Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-10-02

woman who has been a Flor
- ence Nightingale of the south
IASN&iI,l and west. who has nursed the
- sick and dying of the civil war
and the Indian wars She is Mrs. Frances
c, Darlington. wife of General Henry Il.
Darlington. veteran of the civil war, who
was in command OF the garrison at the
time Of the Indian massacre at Fort Phil
Kearney.
The Amazon of today may so far world
conquering, with her notebook and socolog-
ical pamphlets, before finding a life so full
of adventure and service as that of this
gently nurtured southern woman. To test
their mettle the women of today have in
dustrial conditions and movements, while
the women Of yesterday had war.
As a bride she made a grueling march
from her southern home of LOCO miles over
prairies hostile with Indians and rattle
snakes. She was then the wife of Lieu
tenant Grummond, who was joining his
command at Fort Phil Kearney. Six
months after her marriage and four days
before Christmas she saw her husband
march without the stockade, never to re-
turn alive. So desperate were the straits
of the white men at the lonely little post
that orders were given that in the final
in the magazine with supplies and all de
stroyed together, rather than captured
alive.
Romantic in the light of her second mar
rlage was the act of bravery at that time
of Colonel Darlington, who later became
her husband Promising her that he would
personally bring back the body Of Lieu
tenant Grummond, he led out a few men,
who risked their lives to recover their
dead After the tragedy the Carringtons
welcomed her to their own quarters. Her
only woman companion at that time was
the colonel's first wife.
Mrs. Darlington was sitting near the
window, deep in thought as the Fastening
details of soldiers came from all quar-
ters," she says in her memoirs, Il was
lying down, equally absorbed by the mo-
mentous question at stake, while we were
debating what was best to be done When
the door opened we sprang trembling to
our feet. The colonel advanced to his wife
and quietly announced his decision to
rescue the dead. Pale, but calm and
womanly with her hands upon his should
ers, she replied, Yes, it is your duty. God
bless you He will take care Of us Go
rescue the dead Henry
Turning to me, he said: Mrs Grum-
mond, l shall go in person, and will bring
back to you the remains of your husband >
could only reply: They are beyond all
suffering now, You must not imperil other
precious lives and make other women as
miserable as myself But his decision
was fixed, and bidding his wife a tender
goodbye and a word of hopeful confidence,
he mounted his horse and the bugle sounded
its Forward march as If on a parade He
IAfN H.. Nj
that aroused and endangered garrison.
With the colonel were Captain Ten
Eyck, Lieutenant Matson, DR.. Gould and
eighty men. We soon learned that when the
men were selected for this extra hazard
Gus detail, every single soldier fit for
duty begged permission to join 1t.
Thus again we were TO witness the de-
parture of our brave guardians, possibly to
share the fate of others at the hands Of
the elated savage hordes about us.
with the last goodby. the gates were
Shut and bolted Anxious eyes watched
their departure, and with equal intentness,
the picket guards, which the colonel was
TO station on successive hills TO keep up
communication with the garrison itself to
call for reinforcements, If needed, or to
fall back to the fort II 1t should be at
tackled in his absence. To the officer Of
the day orders were given in pencil which
were preserved with care. They were
these:
"'Fire the usual sunset gun, running a
white lamp to the masthead on the flag
staff. If the Indians appear, fire three guns
from a twelve-p FOUNDER "a large field howit-
zer), at minute intervals, and later sub
stitute a red lantern for the white
Before leaving the fort on this mission
of rescue, unknown to at che time, the
colonel had opened the magazine and cut
the Boorman fuses of spherical case-shot,
usually used against Indians providing in
the woods or thickets near by, and so ad-
justed the ammunition in store by the
opening of boxes that by the application
of a single match ell could be destroyed.
His secret instructions. still preserved,
were these:
IF, in my absence, Indians in over
wheming numbers attack, put the women
and children in the magazine with supplies
of water bread, crackers and other sup
plies that seem best, and, in the event of
a last desperate struggle, destroy all to-