Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-01-24
CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER VI
It was one o'clock that afternoon be-
Store the sheriff reached the post.
Buttevine, the thriving county seat,
lay just five miles away to the south
west, and a hard prairie road connected
1T with the post. AS a distributing
point to the mines and q market for
the ranchmen the growing town had
shot rapidly into Importance. Two
banks, both reliable, two hotels, we'll
,patronized, and shops and stores in
good number, were barely able to sup
ply the demands. Dozens of bustIng
men breakfasted every morning at the
big clearinghouse of the railway com
pany, where the west-bound express
was supposed to find ample sustenance
for it's passengers before pushing on
for the long days run through the
mountains. The sheriff and the cor
-oner, as was the case in most frontier
cities of the day, were by long odds the
hardest-worked officials, and just now
the sheriff was fairly used up. The
first intimation of anything wrong east
of Buttevil1e was the sudden stop of
the wires. Up to daybreak train
~dispatchers and night operators sit
ting, red-eyed and weary, over their
instruments, after the long hours of
vigil, found everything working
smoothly. The night had been still,
neither storm nor excitement any
where along the line, until just about
four o'clock Butte, called up by Paw
nee station, was asked: Whats afire
at Allzali?" Butte didn't know-hadn't
heard. Pawnee explained that a dis
patch for Paymaster Graves from Min
den met No. 3 at Pawnee, and said
bridge was down at Alkali. Two
-ranchmen from over Painted Lodge
way rode into Pawnee at three a. N.
and said hell was broke loose down the
Mini Ska-Sioux scalping and burning
everything in sight. Where were Col.
Winthrop and the cavalry? Butte an
severed: The colonel and six companies
had marched for Painted Lodge two
days before; couldn't be far from
A1ka1 now. Sioux wouldn't dare
come that far up the valley. Who
said the bridge was down and burnt?
Pawnee replied: Hold on minute.
More refugees from valley are reported
hurrying to the railway, and Pawnee
wanted to see the ranchmen who first
came before they got good and drunk
and couldn't talk reliably. Perhaps
Minden could tell about the bridge at
Alkali. Butte called Minden accord
-ing1y Minden said some of the caval-
-ry had come up from AllzaH an hour
before, said they'd been sent to AlkaH
in the first place to meet the paymas-
ter on No. 5, but they found the bridge
across the Mini Ska afire, so the am
bulance, escort, etc, were all on the
way up to Minden, and these two rode
ahead with a dispatch for Maj. Graves,
explaining the situation and telling
him to keep on and meet them here.
Minden sent it to Pawnee, and Pawnee
gave it to the porter of the sleeping
car. That's all Minden knew about
fire or anything else. Butteville was
the west end of the division, however,
land Butteville demanded further par
ticulars-told Minden to ask the caval-
-ry if any of the buildings at All1aH
were reported afire. Minden said wait
n minute, he'd find out: No. 3's head
light just coming around Buffalo
Bluff. The soldiers had gone out to
meet the lieutenant as soon as assured
that the dispatch had been delivered to
No. 8, and they were now watering
their horses at the creek. 1t was just
light enough to see them out there.
Then No. 3 reached AIinden, was duly
reported In anu OUT, anu IheA tne wires
went down. No. came into Butte
vile at breakfast on time and all right.
The division superintendent asked
what was the matter at AllSaH station,
and the conductor replied, nothing
that he knew of. They had come live
1y down Antelope grade and struck the
Mini Ska valley, running forty-fve
miles an hour, which they didn't check,
as Maj. Graves telegram said: Come
ON to Minden." Had he seen the dis
patch? Why, certainly. It was all
right, signed by some lieutenant CO
other, commanding escort. Had lie
seen no fire at Alkah? Oh, yes, over
ON the bank of the stream five hundred