Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-07-09

with new ideas Of Indian character.
! Fort Laramie did not hold me long
! To be sure, had few weeks lively
work scouting for the troops In the
chase that followed Red Clouds attack
Of the whites at the Horseshoe Bend
/ OF the North Platte river.
But the rapid advance westward OF
| the Union Pacific, and the throwing OF
strong forces Of regular troops into the
/ frontier garrisCns, made possible by
the pacification Of the south, soon had
the Sioux asking for peace and glad
| for asylum on reservation.
And thereafter quiet they stayed un.
til the discovery Of gold in the Black
Mills. in the heart Of their reservation.
when, upon the governments failure
I, to protect them against the thrush or
miners from Cheyenne and Sidney on
the south, Fort Pierre and Bismarck
on the east. and Bozeman on the west.
again they took the warpath, In last
desperate attempt to hold the father
land where their young were born and
their dead buried Then came the
bloody battles Of the Rosebud and the
Little Big Horn.
So, once our column was marched
back into Laramie, there was no more
work for me, and Joined a freighter's
outfit and pulled out for the then new
town OF Cheyenne, down through
Eagles Nest and the Chugwater.
Arrived there, found the town
made up Of the most desperate lot OF
thugs and hold-ups 1t has ever been
my misfortune to run into.
No mans life or money was safe
there. The outlaws ruled the town
had the decent element buffa1oed.
They controlled the peace officers and
magistrates, and they themselves COM
posed the local vigilance committee.
Any who resented their robberies or
sought to check their violence was
soon dangling on a rope 1t was long
after the rails were pushed cut be-
yond Green River before Cheyenne
contrived to measurably rid itself OF
the band Of human wolves that made
life there terror for peaceful folk.
Shortly before my arrival man
named Harris and another named
Henry Poor Morgan were stretched by
the vigilantes-for the crime of resist
ing an attempt to hold up and rob
them one night after they had been
drinking deeper than was good for
them in the dance-halls.
In defending themselves they had
the bad luck to kill two Of the brighter
lights of the vigilante fraternity; that
was ALL An Eastern town would have
turned In and bought them bunch
of medals, but there their really very
worthy service to society only won
them a few feet of rope and a tenn
porary perch on telegraph pole.
One night, few days thereafter,
who should slip into our freighter's
camp or Grow Creek. at the edge Of
the town. but my old California pre-
ceptor and mate, George Cox. the hero
of the Talama fiesta. come from GOD
alone knows where. fugitive from
whatever new devilment he was not
telling.
Nor was l asking. For. good
friend as he had been to me, had long
realized that the less | knew OF his
doings the safer Id be. OF course. his
turning up there did not SUNRISE me
in the least; wherever gambling was
busiest and play highest, that was the
place to look for Cox.
Something sultry had been doing
with him for certainty, for he slipped
ND to me with finger on lip and at the
first chance tipped me that he was
passing under new name.
After supper he led me down to the
banks of the Grow, where he told me
he had heard down at Sidney OF the
hanging Of Morgan. who had served
with US In the California Column al
ways creditably; Cox explained that,
since there was no chance his murder
ers would be punished by the local au-
thorities. he had come over. as he put
1t, ito throw the fear Of God into a
few Of them"
The next day we lay quietly around
camp. When night fell we strolled up
into town and began drifting from one
and dance hall to another.
Cox taking a fling at faro now and
then, but only as cover for his hunt
for a satisfactory grouping for the
bunch he had planned to pot.
The fact is, he had not asked me to
accompany him, and God knows the
truth is did not want to. But with
the odds. scores against one, l couldn't
consent to let him go alone.
When / told him he could bank on
my staying tight to his flank, he an
swered:
sure, son. sure; just knowed
you'd want in. Only you sabe old
George prefers to make his war-plays
by his lonesome. However, l reckon
you'd be nervous stayin' In camp; 80
you can trail along.
But, mind you. keep your guns In
your clothes till old George Is down or
gives you the word to cut in to the
play.
And 1t will be have the horses
handy and split the scenery plenty
lively as soon as the fun Is over"
It was past midnight before Cox
found stage set to suit him-a box
at the variety theater that held seven
Of the most prominent of the vigilantes
remaining since the taking off Of the
pair Harris and Morgan had bagged.
We contrived to get the box directly
opposite them, separated from them
by no more than thirty feet.
Waiting until lull fell In the lurid
stage doings, and the weary piano
thumper was taking brief rest. Cox
called cheerfully across, Gentlemen,
here's an old comrade of Mr.. Henry
Poor Morgan, come to attend to your