The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-02-03
BULLET MADE
HIS ASHES HEAVY
Leaden Pellet Dr.. Grimes Had
Carried For Years.
WAS NOT DESTROYED BY FIRE
&
BODY WAS CREMATED AND RE
MAINS WEIGHED.
(Snecial to The Herald-N

tOpCS4dl 10 L uC t1eIdlQ-l
n HEYENNE, WYO., Feb. 2.-Word
received here from Des Moines,
Ia, states that the remains OF
Dr. R. B. Grimes, the Cheyenne phySi-
clan who died here on Jan. 26, were ere
mated and the ashes placed in a sealed
vessel and turned over to the widow
and children of the deceased.
1t is a well known fact thaS after
cremation there is little left of The
body, the ashes weighing only an ounce
or two, but in the case of DR.. Grimes
the ashes were quite heavy, owing ID
the fact that Ieaden bullet, which the
doctor had carried in his body for
many years, was found The bullet
was, OF course, melted out but its Orig
maj weight was there, and was much
heavier than the cremated remains OF
the body.
This leaden pellet has a history
equally as interesting as that Of rhz
man that carried it for nearly a. omar
ter of a century, and could it but
speak, many thrilling stories Of daring
deeds and hairbreadth escapes would
be recorded.
DR.. Grimes, or Fighting Bob. the
Doctor" as he was more commonly
called by his brother officers in the
army, participated in the illustrious
Thornburg massacre in the early SOS
he was chief surgeon under the illus
trious Thornburg, when that officer was
sent to the relief of the Meekers. TIE
story of the surrounding of the expe-
dltlon by band of hostile Indians and
the terrible battle that followed. the
death of Thornburg and many officers
and men, is too well known TO REQUIRE
repetition here.
Many deeds Of bravery by both of
GERS and men were recorded in connec-
ton with the siege, but there is one
story, that of the wOunding Of Fight
ing Bob, the Doctor" that is not gen
orally known
It was on the third day of the siege
The Indians were drawing their figat-
ing circle closer and closer around the
little band of boys in blue. The red.
had been doing awful work, beine
armed with Winchester rifles, and Off
GERS and men were falling every few
/ minutes. DR.. Grimes had been throug:
the war of the rebellion and had seer
considerable service on the frontier j.
campaigns against the Indians. He wa.
an expert with rifle or pistol, and many
a redskin was knocked from his hors'
| by bullets from the doctors gun. A
! this fight, as in many others. he foun.
/ time 10 do a little shooting. He wa
( standing in the rife pits, which haC
! been dug just inside OF the line o
( wagons, when q private on his righ
| fell mortally wounded. Grimes STOPPED
! over to examine the wound, and as h
| did SO he received a bullet in the lef
| shoulder. Had ne been standing up
: light the bone would have been shat
tered and the fighting doctor don
| for. but the bullet ranged downwar,
/ and lodged in the back.
! Grimes opened his shirt, made
( hasty examination of the wound. an,
/ then carried his wounded comrade &
4 the hospital wagon. He paid no NOR
/ attention 10 his own wounds until tire
/ days later when the relief expedition
J arrived. Grimes was then in an ex
( hausted condition. He was brought L
! Fort Russell. where he lowered be
tween life and death for many weeks
I Several efforts were made to locate tn
/ bullet and extract it, but without avail
/ Upon his recovery, the bullet cause
/ him no trouble, and no further e1fOr
was made to extract it.
Z