Mower County transcript., 1898-08-10
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COPyR/GH7- 1893. BY .
CHAPTER V.
The -th had been having what Cap
tain Ray called "poky" time most of
that year, and when Rays usually sun
ny nature clouded over something was
sure to be amiss with the professional
side Of the man. His domestic side was
perennial joy. The regiment had known
many hard winter, many fierce sum-
mer, many a sharp campaign and savage
battle. Its long exile III Arizona in the
old days was full Of peril and suffering.
Ars sometimes desperate encounters with
the red warriors of the northern plains
and mountains bad made sad inroads
on its mem mbership. It's records of casual.
ties embraced every conceivable catas-
trophe-death by sunstroke, starvation,
freezing, lightning, flood, fire, rattle
snakes, explosions, thirst, arrow aud
tomahawk. shot. saber and she'll. A
peaceful year it never knew from the
day OF its first muster on tho plains of
Texas until quarter century after,
when, mirabile dictu, there hadn't even
been horse thief to follow or an In
dian to chase until late in the summer
it occurred to band of Cheyennes to
ride northward and. call on some kin
dred up in the Powder river country,
and these children of nature never
thought of asking anybody's leave. The
-th had been having, as Ray said, so
poky time at Russell-just drilling,
drilling, drilling on that wide sweep of
upland prairie, instead of &:outing and
fighting through the mountains, their
normal summer recreation-that tho
regiment shouted for very joy when it
heard that Sharp Knife, the young Hot.
spur that headed the raid, had soundly
thrashed the first detachment sent to
head him off, and, indignant at the dis
courtesy Of the Great Father in essay
ing to curb his inclination to roam, was
helping himself to all the horned cattle,
horses and household goods that lay III
his way, not to mention a few of the
households, and was careering onward
bound for big time in the Big Horn
mountains, Dragging to the northern
Cheyennes of the fun hehad had.
Then away went Colonel Atherton,
with Stannard and Mainwaring, the old
and the new majors, and eight "husky''
troops, full tilt for the hills, only to
find when they reached the, broad valley
Of the Ska that Sharp Knife and his
shifty followers had crossed 48 hours
ahead and were circling westward across
the Little Missouri by that time. Never
is stern chase SO long chase as when
the Indian has the lead. The depart
ment commander followed by rail-,
stagecoach and blackboard, and half the
troopsin the territories of Dakota, Mon
tana and Wyoming were centering on
the Cheyennes when Sharp Knife cut
loose from all semblance of base and
took to the woods in earnest His peo-
pie scattered to the four winds. Some
hid among the northern bands of the
same tribe, some slipped in among the
Sioux at the great reservations in Da-
kota, others scattered far and wide,
broke up into little squads of three or
four and even less and logged back by
circuitous routes to the southern plains
and swore they'd only been hunting
along the Arkansas There's only one
creature that can beat an Indian-mur-
der one minute and look the image of
piety the next-and that's a cat. It
was "a poky SUMNER said Ray at
Russell. It was poor kind of campaign
ing, said that same authority, but better
than none. It was the move that follow
ed that stirred the social fabric of the
-th to it's foundations. The regiment
had been stationed for some years at
Russell, big post on the Union Pacific,
but the department commander decided
that he wanted Atherton and his season
ed campaigners closer to the malcon-
tents, and, to the unspeakable-not
speechless-indignation of nine-tenths
of the ladies in the -th and the finan-
cial though unconfessed comfort of
many of their lords, the order was is.
sued that it should not return to Rus
sell, h4t direct its retrograde march on
the older, Smaller, but just now rather
more important post Of Fort Ransom.
"Squeeze into quarters as best you
can," said the general cheerfully, "and
you won't mind crowding this winter
Well fit you out better in the spring."
Now, the winter was the time they
most objected to being crowded, for
then they had their friends from the
east and their social pleasures, did these
danes and damsels of the army, while
in summer the troops were almost al
ways afeld, and the women, those who
could afford it, went east. Few had
done SO this year, because the regiment
was not sent out for summer camp, and
when the Sharp Knife chase was Or
dered it was too late in the season.
So the two battalions, then so called,
marched in to Ransom. Then, so many
at a time, the officers were allowed to go
to Russell to supervise the packing and
shipment of their household goods,
while the quartermaster and other SER
geants did as much for the companies.
Mrs. Atherton, with her lares and pena-
tes, was there at Butte to welcome the
regiment when it arrived. Mrs. Main
waring, with her fair niece, Miss Le-