Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1900-11-24

~
= "Got heap b~etter,'' was his comment.
nearest frontier posts; at Cheyenne,
Omaha and Gate City the anxiety was
great. When John Folsom said the In
dams meant a war of determination
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 In
dian agent says, and that's enough"
and people EAST of the Missouri being
vastly in the majority, neither were
the garrisons relieved nor the reen-
forcements sent. What was worse,
John Folsom's urgent advice that they
discontinue at once all work at War
rior Gap and send the troops and la.
borers back to Reno was pooh-poohed.
"The contracts have been let and
signed. The material is all on its way.
We can't back out now" said the Of
fcials. "Sendrunners 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-loaders
and copper cartridges-to shoot buffa-
10 with, of course. Promise him pretty
much anything to be good and keep his
hands off a little longer till we get that
fort and the new agency buildings fin
ished, and then let him do what he
likes"
Such were the instructions given the
comlnissionersand 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, arrayed in pomp,
paint and fnery, shook hands grimly
with the representatives of the Great
Father, critically scanned the prof
fered gifts, disdainfully rejected the
muzzle-loading rifles and old dragon
ho%rse-pistols heaped before him. "Got
heap BETTER" was his comment, and
nothing but brand new breech-
leaders 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. 1t was only tenn
PORTING. 1t was only encouraging the
veteran war chief in his visions of pow
er and control. The commissioners
came back beaming. Everything salts
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-wished 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 81 ice the middle of May, seven
were missing, and never, except
through vague b~oastings of the In
dams, were heard of again.
sit is a treacherous truce, I tell you,"
said Folsom, with grave, anxious face,
to the colonel commanding Fort En-
DRY. 81 have known Red Cloud 20
years. He's 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 a little later on. If it doesn't
he will make it his casus belli."
1t was nearly 800 miles by the wind
ing mountain road from Gate City to
Warrior Gap. Over hill and dale and
mountain pass the road ran to Frayne,
thence, fording the North Platte, the
wagon trains, heavily guarded. had to
drag over miles of dreary desert. over
shadeless slopes and divides to the dry
wash of the Powder, and by roads
deep in alkali dust and sage brush to
Cantonment> Reno, where far to the
west the grand range doomed up
against the sky--another long days
march away to the nearest foothills,
to the nearest drinkable water, and
then, 40 miles further still, in the heart
of the grand pine-covered heights, was
the rock-bound gateway to u lovely
park region within, called by the
Sioux some wild combination Of al
most unpronounceable syllables, which,
freely translated, gave us Warrior
Gap, and there at last accounts,
strengthened by detachments from
Erayne and Reno, the little command
of fort builders worked away ak in
hand, rifle at hand, subjected every
hour to alarm from the vedettes and
pickets posted thickly all about them,
pickets who were sometimes found
stone dead at their posts, transtxed
with arrows, scalped and mutilated,
and vet 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, peaceably
hunting buffalo. "An' divil a sowl in
the outfit" said old Sergt. Shaughnes-
sy, shat hadn't his tongue in his
cheek"
For three months that hard-worked
troop had been aield, and the time
had passed and gone when its young
first lieutenant had hoped for a leave
to 20 home to see the mother and Jess.
His captain was still ailing and unfit
~ duty in Aaddls. He could not and