The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1906-01-03
TIE PASSING
OF B UCK
foriginail

CACmy
NO." be replied. "but once fred q
death shot on h field, OF battle that
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 1 occasionally had to take to my
heels to save my scalp. T made a spe-
ciaI effort to secure a fast horse. I
happened to find a thoroughbred among
the horses in the Quartermaster's hands.
made a reqnisition for him and finally
bought him. How be got in with the
common herd 1 never knew. He was
feet as the wind and had more intelli.
gence than many a man. I asked my
fiancee-now my wife-to name him.
and, icing from the Buckeye State, she
called him Buck.
IF ever man loved horse or horse
loved man l loved Buck, and Buck
loved me. a owned him a year
before / realized his speed and endur-
ance as well as his intelligence. One
morning a messenger rode from Fort
c., his horse falling dead as soon as
he reaches us. to say that the Indians
had surrounded the post and would IN
doubtedly take it before sunset My
dancee. the daughter of the comman.
dant of Fort c.. was there, and you
car imagine the condition of my feel
fngs. Knowing b barbarity of the In
dams, who would murder every man,
woman and child they captured. We
had no force to send, but at Fort L..
fifty miles to the north OF us and some
thirty miles from c., were four COM
panies of the til cavalry.
"I begged the colonel to send me to L.
with orders for the commandant to
gallop to the relief Of @. He ~assented,
and, mounting Buck. 1 made the rum.
I was beside myself with terror at the
probable fate Of my love. and L 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 a 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 frst. We reached L. In six
hours, and in twenty minutes more 800
men were riding to the relief of c..
When they arrived the garrison was
about to surrender. but our men dash
to the four winds.
you may imagine that Buck, having
saved a garrison. and especially the
one nearest my heart, became very deal
to me. After that I was caught out
alone IN several occasions, had to run
for it, and Buck always left the In
dams behind. Then the civil war came
on, and Buck carried me down over
Kentucky and Tennessee. taking me
through Donelson and Shiloh. At
Stone River 1 fell from his back shot
through the shoulder and would have
been left in hands Of the enemy had
he not seized me by the coat with his
teeth and helped me back to our mel.
"Poor Bucks end came al Perryville.
In a retreat / had got separated from
my command and had run into a rebel
regiment. They called on me to sur
render, but turning Buck / lay fat on
bis neck, and he carried me safely
away. receiving several bullets that
were intended for me. He might have
recovered from these, but IN jumping
q gully he came down with his fore leg
In a hole, and the leg snapped.
"I suppose IL we had been In garri-
Don / might have been foolish enough
to strap him up and try to save him..
But In any e you can't keep a
horse still long enough to enable a bro
ken bone to knit, and Buck must be
put ont Of his misery. Everybody was
busy at the time. but seeing a drummer
boy pass M I stopped him. handed
him my revolver and told him to put a
ball into Bucks brain. l couldn't bea
to see him do 1t, so 1 started away. I
heard a Whitney and. turning, saw
Buck looking after me, saying with his
eyes more plainly than a man could
have said in words. You aren't going
TO desert me after all I've done for you.
are your
ST went back. and, seeing that the
boys hand was trembling from b ex-
citement of the fight that was on, 1 took
b pistol from him and, sitting on the
ground, laid Bucks head in my lap. 1
gave him a hug. saying to him at the
same time:
BUCK. it nearly kills me to do it.
You've done me more real service than
any living being. You've often saved
er TO me than my own. And now I've
got TO render you q last service I've
got TO put you out OF your misery
-Ihave always believed The horse UNI
deratood me-. He laid his head down ON
INV Ian and nDQffod I rrf f uarzuIa