The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-04-08
TIE. Ne HERO OF MANIL 4

regiment, was trying to save the mules,
| when Corporal John w. Healey fell into
the river. Gen. Otis jumped into the tor
rent. grabbed Healy by the neck and
managed to get him ashore.
+ Gen. Otis's record-breaking stage trip
from Price, Utah, to Fort Duchesne In
the fall of 1878 stamps him as a man of
the greatest energy and. strict acquaint-
ance with detail. A rumors connected the
lUtinah Indians in Utah with game
salughtering In Western Colorado. and
1.-THE governor called upon the general to
Hook after his wards. 1T finally became
a question which necessitated a trip to
/ the reservation. After issuing most ex-
plicit orders for arranging relays of
horses every few miles along the route,
Gen. Otis left the, Price railroad station
at O'Clock In the evening and rode the
distance to Fort Duchesne, ninety miles,
| the greater part with six inches of alkali
dust. There he found little cause for
alarm, but his record breaking ride is
still talked OF by freighters and stage
hands OF that country as marvellous.
During the Sioux campaign Gen. Otis,
with small detachment Of two COM
panies. was conveying a wagon train
down the Yellowstone, near Fort Buford.
His command was surrounded by q large
body of Indians. They sent a messenger,
calling upon him to surrender the train
and the provisions. If he did this, the
| AAHAAeAAAo o~AAu, tASy "Oulu allow MIN ana
twenty of his men to escape. The reply
| was characteristic. All Otis did was to
laugh and tell the Indians to come and
take him. They came, but they did not
take him. The fight lasted for two days.
The Indians finally set the grass on fire
and attempted to burn the command, but
but without Stacking the rife fire from
| his men. =
With the help of a few of his soldiers
! he beat out the fire in the grass and
Indians, went on his way and arrived at
! his destination in safety.
| Twice more during the campaign his
little command was surrounded by In
dams, but his great energy and superb
| fighting qualities won out both times.
When he first Joined the Twenty second
| number of the junior officers Of the
regiment, West Point men, refused to
associate with him personally 1t was
| there that he made the famous remark
that "a soldier is a soldier, whether from
the ranks or from the academy and it
| required but short time for hina to
prove that this statement was true at
least in so far as it referred to him.
| The first time served with Gen, Otis
| he was a colonel in the Twenty-second
| infantry, just after the Custer massacre
Our command was sent to reinforce Col.
Reno on the Yellowstone. We started in
pursuit of Sitting Bull and did not give
| up the chase until we had pursued him
| across the Canadian border. Before we
| had been out on that campaign many
! days l learned to know and admire the
stern stuff Gen. Otis was made Of In
every detail of camp life Gen. Otis
! showed his adaptability~ and soldierly
| training. e..
| When pitching camp involved both ar
duous work and great danger Gen. Otis
always took personal command of the
! work, and it was a familiar sight to sec
the colonel of the regiment, axe in hand
ffr9Cr '1Ny1yp fI,@
the chinks of the huts that were nearing
| completion. He never would accept a
| comfort for himself that his men did not
possess. He rolled up at night in the
same blanket and on the same hard
ground and ate the same food as the 9TH
ers, and took more than his share of per-
| sonal danger, showing unflagging energy.
He was always positive, always deter
mined, never hesitating nor irresolute,
! always quick to show his men what to
40 by doing 1t himself, and while strict
! d1sclpllnarian he was not a martinez
Once the regiment was sent with
! wagon train of supplies to Gen. Miles,
then in command Of Fort Keogh. On the
road our wagon train was attacked by
the Sioux at daybreak. The Sioux were
concealed in the timber along the creek
ard it was impossible to fight back The
| fire became so hot that the command was
forced to return to Glendire Creek. It
was reinforced, again started and again
driven back. Gen. Otis by this time had
come up with the leading wagon train,
and when the third start was made he
| rode at the head of the line himself, say
| ing grimly: ''This time we will not turn
back, if we have to fight until spring."
running fight was kept UP most of
the day, and in the afternoon the Indians
disappeared, seeming to have given up
the fight. Gen. Otis was not deceived
We had eighty wagon loads of supplies
1 and he knew that as winter was ap-
preaching the prize was a rich one for
/ the Indians, who wanted the supplies
more than they wanted revenge on the
soldiers. They greatly outnumbered the
regiment and were familiar with the
| country. r. d. - sht. ..rs-
Gen. Otis took every precaution in
| placing the camp that night, personally
experimenting every outpost the posi-
ton Of every wagon and every soldier.
At midnight the Ir,dians, who had been
reinforced, swept down upon the camp
with flendish yells. htsoing to surprise US.
They were received fostead with vol
| ley and driven back with heavy loss. Day
by day we fought Our way along, and
plight by night took what maps we could
between the attacks of the devtlish, un-
seen-foe. -
| 1t has been said that Gen. Otis is neither
q diplomat nor 4 society man. Though
| a lawyer by profession, a graduate at
Harvard, a. man of inherited culture and
I gentle instincts, the hard, pra ctical and
! perilous life he has led does not. make a
carpet knight. It does made an absolutely
truthful, honorable, fearless man and a
very able soldier. He Is the soul Of honor.
| Duriicity, weakness, vaccillation and I'M
| truthfullless are sinlply impossible to him.
| He knows the Indian characteristic
tree cherry and bravery and all the tricks
| Of the savage. think that dealing with
the Filipinos will be child's play In COM
parison.
remember ONE in our Indian cam
! paign, when our wagon train had for sew
eral days been constantly harassed by
! the Indians, the savages one morning dis
played flag of truce. Gem. Otis dis:
patched q runner to say that they might
como within our lines to treat wit him.
and suon burly, ugly fellow, their chief,
came into camp. He claimed to, be Sit
tirg Bull. but that was false. He was
Buffalo Eagle. He declared that he and
were willing to quit. He said that he
recognized Gen. Otis as a big chief whom
/ The had seen at Fort Rice, and the Indians
did not want to fight him any more
] "Get out and take your followers of
with vow, Them Gen. Otis told him.
This tram will go through whether you
want it to or not
We saw nothing more Of the Indians
that day, but at nightfall Gen. Otis said
Ito me: 'You know that fellow this
morning was spy. He came into camp
to take account Of our forces. They are
4 plotting a massacre, probably for to-
i night" S
i We pitched one camp and then surrep-
4 titiously moved our wagon train and
1 horses from it and took a strong position
lat another point within sight Of the