Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-07-22
The Arcadia Rife Range.
ten for the Sunday Renublic.

for their annual target practice, merits
its poetic name.
It is one of the most romantic spots
in all picturesque Missouri. 1t lies o9
miles south of ST. Louis and l. 1,IOU
feet above sea level. Pilot Knob rears
its wooded height above the Valley on
the north, and Shepherd Mountain :
long, gently slOpiug sides act as a
giant bulwark against the rudeness OF
the winds On either side are en-
purpled chains of hills, and at their
base a brilliant mosaic OF green.
Stout's Creek. OF tOrtuOus wlndlngs
and pebbly bed, sweeps along the foot
of the hills. The Valley is dotted
here and there with trees, in social
clumps or solitary dignity.
In the heart of the Valley lies the
beautiful City of IrontOn with an en-
terprising population of 1000. and the
pretty village of Arcadia, OF 800 souls.
Cottage homes lie along the curvlng
streets, which are, after all, country
roads, half hidden by overhanging and
meeting foliage. Occasionally one
passes u house of more pretentious dl-
mensions and more imposing grounds.
There are the home of Judge Emerson,
with its Old World air of secluslon,
amidst grounds not so we'll cared for
as to destroy their picturesqueness,
the quaint summer home OF w. ID.
Thompson, the rustic retreats OF II. j.
Grover, of Mrs. Forster and other st.
Louisans of leisure and taste. There
are roomy hotels, fashioned from ola
mansions, and with grounds as spa
cious as English parks.
Two and half miles southeast of
Arcadia is the rifle range which the
Government contemplates purchasing
fo- the use of Missouri's contingent OF
the regular army. 1t covers an area
of l, ,14O acres. which roll gently from
the foothills to the lower ground, wa
tered by Stout's Creek and its tribu-
taries. At one extremity, glowing
against dense background of black
oaks, IN what appears al first sight to
be natural buttes of red sandstone. AT
the other end on Sunday morning a
little tented city sprang into sight.
The sudden appearance of this city be-
tokened the arrival of Troops H, ID,
and A of the Third Cavalry, after a
hard ride across the country from JEFF
ferson Barracks.
The weather had been as unpropi-
tious as weather may be for the mill
tary venture. On Thursday morning
at 5:20 the troops had started. Cap
tain George F. Chase had command oi
the company. Captain j. o. Mackay
was in command of A Troop, Lieuten.
ant Ola w. Bell of H. Troop until the
arrival of Captain Morgan and Lieu.
tenant Kirby Walker of ID Troop.
Lieutenant c. f. Hawkins had been
assigned the post of adjutant and quar-
termaster for the journey. The little
army comprised, all told, $50 men.
Their number was supplemented by
George Mcclellan Chase. the 8-year.
old son OF the commanding officer, who
rode to Arcadia on his pony, Kiowa
Master George gives evidence already
of the soldierly blood in his veins. He
made the long, hot march without &
murmur about the exceeding discOm
Fort of the journey, and if the three
| troops make a phenomenal record as
| sharpshooters this year the good cap
tain will not be prouder than he is o
his first born's feat.
On Thursday the distance covered
was Is miles, the men camping a
Reissen's Grove the ''first night out.
On Friday the ride was from Riessen':
Grove to Plattin's Gap, % miles away
and on Saturday the space between
Plattin's Gap and Pennington, 2;
miles, was 'traversed. At 3 A. NJ. or
| Sunday morning the march was re
sumed and by 10 o'clock the company
had reached its destination, the rifle
range in Arcadia Valley. Until Sat
urday afternoon the temperature haC
approximated SO degrees on the route
and the men had been weighted b.
numerous and heavy accourterments.
1t was weary body of men tina
reached the range on that Sunda.
morning, having ridden through th'
city of Ironton while the ros.
children in white frocks were on thei
way to Sunday School.
The children forgot their destination
and lined the roadside as the rider
passed. There was Captain Georg
F. Chase at the head of the column
| Captain Chase rides like the veteran
! cavalryman he is. He is big ant
broad-skouldered. His features ar
hawklike and his face brozed witt
coats innumerable painted by tina
greatest of limners. the rays of tn
| summer sun. The captains ster
| vlsage did not take on that hue in on
| seasons campaign, nor yet in two no
ten. He has spent more than two de
cades on the frontier and has had ia
miliar acquaintance with the sands c
the American desert and the blea
winds of the northern prairies. Fl
has grown keen-eyed with much gaz
ing at long distances and quick c
hearing from listening for the remote
elusive sounds of the monotonou
stretchet of western prairies.
Thirty years ago Captain Chase wa
slender West Point cadet. He RI
ceived his commission July ~, 1871
and repaired to his first station, FoI
d. A Russell, near Cheyenne. II
was stationed later at Fort Sidney an
Fort Laramie, both of which have bee
} abandoned. In 1876 he was in cam
with General Crooks command. Frol
April 1876, to February, 1877, he di
forage duty in Wyoming, Montana an
Dakota. He participated in the Che.
eune aud Black Hills expedition fro
} May to December of 1877. He assis
ed in the Cheyenne campaign fro
August to December, 1879, which r