The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-06-04

"In 1860 our regiment, then the First
United States cavalry, was quartered at
Fort Kearney, Neb.,, said an old regu-
lar soldier to a Kansas City reporter.
ut was hardly worthy to be called a viii
lage then. There were only a few mud
houses and one or two frames. Six small
field pieces, six-pounders comprised the
artillery. We were having frequent
brushes with the Cheyennes those days.
They were a hard lot, I tell you. The
last fight we had with the Indians was
on August g. 1860. They were armed with
bows and arrows, and a part of our men
fell into their ambush. We could see
the boys in blue battling hard with the
red devils, and were ordered to mount
and go to their relief.
"On the way there we had to cross a
ravine, the edges of which were abrupt
My horse fell and was thrown abruptly
to the ground. But 1 got up. remounted
and caught up with the troop. The bat
tie didn't last long, and the red men soon
skedaddled, leaving many of their dead
and wounded on the field 1 remember
we took some of their injured back to
the fort. 1t was q hot. blistering day
and the atmosphere in the covered wag-
ons must have been something like that
in hell, but never a cry nor groan did
one of them utter.
Among the enemy captured was a
white man, who had been fighting with
the Indians. He was well armed, but
had shot all his ammunition away and
was fighting with his carbine as a club
when overpowered and shackled. He was
a tall. swarthy fellow. with handsome
dark eyes and a nervous temperament;
had been a member of one of the regu-
lar army posts further West, but got
into some difficulty with one of his Of
ficers and had deserted.
SENTENCED TO BE SHOT.
sHe was put through court-martial
and sentenced to be shot.
''These sentences, of course, have to be
approved by the administration. Report
of the courts action was forwarded to
Washington and the prisoner was closely
guarded until the president had signed
the death order. This was finally done
and the day of execution set. The pris-
oner's name was Yoakum. and 1 had sew
eral talks with him. He took the trouble
W Lldho u LdAA SIdlCLuOub VI Ills OoNoC
to me and offered several good points in
mitigation. He wrote some letters to
friends he had in the East, which I af-
terward learned were for the purpose of
getting them to intercede for him. The
curious part Of the story. which follows,
was told me, and 1t shows the slender
thread by which a man sometimes retains
his hold on life.
THE colonel at the next post, some
$50 miles away. received the order from
Washington passing on Yoakum's case.
He selected a messenger from. among the
best riders, and, without telling him the
import of what he was carrying simply
ordered him to use all haste in reaching
Fort kearney. The trooper took it and
lit out at rapid gait three days before
the sentence was to be executed.
THE second day afterward lie return
ed and presented himself TO tho colonel,
looking rather sheepish. The colonel in
terrogated him on his early return and
the soldier confessed that he had got in
with some companions at N, a sort of
settlement on the road to Fort kearney,
and while drinking there had lost the
message.
1.-The colonePs face blanched and for
once he lost his composure In excited
tones he asked tho trooper If he knew
what the message contained. The mes
senger shook his head.
You internal scoundrel! Numbered