Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1936-06-27

down the creek sound Halt" White,
who was at the tents, ordered Clancy
to sound Advance and the entire
camp was alive. In q minute or so,
from across the creek came body OF
horsemen followed by Red Cross am
bulance and two four mule Jerk.iine
teams. It was q detachment of soldiers
from Keogh who had come for us. One
of the fort doctors, r. q. Redd, was
with them, and they had medicine for
the sick. Camp was lively that eve
ming We children had fine time with
the new soldiers who we're from the
Fifth infantry. They were mounted on
captured Indian horses. Two OF them
were of our own troops who had been
sent with them as guides. DR.. Redd
found that Mrs. Clancy was in c0ndt-
ton to be moved and the next day we
started for Fort Keogh. Mother went in
the ambulance with Mrs. Clancy, while
we children were placed In the wagons
carrying camp equipment. We moved a
lot faster now than we did with the
main command. After we struck Tongue
river the country was smoother and
the cavalry and all the wagons that
had proceeded us were kept on a trot
whenever practical.
About 2 O'Clock p. m. Oct. 5, 1877,
we came in sight of Fort Keogh, our
band of boys and girls. We made all
sorts Of conjectures as to where we
were going to live and what we were
going to do, and could hardly wait for
the mules (who now seemed to us to be
creeping along) to get us to the fort.
We went directly to the new fort which
was not yet entirely built, and the tents
for the two laundreSses OF troop e, my
mother and Mrs. Clancy, we're pitched
Oh r,.r3c c4 r.F fban trnnrl
ters We stayed in tents all winter as
no quarters had been built for the en-
listed mems wives as yet. But all the
fine double frame buildings for the Of
ficers and their families were about
completed. Each married soldier had
two 10 x II wall tents To live in. These
were pitched, one directly in front Of
the other and both topped by large
government tarpaulin They proved to
until the following spring, when log
houses were put up for the laundresses.
These houses were built apart from the
fort and were laid out In regular for
nation. The houses were about so feet
apart with a back yaru of 100 feet.
A sort of street so feet wide separated
the line of dwellings. There were about
65 of these dwellings in this section Of
Fort Keogh which was known to the
cQA0AClG 10 4 w 4OWA4s 0AA0 ODloNAAANf
because most Of the women who lived
there were regular company laun-
dresses
Fort Keogh, when the Second caval-
rv arrived, was busy place. Col. N. A.
Miles, in command of the Fifth in
fantry the year before had built can
torment at the junction Of the Vel
lowstone and Tongue rivers and as
soon as men and material could be OBJ
tanned began building Fort Keogh. The
cantonment was about two miles east of
the new fort. AS have said, the new
fort was a busy place when we ar
rived. There was small army of civ
ilians there, carpenters, bricklayers,
and the like, q great many quarter
master employees, packers and team
sterS. Teams were coming and going all
day hauling from the boat landing on
the Yellowstone and from the canton
ment, moving troops up as fast as
quarters were finished There were IA
companies of soldiers stationed there,
the entire regiment of the Fifth in
fantry and four troops of the Second
cavalry. Detachments of troops with
either a string of pack mules or sew
eraI wagons could be seen almost any
day. either leaving the fort In pursuit
of some raiding band of Indians or COM
ing into the fort with bunch Of cap
CiYeS VINO were put IN camp just west
OF the fort.
Indians were roaming around every
where to see what they could pick up
or what they could beg to eat One
thing never saw among all the In
dams there, and there were nearly
1000 Of them in 1881, and that was an
Indian who would refuse TO eat. They
were always hungry.
When we came to Keogh thought
every Indian saw was ready to scalp
me ard il was at least two weeks be-
fore I would venture 100 yards from
our tent. One time mother sent me TO
the store just after guarduonnt about
9 a. m. The store was on the southeast
corner OF the fort nearly three f0urths
of q mile from our tent. made the
trip and got back safely just before
retreat st sundown- lodged Indians
all day.
AwnIney time shortly after I went