Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-04-13
Allan G. RIDGE TELLS OF THE
SEVENTH CAVALRY CAMP

The coming to and leaving the diff
ferent posts and Indian villages along
the line of march was not our only
diversion. for, as we advanced, We
found it necessary to beat up the
ground almost nightly before We
could make camp to rid the camping
place of rattlers, the dreaded enemy
Of man and beast. and it was no II
common thing to drive hundreds -
these reptiles from their lairs bef0.
our abiding place could be made TEL
able. and only once since, on the eight
mile prairie in Vermillion county, ILL.,,
have ! seen at one time so many Of
these detestible invaders. While Wis
iting a comrade Of the regulars on
the eight mile have seen him turn
up a hundred or more while plowing
the length of his field, and he told
me it reminded him Of the old times
to see these hump themselves to get
out of harms way.
"Wash day. was a recreation all
enjoyed as then the command rested
and after our clothing had been hung
up, or spread out to dry, plunge in
to the cool, if muddy Missouri, made
one feel like new being. No one,
except those who have been on long
march through clouds of dust over the
treeless prairie, with the sun making
every effort to draw you upward, can
comprehend what wash day" meant
to the trooper.
The troopers in advance or times
came suddenly upon groups of Indians
in full regalia. but owing to our num-
bers were not molested and our guide
informed us that though they we're
on the war4path it was against op-
posing tribes, but had our numbers
been less a fight would have been a
certainty. Several chiefs, of different
tribes we passed, insisted on the
commander and other officers accom-
panying them to their villages where
a pow-wow would be held and the
wiley dev.4s never forgot to remind
Custer that the entertainment had to
be paid for one way or another, and
as they have the art of begging down
to a science that would make a hobo
turn green with envy, never left with
out beef or two, and the greed with
which the beeves were dispatched
made one wonder if these, the first
inhabitants of our land, would ever
get enough to satisfy their appetites.
The guide that accompanied the
outfit and whom the commander had
engaged at Yankton, reminded us of
the sailor we had heard of in earlier
days, as, apparently, he had a wife
in every Indian village we passed
through. But, like Solomon, Of Bibli.
cal times, it in no wise disturbed his
peace Of mind, and from what wit
messed he rather enjoyed the situa.
ton, and as there was no law to COM
pei him to provide for their keep,
he was not kept awake nights devils
ing means to support his vast house.
hold, but l assure you, none of the
outfit envied him his dusky, greasy
helpmeets.
How many of those of that march
will forget the fun we had fishing
when We reached Choteau creek.
Hooks and lines of every conceivable
make and shape from thread to rope
and pins to harpoons were brought
into play, and at each catch, no mat
ter how small, the boys would let
loose like a kid at his first circus,
and for days after some trooper would
run his hand over the back of his
mate to see if the bones had some
through, as many of the men had
''munched down" bones and all.
Medicine Rock. near which we
camped, was also a point of inter-
est that will live in memory, as here
we witnessed one of those freaks nat
ure alone is responsible for. Medi-
cine Rock is large stone with a
flat surface on which is embedded
the impress of hands and feet, the
same having become petrified, and no.
where, outside of the bad lands, have
| seen such perfect petrification. The
rock, to the Indians, is sacred, and
here the medicine men of the tribe
tie their herbs and roots, believing,
in their Ignorance, that by so doing
the god Of healing will instill a virtue
not otherwise obtainable; and round