Waterbury Democrat., 1900-10-24

nearest frontier posts; at Cheyenne, Omaha and. Gate City the anxiety was great. When John Fpls oin said the h. dians meant d war of cNtermination people west of the Missouri said: Withdraw those garrisons while there is yet time. or else send five thousand troops to help them." But people east of the Missouri said: "Who the devil is John Folsom? What does he know about it? Here's what the h. dian agent xays, and that's enough" and people east of the Missouri being vastly in the majority, neither were the Earrlxons relsvsc nor the recn- forcensnts sent. What was worse, Johl Folsom's urgent advice that they discontinue at once all work at War rior Gap and send the troops and 1s- borcrS back to Reno was pooh-poohcd.
 "Thc contracts have been let and signed. The material is all on it's way. We can't back out now,' said the of- ftcials. Send runners to Red Cloud and get him to talk. Promise him a lot of presents. Yes, if he must have them, tell him he shall have breech- Ioaders and copper cactridgcs-to shoot bufTa- To with of course. Promise him pretty much anything to be good and keep his hands off Il little longer till we get that fort and the new agency buildings fin ished, and then let him do what he lilies.''
 Such were the instructions given the commissionersand interpreters hurried through Gate City and Frayne, and on up to Reno just within the limit fixed by Folsom. Red Cloud and his chiefs came in accordingly, arcayed in pomp, paint and 1inery, shook hands grimly with the representatives of the Great Father, critically scanned the prof fered gifts. disdainfully rejected the muzzle-loading rifles and old dragoon horse-pistols hcaped before him. Got heap better,' was his comment, and nothing but brand new breech- loaders would serve his purpose. Promise them and he'd see what could be done to restrain his young men. But they were "pretty mad,'' he said, and couldn't be relied upon to keep the peace unless sure of getting better arms and ammunition to help them break it next time. It was only tenn porizing. It was only encouraging the veteran war chief in his visions of pow CT and control. The commissioners came back bealning. "Everyt thing satis- factorily arranged. Red Cloud and his people are only out for a big hunt" But officers whose wives and children prayed fearfully at night within the ,puny wooden stockades, and listened trembling to the howls and tom-toms of the dancing Indians around the council fires in the neighboring valleys, wished to heaven they had left those dear ones in safety at their eastern homes-wishcd to heaven they could send them thither now, but well knew that it was too late. Only as single spies, riding by night, hiding by day, were couriers able to get through from the Big Horn to the Platte. Of scouts and soldiers sent at different times since the middle of May, seven were missing, and never, except through vague boastings of the h. dians, were he:&.GS1 of again.
 Tt is a treacherous truce, tell you," said Folsom, with grave, anxious face, to the colonel commanding Fort Elm ory. T have known Red Cloud 20 years. Hes only waiting a few weeks to see if the. government will be fool enough to send them breech-loaders. If it does, he'll be all the better able to fight little later on. If it doesn't he will make it his casus belli."
 It was nearly 300 miles by the wind- ing mountain road from Gate City to Warrior Gap. Over hill and dale and thence, fording the North Platte, the trni lnn Tod drag over miles of dreary desert. over shadeless slopes and divides to the dry wash of the Powder, and by roads deep in alllali dust and sage brush to Cantonment Reno, where far to the west the grand range loomed up against the sky-another long days march away to the nearest foothills, to the nearest drinkah'e watar Srd then, 40 miles further still, in the heart of the grand pine-covered heights, was the rock-bound gateway to ! lovely park. region within, called by the Sioux some wild combination of all most unpronounceable sylla bles, which, freely translated, gave us Warrior Gap, and there at last accounts, strengthened by detachments from Frayne and Reno, the little command of fost builders worked away-> ax in hand, rifle at hand, subjected every hour to alarm from the vedettes and picllcts posted thickly all about them, picl1ets who were sometimes found stone dead at their posts, trarsfxed with arrows, scalped and mutilated, and yet not once had Indians in any force been seen by officers or man about the spot since the day Red Clouds whole array passed Brooks troop on the Reno trail, peaccably nting buffalo. An divil a sowl in the outfit" said old Sergt. Shaughnes- sy, that hadn't his tongue in his chcck.'
 For three months that hard-worl1ed troop had been afield, and the time had passed and gone when it's young first lieutenant had hoped for a leave to go home to see the mother and Jess. His captain was still ailing and unfit for duty in saddle. He could not and would not ask for leave at such a