Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1898-01-28
AN EXPERIENCE
AT PINE RIDGE.

s'TELL him. said Frazier. address
ing the calm and impressive
Yellow Bird, who was the official
interpreter for the agency, that
above all aud in any event the
thing that he must do is TO de-
liver messages, no matter what hap
pens. Impress that upon him with the
strongest Injun talk you know. Tell
him what a great concern the Western
Union Telegraph company is, ana how
utterly ruinous to its prestige would he
the failure Of a messenger 10 do his
duty. Go on. now. Yellow. Let's hear
you. ! want to see that you instruct
him right" And he leaned back against
the table on which the little brass
sounder was pounding away merri!y.
and assumed Il keen interest in the
gesticnlations Of the interpreter and
his profuse jabbering of Sioux. Vel
low Bird himself being somewhat hazy
as to the exact shade of meaning of
to translate literally, but he gave Harry
Blue Horse fair conception of his du
ties as delivery boy. inventing for the
purpose sundry penalties which he
knew would appeal to an Indian boy
Of H.
1t was Frazier's second day in the
agency. He had come over from Rush
Vile to provide u closer communication
with the outside world, and in par:ic-
ular with the newspapers Of the east,
than was afforded by the slow courier
ing the agents Office with the ware
house alongside the railroad tracks at
Nashville, "a miles away, had been con-
verified into a telegraph circuit, and now
the Western Union, so far as it was con-
cerned, was quite ready for Little
Wound OF Short Bull or Two Strike or
any Of them to begin the threatened
slaughter, the promise of which had
brought many soldiers and almost as
many newspaper correspondents into
Pine Ridge. Frazier had tried the eN-
pertinent of himself delivering the fran
tic messages from officers wives and
the equally frantic appeals of distant
newspapers for more" and had found
it a dreadful nuisance. So he had sent
out the information that he wanted =
messenger.
When Yellow Bird came. introducing
Harry Blue Horse. Frazier first grinned
and then laughed bosterously. Down
at Omaha he had had his experience
with all kinds of uniformed messen-
gers, but never had his eyes rested upon
such u one as this who offered his serv-
ices. In the first place no Omaha mes
seuger whom he had encountered wore
as regular garb a red and gray blan-
ket which extended from his head to his
heels. None of those civilized Mer-
CURES went about with a 1890 Winches-
ter over his shoulder and n belt weight
ed with cartridges nearly as big as
clothespins girdling him. Neither did
his remembrance rest alpon any one Of
the Billies and Sans and Jacks who fol-
lowed the fashion of painting his face
in red and yellow, like kind of Easter
egg gifted with eyes and nose and
mouth.
Harry Blue Horse was employed then
and became q representative Of the
Western Union. And whether or not it
was owing to his general appearance
anu tAAS uASoASSHiCd "SdlOL ~ Is IIot VI
record that any man to whom a ''col-
lect" telegram was sent refused pay
ment or questioned the amount And
Yellow Birds instructions must have
been thorough, for Harry never re-
turned to Frazier with an undelivered
message. He followed Walker. the
United States deputy marshal. clear
over into Porcupine. On the day the
mission house was burned and one of
the employees was slainthe day when
everybody in the shadow of the reserva-
ton buildings, from 'friendly Indians
to the white special commissioner. was
in terror of the expected attack-Harry
set out for a 30-mile ride through :.
chill December wind. seeking Ray. 4
Chadron city official to whom some
body down in Oma ha had sent III urgent
request for accurate information" He
took the 30-Inile ride because Bill Web
Der, who was Rays known friend. in a
humorous mood told the boy that Ray
was out at Mousseau's, although. ir
TACT. the Chadron man was sitting a
The fire in Webber's own shack. 1t was
here that the telegram was finally de-
iyered. The messenger uttered no word
Il rep-oachor complaint, but tina thigh.
vehber'st clothes were stolen and |
urued in that self-same fire, as bits of