Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-03-30
allan G. Ridge Tells Of tie Setenth
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Shortly before the departure Of the
REGIMENT from Yankton a grand ball

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regiment from Yankton a grand ball
was given the command by the citi-
zens to commemorate the coming of
the Seventh into the territory and l
doubt il anything before or since has
excelled the "doings" for brilliancy.
It was a dress affair." as regards the
time and the people would permit,
and / look back and ponder from
whence came that vast horde and bril-
liant array of fashion, and before the
departure of the troops from the city,
and in a measure to show appreciation
for kindness shown, the commander
ordered a grand review of the regi-
ment.
The troopers of the old Seventh will
never blot from memory the kindness
showered upon them by those hardy,
whole-souled and open-handed men
and women of Yankton WAC done SO
much to make them comfortable and
forget their troubles. Those noble
men and women, like unto all their
kind who had gone into the territories
to seek homes and fortunes, were no
strangers to hardships, and, there
fore, knew how to extend sympathy
and succor to the stranger who came
in their midst, and seemed to feel
AMPLY rewarded in the thought that
they had extended the true hand of
fellowship to humanity.
During the blizzard, of which
made mention i'm my previous letter,
and while the lieutenant colonePs fe-
YER was at it's height, his only COM
panions, not stricken down, were his
faitaful wife and colored servants,
and their sufferings, from want of
food and fire, can better be imagined
than described. Noble, generous, self
sacrificing always, the commanders
wife, Mrp. Elizabeth (better known
among the command as Libbie) Gus
ter, not only administered to the wants
OF her OWL household, but done all
that human hands could do to allevi-
ate the sufferings OF several of the
troopers who had lost their way in the
blizzard, and in an exhausted, frozen
and crazed condition found their way
to the shack. Do you wonder that the
soldiers honored and worshiped their
commander and his never complain
ing wife.
After leaving Yankton each day of
the march revealed something new
and interesting; the brand, level prai-
rte. the rising buttes, the occasional
prairie schooner, with It's home-seek-
ing occupants, Indian villages and
quaint burial grounds, one of the lat
ter, which comes forceful to mind,
as it was the largest had then seen,
and as we reached this roosting
place of the good Indians in the wee
sma' hours of the morn our feelings
can better be imagined than de-
scribed and many a trooper can be
excused for his belief that they were
entering an ambuscade, and the
mummy.fied forms they discerned
were the sharp shooters of the enemy
perched among the branches to pick
off as many bluecoats as possible.
The Indians, in those days, did not
bury their dead as do the whites, but
placed them on boards or branches
Of trees, to which they are securely
bound and then carried and secured
to the topmost limbs, or on rude
platforms raised from the ground In
preparing their dead for burial the
body is wound round and round in
blankets or other cloth and inside the
wrapping, and Outlines alongside. are
placed war implements. tobacco, pipe
and variety of eatables that their
journey through the unknown world
may be fraught with as little incon.
venience as possible.
The atmospheric changes encoun-
tered were a revelation, as. sudden
cold and rain storms would appear
fro ma c!ear warm sky, and it was
no uncommon thing to get soaking
one hour and enter the bright sun
shine the next, when the moving cav
alcade had the appearance OF advanc-
ing through a vast body of steam as
the vapor rose from the driving cloth
ing of the troopers and the sleek
coats of their mounts. Each day
brought forth it's own diversion and
although the marches were necessar-
lily hong at times, owing to suitable
camping places, the men found time
to play practical jokes on one an.
other, in which, at times the officers
participated; and l know of no one
who enjoyed these side plays better
than our commander and his fun-lov-