The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-03-25


department. at Fort Leavenworth, says
that Gen. Otis couM do anything He
Impressed his men With the belief that he
could overcome all obstacles They
knew him to be fearless and ready to
lead In fight. In battle, like in work,
that he was unwilling to try himself
Gen. Otis was beloved by the soldiers of
his regiment. who called him father of
the boys and 'Teddy Otis" This last
4 name was applied to him because he
worked with the soldiers with pick and
! shovel in hand. ,r *
! Gen. Otis is six feet tall and of COM
| manding presence. He is natural
| leader Of men. He is good Judge of
human nature. Old soldiers who served
under him say that IT was Impossible to
lie to him. He had "a way Of looking at
a man that made him afraid to tell any
thing but the truth.
While Gen. Otis was in North Mon
! tana a band of the eros Vergee Indians
crossed into Canada and stole 14OO In
dian ponies from the Blood Indians of
Northwest Canada. The Canadian po-
lice notified Gen. Otis and he took bat
talion of four troops of the First cavalry
under his command and surrounded the
eros Vergee at O'Clock in the morning.
He made the Indians take the stolen
ponies back and severely punished the
I chiefs.
Gen. Otis has given many proofs of
| personal courage. An instance occurred
! right after the hurricane at Fort Brown.
l Tex. There was something like cloud
| burst and the Rio Grande river rose
rapidly. The channel changed and it was
! cutting into the corral, drowning the ami
nals. Gen. Otis, with Company c, Of the
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 fecord-breaking stage trip
from Price, Utah, to Fort Duchesne in
the fall of 1878, stamps him as man of
the greatest energy and strict acquaint-
ance with detail. A rumor connected the
Utinah Indians IN Utah with game
the governor called upon the general to-.
look after his wards. 1t finally became
| a question which necessitated a trip to
the reservation. After issuing most ex-
! p.'ctt orders for arranging relays. of
Il '>'vs every few miles along the route,
Gen. t'tss .. 'i'@''' Price railroad station
d! + - o. sewRnjng and rode the
La \ 'ce" 10 Fort = iehassle, .ainetY ,.s,iessr
III I re hours over a road covered Tor
the Cater part with six inches OF, alkali
dust. There he found little cause for
! alarm, "ut his record breaking ride is
still talked IF by freighters and stage
hands OF that country as marvellous.
During the Sioux campaign Gen. Otis,
with a small detachment of two COM
panies, was conveying a wagon train
down the Yellowstone, near Fort Buford
His command was surrounded by large
body of Indians. They sent messenger,
! calling upon him to surrender the train
and the provisions. If he did this, the
| Indians said, they would allow him and
twenty of his men to escape. The reply
was characteristic. All Otis did was to
laugh and tell the Indians to come and
I'm NtnnH 1~,,% II
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 rifle fire from
\ his men.
| With the help of few Of his soldiers
ne beat out the fire in the grass and
Indians, went ON his way and arrived at
| his destination in safety. 'ss.s -. =,
| 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
\ a number OF the Junior officers of the
| regiment West Point men, refused to
associate with him personally It 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 a short time for him 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 colonel in the Twenty-second
Infantry, just after the Custer massacre.
] Our command was sent to reinforce Col.
i 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 learned ITO know and admire the
stern stuff Gen. Otis was made of. In
detail y 70 =
showed his adaptability and soldierly
| training. = =
When pftching camp involved both ar,
duons work and great danger Gen. Otis
always took personal command Of the
work, and 1t was a familiar sight to see
the colonel of the regiment, axe In hand.
cutting down the trees or helping daub
tine chinks of the nuts 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-
sonA danger, showing unf1agging energy.
HE was always positive always deter
mined, never hesitatttng nor irresolute,
Always quick TO Show his men what to
| do 10y doing It himself, and while strict
d1scipl1narian he WAS not a martinez
Once the regiment was sent with a
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 &aybreak. 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 Greek It
was reinforced. again started, and again
driven back Gen. Otis by this time had
| come mp with the leading wagon train.
and when the third start was made he
rode at the head OF the Hire himself, say
ing grimfy: This time we will mot 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 I'D
the fight. Gen. Otis was not deceived.
We had eighty wagon loads OF supplies,
and he knew that as winter was APP
! preaching the prize was 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. s s 81
| Gen. Otis took every precaution IN
i placing the camp that night, personally
superintending every outpost, the posi-.
ton Of every wagon and every soldier.
/ At midnight the Indians, who had been
reinforced, swept down upon tho camp
| with fendish yells. hoping to surprise us.
They were received, instead, with a vol
ley and driven back with heavy loss Day
by day we fought our way along, and
night by night took what maps we could