The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-02

eh sey VI III Iesn-long stockings, deer skin
ssiloes,, cailed moccasinS, and mittens or
nngerless gloves. "A light hardwood sIedge
was used for travelling the Jumper: but woe
70 ~ me ldiet lazy enough to spend the day in
IL! One must trot alongside until every fin
ger tngled with warmth before it was safe
70 rest. There was more than frost bite to
Iear-the chilling of the brain and of vital
orsaTS, deliTium, coma DEATH Even recov-
cry from the brain chill was a sorrowful
tttF 1as enosugh-the intellect unbalanced,
me mead dropped, the languor lasting
through months or even a year or two.
wnich took away all ambition, virility and
active manhood. But death? Well we
were very hard to KILL and / only know of
one case when the searchers came too late.
The winter is terribly beautiful when the
lInneasuraDle spaces of the plains lie glis-
tenlng under the moonlight: when the red
sun rolls up over the edge Of the world and
the steel-blue mists flush like the petals of a
wild rose in the Internal, bewildering hor-
ror OF the blizzard; in the death-hush of
the evening. or when the northern lights
march blazing UP the heavens like legions
upon leglons of armed angels.
spring was diSpleasing, because the sun
sends up a damp heat from the snow which
worse than toothache. Also, there We're the
getting-up drills, when we had to wear uni
forms and play at soldiers for whole
month. probably because the officer com
handing wanted to make himself detestdble
we always put down the drills to his per-
But then came the summer, which was
too good to talk about. We were scattered
out the plains visiting the Indian re-
serves, chasing horse thieves, patrolling the
nine hundred miles of the United States
boundary-a life of hard work, hot, dusty
trails, lonely outpostS; of bathing, hunting
growing viciously; of tents and bivouac
riotous rows in the villages, and all the fun
IN the world. There was no soldering, save
for the clipped tails of the horses, the police
outfit made us look like a party Of wander
ing cowboys or desperadoes. We were brown
as Indians, dusty, hungry, thirsty, dressed
anyhow in the frontier clothes which put
civilized gear to shame, because they are
To keep the country in order? Why we
caused more trouble than the twenty-three
thousand Indians and the twenty odd thou
sand settlers put together. But getting into
trouble was our privilege, our monopoly;
nobody else was allowed to misbehave-we
saw to it. The great plains, nine hundred
miles by five hundred, a country as big as
western Europe, was kept as peaceful as
an English country parish. No civilian car
ried arms for self-defense, because If the
law was broken the fugitive was hunted
down, If II took months He might fly to
the northern forest; but he would be tracked
and delivered in serviceable condition for
the common use as a jail bird. Once, when
some criminals took refuge in the United
Montana, to be turned into jail birds with
the wiser. There is but one thing. on this
planet longer than the equator, and that is
the arm of British justice.
Once only we failed to keep the mastery
of the plains Under one Louis Riel, re-
ligious monomaniac who claimed divine at
tributes. the French Canadian half breeds.
the Red Indian tribes to war against us.
The campaign was long and bloody; in
deed all the power of Canada had to be
brought to our aid; but in face of over
Whelming numbers the inSurrection was
stamped cut, the leader judiciously hanged
and the peace restored. Apart from that
lapse from virtue the force is without a
history; only disorder makes history books
REAL LIVE MEN.
have never seen any body of men so
thoroughly alive as the mounted police. Big
Bear, last of the rebel chiefs, had just been
taken sngle-handed by Constable "Sligo"
Kerr, and his $50 pursuers were coming
down out of the northern forest. There for
weeks they had kept themselves alive by
hunting rabbits, many of the horses had
starved to death, and the whole crowd
seemed worn out, hopelessly discouraged
Suddenly it occurred to somebody in the
ranks that this was the Oath of May
Queens birthday" he yelled, flinging his
SLOUGH hat in the air. A man behind him
drew his revolver and fired, so down came
the hat with a bullet hole in the crown.
Every hat went up, all came down riddled,
then the fusillade was drowned in volley
Of cheering and that, in turn, by the ma
tional anthem. Many time have known
the advance guard to start song, the wag-
ons to take up the chorus, the rear guard
to join in behind, until the plains rang with
music. In camp and barracks it was the
same-the song, the chorus, the riotous fight
with belts. There was a total prohibition
of liquor throughout the territories. by
which it became incumbent upon the force
to drink or destroy all liquor, lest the Indian
tribes and the civil population should be de-
moralized. But our ambitions were not con-
fined to noise or liquor. One man would
farm pigs, another trade in cigars, third
edit the local paper, and a fourth add to his
pay by making water-color sketches for the
rest.
Arrests of criminals are often complicated
and exciting. Some years ago Deerfoot,
well-known Indian athlete was wanted for
killing people, but resisted arrest, defying
three constableS with an ak. constable
is not allowed to bring in prisoners dead,
that being contrary to a regimental order
on the subject, and punishable with three
months in the guard room. Deerfoot was
allowed to escape, and that also is punish
able with three months imprisonment.
Some time after an interpreter attached to
the force, camping over night at traders
lodge in meadow close by. The Indians
had, indeed shown a poster to the trader
advertising him, Deerfoot alias Dried Meat,
to run in the skating rink at Calgary. Next
morning the interpreter walked over to the
lodge, watched the young Indian running
to drive in the ponies for travel, compared
called him UP and arrested him. The indian
lodged out of his blanket broke away,
rifle from the tepee tent, and gained the
abrupt bank of a rivulet close by. Mean
while the interpreter had fred once; SEEM "a,
the top of the bank the Indian danced his
little war dance. prayed to his gods, took
cover and leveled his rifle. When the white
man charged up the bank the Indian ran.
He ran two miles, going to cover at last
in q farm house, where he sat down by
the stove. Until he actually entered the
house the Interpreter never guessed that
this Indian who had beaten him i'll q two
mile race was desperately wounded in the
thigh. Curiousy enough, this was not the
man who was wanted for murder. 1t trans
pired that there were two Indian runners
named Deerfoot, of the same age and stat
ure the one called Dried Meat" the other
called Putrid Dried Meat" The prisoner
was pensioned for life
CASE OF ALMIGHTY VOICE..
On May 81, 1897, a report came from Duck
lake. in Saskatchewan, that Indian,
whose name was Almighty Voice" had
shot a noncommissioned officer named Bow
ringe from ambush, and also a settler
named Venue, who was brought to the
Duck Lake detachment station wounded in
the shoulder Next morning the detach-
ment located Almighty Voice" in a bunch
of timber, where he was aided and abetted
by other Indians. In the dispute which
followed Constable Kerr and volunteer
named Guadry were killed, Corporal Hook
ing mortally wounded, Inspector Allen and
Surgeon Raven wounded and one Indian
killed. A field gun being sent for, the occu-
1aprc 0f the timber were severely incOm-