Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1900-01-12
COL. CODY.

The celebrated Buffalo Bill was in
Omaha the other day, and was a guest
at the Merchants. He had genuine
love feast with the old timers, and after
supper the crowd cornered him agai n
as related by the World Herald:
Lord bless u.s." commented the col
onel despairingly. Thine was when all
you fellows would join in with me and
we would make merry togather. But
now how is IT,? You have all either
become sober men of family or have
joined the church and if find myself
dying to tell you funny story, here I
have to drag you away to the lavatory
because you are afraid of being seen
talking in a saloon.
II say, colonel, what's that badge
you're wearing?" friend interrupting
the reminiscencing, pointed to a dainty
gold emblem, broken arrow crossed
with glttering saber and rife cart
ridge. :"
That" replied Buffalo Bill. lis the
badge of the Society Of Veterans of the
Indian Wars, an organization that am
just forming. Although the grave has
claimed many Of the sturdy men of
those frontier days there are yet few
of us left, and want to gather all to-
gather in some socieay where we can
feel that we are united by a common
bond.
II designed this badge myself, and,
had he lived, no man would have worn
it with better grace than Gen Lawton,
one of the noblest, sincerest, best of
men, gentlemen and soldiers that this
half century has produced.
"Ah. we'll, no truer thing was ever
said in scripture than, All that live by
the sword must die by the sw ord,' and
after more than thirty years of active
campaigning, always at the head of his
men, it is no wonder that Lawton fell
at last fighting in the front rank. We
might better have given up the whole
of the Philippine islands than the life of
that one brave, indomitable man.
Nov while I don't want to say any
thing against General Otis, who is all
right as post officer, yet in the field Law
ton was always his adviser, and of the
campaigns planned and carried out by
Lawton I think that strategic experts
can find no fault.
He was man who cared little fol-
the minor details so long as he could
win fight in the end. He wss not a
man to court-martial soldier for losing
his haversack or his blanket roll if il
was lost in the line of duty, He posses
sed in an immeasurable degree what
none of the English generals in South
Africa seem to have, the faculty Of
splitting up the forces Of the enemy
dividing them, and then sailing in and
whipping them by detail and with but
little effort.
You ask me what would have done
with the Philippines if had been ir
command over there at the time of the
conquest of the Spaniards? Well I'll
tell you frankly would have held onto
the seaports that we captured from the
Spanish and would have left the natives
to the rest and to their own form o1
government, and in time American civ
ilization and the pushing power of trade
and commerce would have settled all
this vexing trouble without bloodshed
and the overwhelming expense of war.
I'm regard to the military operations
in the islands l have nothing to say
They are probably as we'll carried on as
is possible under the circumstances
Now must go to the theater and SET
whether that fellow that is caricaturine
me in mud over there every night i:
misrepresenting facts and then I come
back to find whether am to- go on tt
Washington or to stay here and burr
this old town up. Come on gentlemen
| here's to the old day"