The herald., 1895-12-22

"a uOkbCOdOh AAo0 "a A~O AAAAASS 49,
twenty-five hours is no small under
taking, when more than twenty hours
of it be accomplished underneath "the
solemn-faced moon" An ex-army
officer told, the other day, Of a ride of
this character during which the moon
cast more startling and terrifying
shadows than ever fell before the vision
of the most superstitious rabbit-foot
darby who ever strayed into the village
graveyard after nightfall. As the story
goes:
1t was in September of 1874, when
General Nelson A. Miles, then colonel
of the Fifth United States infantry,
was commanding an expedition
against the Indians in Indian territory
All summer he had been following and
fighting the Indians with Indifferent
success. Grass-fed ponies were fleeter
than corn-fed horses. But the grass,
sun-dried and flre-destroyed over great
areas, was giving the Indians distress,
as autumn came on, and the troops
were alert to take advantage of the
conditions to run the Indians down
and into their reservations at Forts
Sill and Reno, or into the Cheyenne
agency.
The troops were encsmped on the
Wichita river, near the Tooth meridian,
and in couple of days march of Llano
Estacsdo, or the great Staked Plains Of
Texas. Near midday, while the COM
mand was in their September canton
ment, the whole camp was aroused
from the apathy of waiting, like Micaw-
Der, for something to turn up. Two
scouts rode into camp-long-haire
weatherbeaten, sundried, and strangers
to all the scouts, buffsio hunters and
soldiers of the command. They we're
"two gentlemen from Texas" and de-
clsred it with typical JUNCTION; and then
went on to say they we're from Lieu
tenant Colonel Buell's command of the
Ninth United States cavalry, which
was in hot pursuit of q big band of In
d1sns coursing over the country fifty
miles west Of the camp on the Wichita.
The news stirred the camp up like an
earthquake shock, and soon made one
of the command suddenly as sick as if
he had swallowed seismic epidemic as
big as Mount Popocatapetl.
General Miles yelled to the lieutenant
of his staff and administered the dose
by telling him to prepare for ride to
Adobe Wells, 120 miles away, up on the
Canadian river, not far distant from
the New Mexico boundary line Of the
Texas Panhandle.
"When, general?" was asked.
'Now! at once"
And the lieutenant walked away to
look at the trimmings of his armory,
get plug of tobacco from the COM
missary and put a can or two of sar-
dimes in his haversack.
Returning to the generals tent, he
complacentiy asked: "What sized de-
tachment shall I take?"
And the general, pointing to single
individual, a scout called "Prairie Dog"
Dave (Dave Campbell,) laconically re-
marked:
He'll go with you"
"But general" the lieutenant had the
temerity to interpose, can't l have ten
men at least?"
"No. You would make too broad a
trail, and two of you can better get
through, if you do (consolingly,) than
If ten we're sent out"
And then he explained the contents
of paper he handed the lieutenant,
saying that body of 300 to 800 In
dians were being hunted by Colonel
Buell. between his, the Wichita, camp
and Colonel Compton's camp at Adobe
Walls, and that the lieutenant's orders
were to ride over to Adobe Walls (only
100 miles away and give Colonel
Compton word of the chance to dis
tinguish himself and command.
"But, general" TREMENDOUSLY inter-
posed the lieutenant again, ~ ought
to have good horse; mines played
out"
"You can have the bsst in the COM
mand-"
"I'll take your black horse,"-eagerly
spoken.
"All right"
Mounted on 'the best horse in the
command" the lieutenant set out on
the ride at high noon, followed "cheer-
ingly" by the caution, "Be careful not
to run into the Indians" and it was
moodily remembered there were 500 of
them, and only the scout and himself
if he did happen to ''run into EN-"
"Prairie Dog" Dave vas no mean
guide for this expedition. He had
hunted buffalo all over this country
for their hides, and by indiscriminate
slaughter of them had helped provoke
the Indians into the war. which the
lieutenant, his companion, wished then
and there might have been averted.
The trail from the camp led up the
Wichita until the river ran out OF
ended in lot of little ravines, which
by easy ascent led up to "divide.'
Over this the two had to CROSS arolline
prairie, on which "bunch grass" and
tumble weeds" were magnified into
buffalo herds and then bands of Indians
by the lieutenant. "Prairie Dog" Dave
knew better, though he stopped twice
and borrowed the lieutenant's field
glasses to scan the horizon. The divide
curved down all of a sudden into "a
break" that led down into Elk creek
For mile tortuous path was fol
lowed until the bottom land of Elk
Creek was attained-snd a more pic