Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1899-01-05
CHAPTER XVIII.


open air life they led among the billow-
ing foothills, the beautiful, sheltered
valleys and the sparkling streams Of
the Big Horn. A summer camp had
been established, and with this as the
rendezvous and rallying point Anterior
was keeping his stalwart horsemen
scouting far and near, from the Platte
at Fetterman to the ellowstone away
to the north. But Indians were seldom
to be found. Sitting Bull and his starv-
ing followers were beyond the British
line, closely watched by the frontier
police Crazy Horse was dead bayonet-
ed IN wild effort to escape from his
guard. Gall, Rain-in the Face and other
notables OF the Sioux Nation had fed fat
their ancient grudge against the white
soldier when Clusters hapless column
withered away before the fierce blaze of
their encircling fire.
1t was holiday summer for the til,
veritable picnic in the heart of the
glorious country over which for two
years previous they rode only with
strong battalions, with scouts thrown
out in front, in rear, OH every side,
looking any instant for attack in force
Some of the ladies had ao jually broken
up housekeeping at the fort and gone
those rough hundreds of miles in army
ambulances to join their lords in the
tented field, and life at Russell was in
ane and stupid
But when the Indians drew away and
sought the shelter OF the agencies the
hustler" and the horse thief began to
infest the land. One night dozen Of
Gregg's best horses-all of Sergeant
Donnelly's patrol-were spirited away
from the bivouac at the headwaters of
the Mini Pusa and driven, as the trail
showed, away toward the Sweetwater
and there it was all split up and lost
among the breaks and ranges of the cat
tie kings toward Rawlins and Rock
Springs. Gregg boiled over with wrath
when three days later, nearly worn out,
his little squad Of troopers reached the
main camp afoot Rays troop was or
dered out at once and hidden to raid the
country far and wide until he found out
where those horses were gone, and Ath-
erton chose Ray because stockmen, cat.
tlemen, scouts and Indians all knew
him, and malefactors feared him, and
with Rays troop went Maynard, de-
taqhed at his own earnest request and
allowed to fill temporary vacancy.
"It will do you good, Maynard"
said the colonel kindly, land give you
some valuable experience. Yes. I'm
glad to have you 60.
It was mid-July. The summer heat
was fierce and the scorching wind blew
pitilessly over the desolate sagebrush
deserts beyond the Devil Gate, and Ray
and his 80 loyal bluejackets had rid
den long marches from the time they
+ left the cool shades Of the Piney and the
Clear Fork. But little cared they, those
Arizona seasoned soldiers, for blistering
suns or sitting alkali dust. They were
bent on the recovery of those horses no
matter though the thieves had three
days and nearly 100 miles the start.
They had marched through the Sweet
water valley the previous year and had
seen many hard looking character who
longingly eyed their clean limbed bays.
No man yet had ever ventured to cliff"
horse from Billy Rays picket, and it
tickled the vanity of his troopers that
they and not Greggs should be sent to
recover Gregg's horses. The trail,
though nearly five days old when found,
was still distinct, and Maynard was
getting many an hour of valuable les
sons, for Ray had taken more than
liking to the quiet, sad faced young
fellow and had no difficulty at all in
deeply interesting him in the work.
Everybody in the regiment seemed to
know by this time that he had returned
to them wearing the willow for Natha-
lie Baird. There had been some days of
woeful, wordy battling at Russell, for
the feud between Mrs. Gregg and Mrs.
Turner had involved others besides their
lords, and Atherton was glad Of the Or
der that sent his whole command into
the mountains and foothills, and far
away from the snarls and tangles that
seemed to have taken root at the fort.
longer than ever, and even more than
ever did he seem to withdraw from the
society of his fellows. He, too, was
thankful to get away from the post and
into the field.
Up to the time the last OF the regi-
ment marched from Russell no trace
had been found of the runaway burglars,
but their duped accomplices, Michael
and Bridget, had had their trial, been
found guilty Of completely at least and
were "doing time" at Laramie. All
doubt as to how the fire started was at
an end. The generally accepted theory
was that when Mike threw away the
match with which he lighted his cigar
it dropped, still glowing, in the dust
close to the basket in which Bridget
kept her kindling. The fierce draft
through cracks and crevices famed it's
feeble glow into blaze as the precious
pair left the premises. The blaze had
reached the finder. The basket of chips
was soon afire. The flames leaped to the
table, the dry, rough boarded partition
and then the bracket lamp of brittle
glass, filled with forbidden kerosene.
and that, bursting, deluged the wood
work with liquid fire. This was the
explanation accepted by the duly organ
lied board of survey Everything con-
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