The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-12-26
THE REGULARS CHRISTMAS.

and fun: as circumstances allow. Some,
times they do not allow much, it is true,
but where: the men have not had good
things to eat and ;drink: on Christmas
DAY the history of the army is that this
fact alone has not been enough to de-
press them. In my memory, one Christ
mas Day in the regular service stands
out above all others. It was in the early
State infantry; was stationed at a post
in: Dakota Territory. The weather was
bitter cold that year, and the ground was
covered with a heavy crust of snow. We
will call the post. Fort Lincoln. That
was not the name, but: it will do. On
three sides of q square,, were buildings;:
the" fourth faced a steep embankment,
from the edge of which beyond thick
growth of underbrush and far below
could be seen the Old Muddy Tor Mis-
souri) river tearing along. +.
son the north side of the square was
a one-story building fifty feet wide and
200 long. This was the barracks where
the men were quartered. On the west
was a row of five small one-story cot
tages, unpretentious, but neat and nicely
kept. The officers lived in them. On the
south side of the square was the hospital
building. and house for the quarter
masters stores. In the hospital building
were the Offices of the post. Outside the
buildings and extending entirely around
the post was trench four feet deep.
which the commandant had compelled the
men to dig in the early summer. The
men swore as they worked at it, but
Capt. Hay told his brother officers that it
might be useful some time. Thank God
for the old fellows foresight! 1t must
be remembered that there was no earth
work or stockade around this post. Fort
Lincoln was in an Indian reservation.
Every two weeks 5000 Indians came for
their government .rations and clothing to
the agency, which was established in a
large building only few hundred yards
from the post. The: Indian agent had
given up $4,000 job to take the agency
at $500 year, and was getting rich.
We army people saw what was going on,
but were helpless The day before Christ
mas Corp. Thompson, with two or three
of the best shots jim the post, had gone
to the big bend where the old Muddy
forms almost a circle, and killed several
dozen prairie chickens. >.
''In this bend the Ballard berries were
thickest, and consequently the chickens
most plentiful. Teamster Moore, when
he went several days before to the rail-
road, twenty-five miles away, had pur-
chased several demijohns of the 'old
stuff and struggled them into camp.
The officers might have guessed. what he
was doing, but Christmas was coming.
so they did not see. There were only
two companies, about 100 men, in the
post. On the chickens and some other
things that had been sent for weeks be-
fore they were anticipating royal feast.
One of the 'non-coms' in the post was
Sergeant Franklin, a young fellow who
had joined the army because of his reck-
less disposition and desire for adventure.
He came from good family and was
really much above his companions. Ac.
cording to the story he told me after
ward, he left the post and wandered to-
got to thinking of home and was trihe
blue Deep in thought, he went farther
than he intended, and the first thing he
knew he was in a village, in deep ravine
near the river.
There was no sign of life except an
occasional cloud of smoke that came
from one of the tepees, or conical tent,
in which the Indians lived. He turned
to 60 back, when he heard footsteps on
the hard snow. Turning, Franklin saw
an Indian girl. She gave him a quiet
signal to go on. He went. When some
distance from the village and the ridge
was between it and him, he stopped and
waited for the girl. He recognized her
as Mo-ne-tah, whom he had seen at the
mission school, five miles from the post.
This school was supported Bly, church
people in the East, and was attended by
half hundred Indian children
tab told Franklin that 500
fighting men of her nation had plotted to
attack. the post that night. They were
angry with the Indian agent because,
they declared, he was cheating them.
They intended to set fire to the different
buildings, kill the soldiers, who they
thought would be in such condition on
account of the festivities of the evening
that they would be comparatively harm
less. In the confusion they would loot
the agency building, then filled with
thousands of dollars worth of food,
blankets, clothing, wagons, etc., and get
away. The uprising, None tab said, had
been plotted by White Dog, the biggest
chief, great organizer and, by the way,
a man possessed of great strategic abil-.
ity. Black Bear and Young Man ALWAYS
Hungry were with him. The girl said
her heart had been touched by the kind
ness of the white people at the mission,
and she could not rest quietly while such
plots were made against her friends.
Sergeant Franklin told her to hasten
back to the village before her absence
was noticed, and he walked quickly to
the post.
"When his story was told Capt. Hay
indicated to the men briefly what was ex-
pected, issued ammunition and doubled
the guards. The afternoon wore away
and no Indians appeared. After night
fall the captain put the men in the
trenches. In their eyes he was then vim
dicated for working them so hard in the
hot days of the summer. How cold it
was that night! The air was clear and
every star in the sky stood out with a
brilliancy unknown to people here in the
East. The hours passed. Still no In
dams. Capt Hay had begun to think
that the girl was mistaken, when q body
of men was seen to approach. They
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