The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1895-04-04

and other trophies OF the hunt ana
weapons taken in encounters with the
Indians. Over the mantel were crossed
muskets intersected by guidons. On
the northern wall small bookshelf,
made of slabs hewed thin and orna-
mented by rustic boughs and pine cones,
contained few college textbooks in
Latin and Greek; a dictionary, reader
and grammar and 'Don Quixote" and
the missal dropped from the Valencia
carriage, in Spanish. In English there
were few novels by the best authors, q
Shakespeare, several popular magazines
and reviews, military reference books
and. tactics, the Bible and the 'Book
of Common Prayer" A center table,
stand, four chairs, woodbox and water
jar made up the furniture
A few yards behind the officers cabin
was his kitchen; but, as the lieutenant
was alone he made no use of it, turn
ing his rations into the company kitchen,
from which his servant brought his
meals, eking them out with some extras
prepared at the officers hearth.
Life in the valley was full Of adven-
ture During the eight months that
Raymer remained there he had frequent
encounters with the Navajoes, success
fully resisting an attempt by party Of
800 to capture the camp and meeting
with various minor collisions on the
outlying trails. Only two Of these affairs
have anything to do with the thread Of
this story. The first occurred in the last
week of October.
Late in the afternoon of pleasant
day gentleman, mounted on a pony
and accompanied by Mexican serving
man similarly mounted, entered the
camp and was shown by the sergeant Of
the guard to the quarters of the lieu
tenant He introduced himself as the
agent of the Navajo tribe Of Indians and
presented letter from the department
commander which stated that the
bearer was on his way to the Indian
pueblo of Jemez to prevent threatened
massacre of number Of Navajo wom-
en-, children and old men who had
sought asylum there and authorized the
lieutenant to furnish him with q de-
tachment of soldiers
After dismounting and entering the
officers cabin the agent stated that, the
Navajo country being overrun by the
national forces, many Of the principal
men of the tribe had sent their wives
and children to the towns of the Pueblo
Indians for safety, and that there were
now at Jemez 10 old warriors, Is women
and quite number of children. He
further stated that war party of Nav
aioes had recently successfully raided
the stock Of the pueblo of Santo Do
mingo because the inhabitants had re-
fused to grant asylum to their families,
and that the Dominicans had organized
a party to 20 to Jemez and kill the aged
men and the women and children there
in revenge.
The lieutenant expressing doubt
that the Jemez Indians would permit
such an outrage of the laws of hospital
ity, especially when they outnumbered
the Dominicans by several hundreds,
the agent replied that Jemez was in no
sense to be considered friendly to the
Navajoes, but that its position near a
principal trail to the country of those
predatory nomads made it to the advan-
tage of the pueblo to be on good terms.
The Dominicans had sent word to the
governor of Jemez that if his people
interfered to protect their guests the
military authorities would consider
them allies of the Navajoes and treat
them accordingly.
For messenger and other special serv-
ice requiring speed the camp had been
furnished with two bronchos. These,
with the six wagon mules and the pri-
vate horse of the lieutenant, made it
possible in an emergency to mount nine
men. Raymer mentioned this to the
agent and urged that the detachment
should start at 3 in the morning, which
would enable it to cover the 25 miles
between the valley and the pueblo by
daylight. But the gentleman preferred
sleeping to night marching and insisted
that to leave by sunrise would be suffi-
ciently early.
The orders of the commanding general
required the lieutenant to conform his
movements to the wishes of the agent,
SD he could do nothing but wait, that
gentleman maintaining that the Domin-
leans would not leave their pueblo be-
fore noon.
Before tattoo First Sergeant Cunning
ham waited upon the officer with the re.
quest that he be allowed to accompany
the expedition, his duties having hith.
erto confined him strictly to camp The
request was granted, and at daybreak
the next morning the party Of IL and
the neutenant's setter, Victoriana, left
the camp.
As Victoriana is principal characte,
In an incident soon to be related, sht
must be introduced to the reader. When
Raymer was about to leave Santa Fe fol
the valleys, his friend Reed gave him {
beautiful young setter. which he named
a. above, but which for convenience
except in moments Of confidence, h,
called Vic. She was white and live
oolored, with mottled nose and paws
and had tail like the plume Of Henr,
Of Navarro. She had received no educa
tion. but she possessed plenty Of oapac
itv and mu0h Of Ravmtsr's time durinf