Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-02-14

the railway station at Pawnee. A long
aide was ahead of them, as the doctor
was sorely needed. About the same
hour over in the Mini Ska valley
Rhett had pitched his few tents and
posted his sentries and outlying pick
cts to guard the wounded and helpless
against possibility of Indian attack.
True, Indians of the plains rarely at
tack at night, and are scary and
superstitious as SO many negroes.
True, the hostiles were all back under
the wing of the agency by this time,
probably. But Rhett had never before
been on Indian service, and, whether
he had or not, determined to neglect
no precautiOn. He had met the con-
voy returning from the scene of the
fight, had relieved the cavalry guard,
sending it back to Overtalze the
battalion-now fourscore miles away
en- route to still more threatened
point-and, under the orders flashed
after him by wire and swift courier,
Rhett was coming back to Pawnee,
bringing the sufferers with him. The
killed had been buried, temporarily at
least, at the scene of the savage fight.
There were thirty wounded in his
care, borne mostly on travels and
drawn by captured Indian ponies.
When he halted at the end of his days
march Painted Lodge Butte bore south
west by west perhaps fifteen miles
away, and the stage-station at the
bridge over the Mini Ska lay probably
five miles from their upstream picket.
A group of officers, chatting in low
tones around the camp fire among the
cottonwoods, dispersed about ten p. NJ,
and all but the commander of the
guard rolled into their blankets, one or
two of the number enjoying a good
night Whit at their brier roots as they
stretched themselves on the sod. Be-
yond the heavy breathing of some
sleeper and occasionally a feverish
moan among the wounded, who, with
| their attendants, were sheltered in a
little hollow out of reach of possible
shot, the camp was very quiet. The
few horses, the mules and the Indian
ponies were securely hoppled and
guarded where they could Craze at
will on bench just to the north of
camp, and when the moon came riding
up the eastern sky and family pictur-
ing the bluff bordered valley, the
scene was one of calm and placid re-
| pose. Fenton, the officer of the day,
could not held remarling upon it, as he
went trudging out over the grassy slope
for a midnight visit to his piclzets.
They had been talking of the strange
and successful scheme by which the
| outlaws had lured the paymaster on to
Minden and there robbed him, for the
| theory Of the civil authorities that
cavalrymen alone were the perpetra-
tors had received something of a set
back when these gentlemen from Ran
som met the wounded and the guards
from Tintop's command and learned
| that the only absentees at the time Of
| the robbery were Schultz and
| Schramm, who could hardly have eff
fected it by themselves; and what op-
portunity had they had of learning the
paymaster's movements? True, the
sherifs people. unable to find out what
had become of the two, forbidden to
| invade the confines OF another terri
| tory, which they would do if they fol-
lowed the cavalry. afraid to inger in
the valley after the cavalry had gone,
| and utterly averse to searching among
| the Sioux trails for their prey, had re-
turned to the railway. Among the
wounded was Lieut.. Edwards, the pay
masters friend, and no one was more
| interested about this affair in which
his name had been so recklessly and
effectively misused than Edwards him
self. The young doctor with the
| wounded told him he mustn't talk so
much, but Edwards was bound to find
| out all he could, and SO it happened