Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1915-07-09
Guided to send It to his commaAuAnl

, Guided to send it to his commaL.4ne
officer.
Stevenson. when the command start
ed on the expedition. was transferred
under guard to Fort G.. some twenty
miles distant, where his execution was
to take place.
Sergeant Conover knew of the dis
tress his daughter was suffering at
Stevenson's misfortune and that she
was in IN agony OF suspense as to
word from Washington concerning
him. Fearing a disappointment, he
did not tell her of the message from
the president. he had no one to send
it by to Major Barton except private
named Cassidy. a worthless creature.
who had been left behind when the
expedition started. Mounting Cassidy
on the best horse the garrison afford
ed, Conover gave him the message and
told him to ride with it to Major Bar
ton as fast rs possible.
During the night that Cassidy start
ed the sergeant told his wife Of the ar
rival Of the message from the presi-
dent and his forwarding it to Major
Barton by Private Cassidy. Mrs. Con-
over, knowing that the execution OF
Stevenson was set for near date.
scolded him for intrusting so impor-
tant a message to so unreliable mes
senger. Madge. in an adjoining room.
heard every word that was said.
That night Madge was missing. also
a horse from the stable. Madge had
| taken the horse for the purpose of
overtaking Cassidy and to make sure
that the message was delivered with
| the utmost expedition.
The next day at noon Cassidy reach
ed the encampment of the command
and on feeling in his belt for the mes
sage from the president to give to
Major Barton discovered that he had
lost it. He had reached settlement
the night before, where he had spent
| much time carousing. and had lost the
dispatch. Barton learned from him
that the envelope bore the mark of
| the president of the United States and
surmised that it contained either a
pardon for Stevenson or refusal to
/: pardon him.
The major was in quandary. he
was without a message, Stevenson
was to be executed. and even if par
don had been granted there was hard
| ~ time to send word to stop it. Bar
! ton had been in the army during a
period when red tape was much in
vogue. and the situation quite upset
: him. Though human life was at
! stake. he had no order to interfere.
. To give an order in the name of the
i commander in chief of the army and
navy Of the United States was more
/ than he dared assume. He debated so
! long as to what course to pursue that
it would be impossible to send a mes
senger to stop the execution even if he
were willing to take the responsibility
for doing so.
! Madge COnOver. starting after mid
night without a guide, missed the road.
was obliged to retrace her steps for
| quite long distance and did not reach
the settlement where Cassidy had STOP
ped till the next afternoon. Then she
learned that he had been there and
|
amusement during his stay. Madge
remounted her horse and was gallop-
ing onward when she saw before her
an oblong paper lying beside the road.
Something moved her to get down and
pick it up. She did so and. turning it
over, saw on the left hand corner the
printed words "From the President of
the United States"
| A message from the president.
though not addressed to her. was not
a matter of reverence so long as Jim
Stevenson's life was at stake. Her
loving heart was not tied up with red
tape. She tore the envelope to shreds
to get at the contents and. unfolding
the letter with trembling hands. read
that the president had granted par
don to Private James Stevenson, -th
infantry, United States army.
Madge was at one angle of TRAN
gle, Major Barton at another and the
condemned man at another The short
est leg was to Barton. But Stevenson
was to die the next morning at sun
rise. and. though by that much respect
l
should have delivered the document
through the major. she knew that by
doing so she would fail to save her
lover. It was & o'clock in the even
ing. Fort G.. was some forty miles from
I her Mounting, she turned her horse
in that direction.
At daybreak-it came early-the gar
rison Of Fort &. began preparations for
putting Private Stevenson out of sus
pense. Just before sunrise he was
marched out through the gate on to the
! open plain. blindfolded, his hands tied
behind him and firing squad drawn
up before him. The attention of the
officer Of the day who had charge Of
the exception was called to mounted
figure galloping across the plain. AS it
drew nearer it held aloft something
white. The officer directed the SER
| poant in command If tho mon tn bring