The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-03-20
The Tale of the Military Man
In me Kansas unirsr,ftu KseElu:

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mons on their way westward, paused
to rest in the quiet little valley of the
Cherokee Hills, where the Cherokees
assembled i'm the summers for their
tribal councils. They made friends
with the Indians, and being of thrift
ty nature they took the contract for
the construction of some brick build
ings. They built them well, and to-
day the houses stand as solid as the
day the honest wOrkmen put aside
their tools and resumed their west
ward journey. One of these houses,
large two story dwelling with wide
porches and ample fireplaces, is now
used as hotel. In the winter even
ings the guests of the house gather in
the large office room, around the fire.
place where q good fire is always
burning, and the evening is generally
passed in telling tales of days gone
by but not forgotten. Nothing is
more conducive to good stories than
an open fire. Men were always COM
ing and going at this queer old fash
Toned hostelry, and new stories could
be heard every evening. There with
the fire lighting up their weather.
beaten faces, old Cherokees would
tell If he ancient glOries of their tribe
and of its wrongs, of its lost Paradise
in the beautiful South beyond the
Great River; they told tales of Hous-
ton, that strange man who turned his
back upon the men of his own race
and came to dwell among the redmen
a chief and warrior, and went away
again and fought and won an empire
and gave it to his country; stories
they told of Sequoyah the wise man
of the Cherokees, who travelled even
to the big western sea, and who
would sit silently thinking when the
other young men fought and quarrled
and who, dying, left behind him an
imperishable monument in the tribal
alphabet. Men with the fire and
strength of youth yet in them, told of
war tore the tribe asunder, and
score of fierce chieftains carried fire
and death through the peaceful val
leys and engendered feuds that live
to this day. Now and then white
man came and sat by the fire, and
told strange adventures that had be-
fallen himself and comrades. Now
and then marshal, fresh from the
fights with the Cook Gang then plum
dering right and left, told of hard
rides and fierce fights.
One evening white man drew his
chair into the little circle about the
fireplace and smoked aud listened as
the others talked. He was tall and
gray, handsome of face and with the
manners of a gentleman. There was
something in his bearing that told as
plainly as spoken words that he had
been a soldier and had "seen service"
a story of the war on the border, told
by one of Stanwaite's men, seemed to
interest him more than any of the
previous ones, and at its conclusion
he gave his contribution to the even
ings' entertainment.
During the late war, 1 was Oppos-
ed to our friend here" he said, with a
nod of his head to the eX-CUnfederate.
When the war came on | enlisted in
Northern calvary regiment. L was
young and possessed much of the
recklessness of youth. This seemed
to find favor with my officers, for L
was many times promoted only to
be reduced again for what to me
seemed but trifliDg breach of the
regulations. L managed however to
check my heedlessness and reached
the rank of second lieutenant. 1t was
shortly after my promotion that the
battalion to which L belonged was
ordered to leaye the comfortable quar-
tiers we had fixed up for the winter,
and was sent on an expedition into a
mountainous part of the country to
break up strong organization of
bush whackers that were making
things unpleasant for Union sympa-
thizers in that region. Our quarters
were near a town large enough to
have provided sufficient amusement
through the winter to suit our calvary
men, and consequently we rode away
from them in anything but an ami
able mood.
"FOr weeks we rode up and down
the rough hills and mountains, pur-
suing that which always seemed in
our grasp yet always eluded u.s. AL
ways about US but never in sight, the
hidden enemy dealt US many dead
ly blow. The sentinel on his lonely
post, lost in thoughts of those dear,
but far away, would hear rustic in
the underbrush; rifle in unseen
hands would send its deadly missile,
Il n