The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-10-17
THE PLEDGE AT SPRUCE RIDGE.

II IS now something over ten years ago
when the Spruce Ridge and Gray Creek
Sioux were on the warpath- Thieving
Officials had robbed the In6ianssof a large
part OF their rationS, and the redskin
fathers. seeing their children starving
Tad taken their rines ana killed a few
cattle belonging 70 some settlers. This
| high handed outrage, CT course. meant
that the Indians must be punished.
while the officials responsible for the
trouble. in accordance with government
v ell established ideas, were 10 go scot
free. Thus the war began.
There were 5,oG9 reds, all told, women
cnd children, who scampered from the
agencies and were followed by the troop
ers and dough boys" whom Uncle sam
! Furriedly gathered up and sent at double
tine to the front. Standing Bull had
been killed and his particular band Of
! followers was headed for the Bad Lands
| where the warriors expected TO be Joined
By their brothers Of the band Of Little
Foot, Big Wound, Long Bull and Stand
| ing Bear. The reds knew il would be
hard 10 dislodge them from the natural
| stronghold of the Bad Lands. and that il
would make a good center of operations
| for raiding the country round about.
There was intense excitement all over
| the country, and every newspaper Of any
prominence had a correspondent either
With the troops actually in the field or
! ar the army headquarters at Spruce
/ Ridge. Now, there were three neWspa-
pei men who bunked together in a mis-
cradle tumbledown shack near the Spruce
Ridge headquarters. They were James
Halliday, William Watson and Charles
Deane. Every day under escort they
! would ride out many miles TO the north Of
the Ridge and get from the outlying bod
les of troops the news from the front.
| Then back to the agency TO get from
/ headquarters such news as the com
handing general would vouchsefe 10 give
them out OF the mass OF information
which he had received from his couriers.
| Now, in order to get their stuff into
| their papers these three newspaper men
| were compelled to employ a courier TO
make the trip daily 10 Slowville, on the
| northern Nebraska frontier, eighteen
| miles away, where was situated the near
est telegraph office. The courier left
every afternoon at o'clock on one OF
tho other of his stout Indian ponies and
returned the next morning. This cou-
! rier was a devoted little chap named
Bob. He was nothing more than a boy,
| though he had the grit and determine
ton of man. and his devotion to his
| employers was such as TO make him daily
| dare death TO serve their ends.
Bands Of reds in their hideous green
| and black occasionally raided between
| Spruce Ridge and Slowville. AS a rule
they raided just after daybreak. a fact
| that Bob. the courier. knew, so he prof
| tied by the knowledge to time his return
! from the telegraph office so as to avoid
the painted raiders.
No one on an Indian reservation is al
| loved 20 sell liquor. A man caught doing
| IL is fined s., 600 and imprisoned for year
or Whereabouts. The government imposes
the fine and does the falling. and as Uncle
| Sam rarely does the furnishing act by
halves the vending of whisky on an IN
dian reservation is not an occupation TO
| invite even the reckless.
1t was pretty cold out at Spruce Ridge
the winter Of that Sioux uprising. The
| three newspaper correspondents found
| that n little liquor inside the belt was
| conducive to warmth Of body and warmth
Of imagination. Their courier. Bob
| brought them over from Slowyille two
! bottles OF whisky every day. The news
paper boys didn't drink it all. They had
friends in plenty 10 gather in their shack
| in the evening and help them dispose Of
| their fire water.
One day when the Indian trouble was at
| its very worst a courier came in from one
OF the outlying CAMPS and told the CORE
! spondents that they might expect half a
dozen soldier friends the next evening TO
eLJoy their hospitality. The newspaper
men had been guests OF these same SOL
d:ers and had asked them TO name
| night for return visit. Bob was told
that day to put half a dozen bottles into
his saddle bags instead of the regulation
| brace. The next noon Bob appeared with
his six bottles of bad whisky, for ii was
bad though good by sheer force OF the
fact that ii was the only stuff to be OBJ
tanned for love or money.
Jim, we're in for a wet night OF it,
said Charlie Deane 10 Jim Halliday.
You bet we are, Charlie answered
Jim. Our own capacity is none 100
small and our guests have been dry for
a month. There won't be drop left to-
morrow morning with which to clear the
Cobwebs out of our brains and enable Us
to do a days york"
III be dead for drink in the morn
ing" said Billy Watson. I'VE ought to
have sent for more stuff, for as a mat
ter Of fact this win hardly 60 around.
hope nothing breaks loose tomorrow. for
after a nights siege with a bottle or two
I couldn't do justice with my pen to the
story Of a massacre"
Bob, the courier. was standing near.
while his employers were prophesying woe
and thirst for the morning after You
gentlemen has been mighty good TO me-.
said the boy. and when I takes your
teiegrams over this afternoon I'll buy the
stun tonight and leave Siowvnle before
Caybreak and by the time vou's awake
I'll have your Ticker"
Don't You do it. Bob" said Billy Wat
sen. Jack Blue Cloud and half hun
cred Of his fellow devils are raiding
Pretty near every morning. as you know
across the trail that you come by, and II
YOU start before sunrise you'n run plump
into them
Don't you be scared answered Bob
IN get by EN- all right. I kin teach
Jack Blue Cloud a thing or two"
1t was a wet night IN the shack The
last drop was gone. ard the correspond
ents were something more than weary
VIXEN they crawlcd into their blankets
alcng about ? o'clock.
At o clock that morning. az hour be
fore sunrise-it was midwinter-Bob, the
courier. put three bottles % liquor into
his saddle bags. and in the awful cold
headed his pony toward Spruce Ridge.
His mount was game. and the cold acted
SIS a spur Bob covered tes miles by the
time the suns yellow face was showing
over The edge Of the prairie. NO reds
this morning" thought Bob. GIVE pass
&C the worst Of st. The thought was
scarcely formed before around a SAND
ridge. 20 yards 20 his left car-e a boss-
q mounted Indians. There we've about
ter bucks IN . banch
The reds turned into the trau about IN
Yards 10 the rear Of the flying pony and
its courier rider Then it was straight
away race. Bob had the better mount
but the pony vas 4 little tagged with It's
ten-u1ile clip during the fret hour ~ that
morning ride. The Indians had iust sbro-
ken their nights camp and their mounts
ere fresh. On. on and on they went
For three miles Boh gained Hftle. *
recting every moment u hear the ping ~
the bullets about his ears. 80 shots