The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1905-03-21
PASSING
OF B UCK
IOriginal-1

GOhtOot AS Git EC1A4OlSS at III I'll
enemy.
NO" he replied. .but 1 once fred a
death shot on the feld Of battle that
cost me a bitter pang."
''Tell me about it,
81 began my military career on what
was then frontier ground. the plains
which was covered with Indians. and.
since | occasionally had to take to my
heels to save my scalp, | made a spe-
cial effort to secure a fast horse. |
happened to find a thoroughbred among
the horses in the quarternaster's hands,
made a requiSition for him and finally
bought him. How be got in with the
common herd / never knew. lie was
feet as the wind and had more intelli-
gence than many a man. | asked my
-iancee-now my wife-to name him.
and, being from the Buckeye State, She
called him Buck.
"If ever man loved horse or horse
loved man / loved Buck. and Buck
loved me. | had owned him n year
before l realized his speed ana endur
ance as well as his intelligence. One
morning n messenger rode from Fort
c., his horse falling dead AS 500 as
he reached us. to say that the Indians
had surrounded the post and would I'm
doubtedly take it before sunset. My
~fancee, the daughter of the
dant of Fort c.. was there. and you
can imagine the condition Of my feel
ings. knowing the barbarity of the In
dams. who would murder every man,
woman and child they captured. We
had no force to send. but ut Fort L..
fifty miles to the north OF us and some
thirty miles from c., were four COM
panies of the til cavalry.
81 begged the colonel to send me to l..
with orders for the commandant to
gallop to the relief of c.. He a%ssented.
and, mounting Buck, 1 made the run.
I was beside myself with terror at the
probable fate of my love. and 1 begged
Buck to do his best for me. Do you
know, that horse understood me as well
as if he had learned English. He knew
he had Il long run and in the beginning
kept himself well together, as if hus
banding his strength, but with every
ten miles he Topped off the distance
he increased his speed. making the last
part of the journey in quicker time
than the first. We reached l.. in six
hours. and in twenty minutes more 0
men were riding to the relief of c..
When they arrived the garrison was
about to surrender. but our men dash
ed in on the Indians and scattered them
to the our winds.
You ma imagine that Buck, having
saved Il garrison. and especially the
one nearest my heart, became very dear
to me. After that l was caught out
on several occasions, had to Iun
for it, and Buck always left the In
behind. Then the civil war came
on. and Buck carried me down over
and Tennessee, taking me
through Donelson and Shiloh. At
Stone River | fell from his back shot
through the shoulder and would have
been left in hands of the enemy had
not seized me by the coat with his
and helped me bach to our men.
Poor Bucks END came nc PerryviIle.
IN a retreat l had got separated from
my command and had run into a rebel
regiment. They called on me to sur
but turning Buck l lay fiat on
his neck. and he carried me safely
away. receiving several bullets that
were intended for me. He might have
from these. but on jumping
4 gully he came down with his fore leg
a hole. and the leg snapped.
81 suppos if we had been in garri-
,on / might have been foolish enough
strap him up n try to save him.
in any event you can't keep a
1orse still long enough to enable a bro
bone to knit. and Buck must be
put out of his misery. Everybody was
busy at the time, but seeing a drummer
pass me [ stopped him. handed
linn my revolver and told him to put a
all into Bucks brain. 1 couldn't bear
see him do it. so I started away. l
heard a Whitney and. turning. saw
Buck looking after me. saying with his
yes more plainly than a man could
lave said in words. You aren't going
o desert me after all I've done for you.
ire your
81 went back. and, seeing that the
hand was trembling from the ex-
element of the fight that was on. l took
he pistol from him and. sitting On the
laid Bucks head in my lap. l
ave him a hug, saying to him at the
anne time:
Buck. it nearly kills M to do it.
done me more real service than
ny living being. You've often saved
ny life. and once you saved a life dear
r TO me than my own. And now I've
,ot to render you a last service. I've
'ot TO put you out of your misery
"I have always believed the horse IN
me. He laid his head down on
ny lap and waited. l put the muzZle
T the pistol against his forehead. and