Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-29
IF THE GERMANS
FEARED SCALPING
A Few Cowboys or Frontiersmen
Might Speedily End the
Great War

yesterday John w. Frazier. in referring to
Rooseveit's proposed volunteer army OF
100000 men, spoke Of II as an army to be
enrolled from the States bordering on both
sides OF the Rocky Mountains. AN army that
would be made up largely OF hardy cowboys.
virtually ready for action Immediately they
were put upon the nitng line. and every man
shooting to kill"
If that was the Colonel's thought. which
apparently II was not. since many OF the men
pledged to him were residents of States thou
sands Of miles this side OF the Rockies. It
would be interesting to inquire how many
hardy cowboys" tho entire West could pro-
duce for such service.
The cowboys in their heyday were never
numerous band. and they are assuredly not
as plentiful they were, say. in 1893 and
they were never at any time as picturesque
as come eastern folk imagined. Somewhere.
In one of his books. o. Horny remarked. "T
have seen many cowboys; but have seen
only one cowboy or tho stage who looked
Ike a cowboy on the stage" 1t might not
bo unsafe to say that fctional literature
(books and plays) of the last half century
would assay bigger roundup OF cowboys
than could now be mobilIzed Upon the
dwndling ranges OF the cattle country.
As mass fighter the cowboy was never
n great success anyway. IT'S the old conflict
Of stellar individuality and teamwork. The
Rough Riders--and that was only regi-
ment, 1t must be renlembered-held n number
of famous fighting men, the name OF Bucky
O'Neill being the most outstanding, and
yet the war record Of that organization did
not measure up to the reputation Of the
least OF its cowboy members on his native
heath.
Even il it were possible TO drop con-
siderable force OF these picturesque lads into
the trenches in France, ii would be too much
to expect that they could achieve ut once
the wonders accomplished in old times by
the pioneers of that caliber against the In
dians and outlaws of the western plains The
Germans would need TO be educated into
sautary fear of their prowess, such as tho
Indians felt for typical frontiersmen like
Captain Jack McCabe, Of Montana, who with
force of forty men was able to overawe
several thousand Indians in the Galatin
Valley.
Iaising q Siege Without Shot
It was during a rising Of the Sioux in
1863 that 200 Union soldiers were surrounded
in Fort c. +. Smith by moro than thou
sand war-drunken braves. A courier got
word to General Hancock then stationed at
Sc. Paul. and he sent q message to Governor
O. G. Smith, at Bozeman. Bozeman was
$50 miles from Fort G. +. Smith and the
country between was filled with Sioux In
dians The Governors militia force amounted
Neil HOWE, marshal for the Territory or
Montana, to whom he told his troubles.
The Governor had TO think OF the protection
Of his own frontier, and he felt that he had
no men to spare for 81 relief expedition, even
II there were the slightest chance of its
getting through. There's no trouble about
that. Governor" said Howie. quietly. I'VE
can arrange that matter and still leave the
Montana frontier protected. ! Will need
some picked men and a good leader Tor them
f.n
McCabe, a quiet little man. said 1t could
bo done IL he could have his pick OF forty
good men. "IIow. in the name of Heaven"
exclaimed the Governor, astounded. do you
expect to raise the siege when you know
that the fort In surrounded by thousand
wild Indians and that tho country between
IL occupied by thousands more OF murderous
Sioux"
1T is easy enough, Governor" said Nc
Cabe. "The Indians know us and know that
we know them better than they know them
selves. You folks from the East have an
idea that what you call Indian atrocities are
simply unmeaning exhibitions OF brutality;
that scalping. for instance, is simply form
Of torture In that you are mistaken. The
indian believes that no man can go to the
happy hunting ground--heaven we call it
who has been deprived OF his hair. Thcr
motive in scaping q victim Is TO carry out
fiendish hatred to It's utmost by preventing
him from having q happy hereafter There
IOr6, 10 QepIiNe All VI SN"ip 10 ~
rob him of his hope of a happy hereafter.
My mon never kill an Indian without scalp
ing him. and the Indians know that. The
forty men will select for this expedition
are unerring in their aim with the rife. They
can shoot sixteen shots In sixteen seconds
and every dead Indian means scalp and
every scalp a warrior barred from his para
disc My forty men will walk from here
TO Fort c. J.. Smith without firing n shot,
And It was done.
The forty mon marched the $50 miles.
watched by indians on every side. and sig
nails OF their coming were flashed ahead
When they got within sight Of the be-
leasuered fort the Sioux investing the place
fed and the forty frontiersrnen marched in
and escorted the zoo soldiers back to Boze-
man.
That's the sort Of thing your cowboy or
front.ersnnan is eminently fitted Sor II a
regiment of such fellows could hit upon the
German equivalent for the Indian fear o.
scalping they might--but, then, that wouldn'
be civilized warfare. L. A. ID.