and waited
the crossing of the Indians, but they
either thought we were stronger than
they, Or, as is likely, 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.
We were pleased to find that only
two of us had dropped from our sad
dies, and we hoped we had hit some
of the enemy in the few minutes fight,
but before daylight it was whispered
along the line, "Billy's missing"
The poor little rascal! He had al
ways had a fancy for riding Tip when
he could, because the brute was the
hardest mouthed, unmana geable horse
in the troop, and Billy-as they say
fancied himself on his riding, and Tip
was now with us riderleSs.
At last morning came, and We looked
across the Canadian, and there was