The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-21
CHAPTER V

those were days in which our Indian
outbreaks were described in the press
long after, instead ef before, their
occurrence Such oouriers as had got
through to FrayEe brought dispatches
from the far-isolated posts along that
beautiful range, insisting that the
Sioux were swarming in every valley,
Such dispatches, when wired to Wash
ington and referred" to the depart
ment Of the interior and re-referred to
the head Of the Indian bureau, were
scoffed at as sensational.
"Our agents report the Indians peace
ebly assembled at their reservations,
None are missing at the weekly distrl-
button of supplies, except those who
are properly accounted for as out on
their annual hunt" THE officers, -
said the papers, seem to see red In
dams in every BUSH" and unpleasant
things were limited at the officers as
q consequence.
Indians there certainly were in other
sections and they were unquestionably
raising the devil" along the Smoky
Hill and the southern plains, and there
the interior department insisted that
troops in strong force should be sent
So, too, along the line of the Union
Pacific Officials were still nervous.
Troops of cavalry camped at intervals
of forty miles along the line between
Kearney and Julesburg, and even be-
You'd At Washington and the great
cities of the East, therefore, there was
no anxiety as to the possible fate of
these little garrisons, with their help
al, of nd ri
away up in the heart of the Sioux
country. But at Laramie and Frayne
and Emory, the nearest frontier posts;
at Cheyenne, Omaha and Gate City the
anxiety was great. When John Folsom
said the Indians meant a war of eX-
termination, people west of the Mis-
souri, said: withdraw those garrisons
while there is yet time, or else send
5000 troops to help them" But peo-
pie east of the Missouri said: who
the devil is John Folsom? What does
he know about it? Here's what the
Indian agents say, and that's enough"
and people east of the Missouri being
vastly in the majority, neither were the
garrisons relieved nor the reinforce
ments sent. What was worse, John
FolsOm's urgent advice that they dis
continue at once all work at Warrior
Gap and send the troops and laborers
back to Reno was pooh-poohed
1.-THE contracts have been let and
signed. The material is all on it's way.
We can't back out now,' said the Of
ffcials. "Send runners to Red Cloud
and get him in for talk. Promise him
lots of presents. Yes, if he must have
+o1 l,n cI,o1 hoT
leaders and copper cartridges, like the
soldiers-to shoot buffalo with, of
course. Promise him pretty much any
thing to be good and keep his hands off
a little longer till we get that far and
the new agency buildings finished, and
then let him do what he likes"
Such were the Instructions given the
commissioners and interpreters hurried
through Gate City and Frayne, and
on up to Reno just within the limit
fixed by Folsom. Red Cloud and his
chiefs came in accordingly, arrayed in
pOmp, paint and fnery; shook hands
grlmly with the representatives Of the
Great Father, critically scanned the
prOffered gifts, disdainfully rejected the
muzzle-loading rifles and old dragon
horse pistols heaped before him. Got
heap BETTER" was his comment, and
nothing but brand new breachloaders
would serve his purpose. Promise them
and he'd see what could be done to re-
strain his young men. But they were
pretty mad" he said, and couldn't be
relied upon to keep the peace unless
sure of getting better arms and ammu-
milton to help them break it next time.
1t was only temporizing. 1t was only
encouraging the veteran war chief in
his visions of power and control The
commissioners came back beaming
Everything satisfactorily arranged.
Red Cloud and his people are only out
for a big hunt" But officers whose
wives and children prayed fearfully at
night within the puny wooden stock
ades and listened trembling to the
bowls and tom-tOms of the dancing In
dams around the council fires in the
neighhoring valleys, wished to heaven
they had left those dear ones in safety
at their Eastern homes-wished to
heaven they could send them thither
now, but well knew that it was too
late. Only as single spies, riding by
night hiding by day, were couriers
able to get through from the Big
Horn to the Platte. Of scouts and SOL
diers sent at different times since the
middle of May seven were missing.
and never, except through vague boast
1ngs OF the Indians, were heard Of
again.
1T is a treacherous truce, I tell YOU. "
sald Fo'som, with grave, anxious face.
to the colonel commanding Fort EN-
DRY. l nave known Red Cloud twenty
years. He's only waiting a few weeks
TO see If the government will be fool
enough to send them breech-loaders.
II 1t does, he'll be all the better able
TO light a little later on. If it doesn't
he will make it his casus belli."
And the veteran colonel listened,
locked grave, and said he had done his
utmost to convince his superiors. He
could do no more.
1t was nearly three hundred miles by
the winding mountain road from Gate
CITY to Warrior Gap. Over hill and dale
ana mountain pass the road ran to
Frayne, thence, fording the North
Platte, the wagon trains, heavily
guarded, had to drag over miles of
dfeary desert, over shadeless slopes
and divides to the dry wash of the
Powder, and by roads deep in aIlIaIi
dust and sage brush to Cantonment
Reno, where far to the west the grand
range doomed UP against the sl<y-an-
other long days march away to the
nearest foothills, to the nearest drink
able water, and then, forty miles fur
Their still, in the heart of the grand
pine-covered heights, was the rock
bound gateway to a lovely park region
within, called by the Sioux some wild
combination of almost unpronouncea-
Bile syllables, which, freely translated
gave US Warrior Gan and thara q +
last accounts, strengthened by detach-
ments from Frayne and Reno, the lit
tie command of fort builders worked
away. ak In hand. rifle at hand s11l,