Evening star., 1926-01-24
Capital Sidelights

privileges to assist in fittingiy
memorializing historic events and the
Nations heroes. and in preserving
historic landmarks for future genera
tions.
Representative Charles F.. Winter Of
Wyoming, who, as author of the State
song. is known as The Bard of
Wyoming" and also as chronicler OF
the West through his historical novels,
"Grandon of Sierra" and Ben War
man. is now preparing to tell his
colleagues vividly of the early days of
the West and it's heroes He hopes to
get favorable action for preservation
of two forts as national monument s
that were the gateway to the West
when the West was young-k'orts
Laramie and Bridger.
All trails from Missouri, Iowa and
Nebraska converged into Fort Lar.
annie. Wyo., and took the same
Identical trail for some 500 miles
through Wyoming from Fort Lara amie
on the eastern border to Fort Bridger
| on the western border. making the
gateway 10 the Far West 1t was
about Fort Laramie that the famous
historian Parkman in 1846 wrote his
great book on the Oregon trail
The connecting link between Fort
Laramie on the east and Fort Bridser
on the west is South Pass at the
head of Sweetwater River. This is
the pass through the Rocky Mountains
discovered by Robert Stuart and his
associate on return trip from Astoria
on the Pacific Coast in 1872.
The famous forty miners who
tramped over the South Pass To Cali
fornia in the gold rush days walked
on placer gold. which was afterward
discovered and billions of dollars takeu
out in 1868 and 1870.
Crossing over the Continental Divide
and the Rockies. the trail from Fort
! BridGer on the western boundary di
verged-one branch toward Cali
! fornia another toward Oregon and
yet another to Salt Lake City, where
the Mormons under Brigham Young
had settled in large numbers in 1886
Gen. Charles King, now IS years OLD
and militar, Instructor in the col
| lece at Ripon. Wis. is author of many
military novels. and close friend OF
Theodore Roosevelt. Representative
Winter is proud of an autograph copy
of one Of Gen. Kings novels The
! Queen of Bedlam" Bedlam was one
Of the officers headquarters in Fort
! Laramie and IS still standing.
ssx2
For the erection OF q monument to
tho most famous and useful Indian
woman in the history of this country
a modest appropriation of $4,000 is
asked in another bill by Representa-
tive Winter. This Indian woman was
SAGA jawea. wife OF the guide Char.
haneau on the Lewis and Clark ex.
pedition in 1906. In fact. Mr.. Winter
claims that she proved of much more
value than her husba nd. She knew
the language of the Indians TO the
west, she saved the party from attack
/ b. the Shoshone tribe when she recog
niZed and greeted the leader of the
attack, who was her own brother
once she jumped into a swollen strea NJ
| when the canoes were overturned and
rescued the records of the party and
I indisr ansahle scientific instruments
! she carried a papooSe on her bach
! from the Pacific To where she haG
/ Joined the party at Mandan. y. Oak
There is wonderful statue ir
/ bronze of this Indian woman. visualiZ
! inG her with her papooSe on hel
/ lack, at The summit Of City Park. il
Portland. Greg She died in 1881. al
the age Of 9S years. and is buried or
I the ShoshOne reservation 1T F'or1
! Washakie. near Lander. Wyo. This
! is in the sixth judicial district. where
( Hfr. Winter served as Judge for sever
| years. The grave is unmarked 81 ve
/ for a small stone and plate put there
F, by the hist storical society Of the State
/ of Wyoming. Her grandson, Ra sill. is
| still living on the reservation where
/ she died.
! Usually y member Of Congress ism
| what YOU might call una ssuminr.
! usually they are not overmodest IL
| talking with newspaper man. nor d,
! they exactly shun publicity. But th'
1 H.,
| Samuel J. Montgomery, is a pleasing
| exception. He's at once a regular
fellow and unbelievably modest
albeit he has done his bit and don,
it nobly.
You were with the a. f. F.?" h.
was asked. and laconically replie,
! Yes" See any action at the 'front.'
and again a monosyllabic Some.
| Learning that he had been with tn,
| 6th Regiment Of Marines during the
war, this writer became suspicion:
and consulted the service record a
/ the Marine Corps headquarters anC
! also several citations which told thi
! story.
In the front line trench Of an Amer
! lean sector an officer of the Dew
! Dogs" called for volunteers to under
| take an extremely dangerous recon
noitering expedition. OF course. there
were number Of volunteers. but :
sturdy youngster of 90 was select ed
! Crawling ont into NO mans land.
| this Young marine made his WAY
| through an adjacent wood. while en-
J emy bullets whistled all about him
| and took certain observations in &C
| cordance with instructions given him
! Emerging from the woods into nnpro
tected NO mans land" instead Of re
tracing his way to his own trench. h,
! kept on going toward enemy trenches
which he entered, captured German
| soldier and then achieved the seem
! ingly impossible feat of bringing tht
| prisoner back with him through M
mans land" to the American lines
! This prisoner later gave very ralua
bic information supplementins th'
young Devil Dogs" observations.
That's sam" Montgomery. Hi
autobiography in the Congressional
Directory says nothing about tw,
! American citations for gallantry in &C
! ton and assuming extra ordinary risl
| and performing very valiant and val
liable service for his country or tha
he got the French croiX de guerre fo
his valor or that he was gassed ant
wounded by shell fire in action.
His citations are for gallantrv in &C
ton at Blanc Mont and at st. Etienne
The citation that reveals him captur
| ing a German soldier is as follows
He volunteered for and accomplish
ed wonderful work as a scout; recon
! noitering some woods on the left O
his company. being continually free
| upon by enemy machine gun snipers
but accomplishing his mission in
very short time. He also went int
| enemy trenches, bringing out a pris
oner, from whom valuable nforma
ton was obtained"
Representative Montgomery is a ma
| tive kentuckian. He enlisted in tn,
Marines when he was 20. served ii
France from March 81. 1918, to Ma,
S, 1919. and was honorably discharged
from the Marine Corps at Ouantic,