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"BOOTS AND SADDLES"

OR LIFE IN DAKOTA WITH GENERAL CUSTER

ELIZABETH B. CUSTER

WITH PORTRAIT AND MAP

NE.W YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE

Cn '

AU rightt reterved.

OCTl 81973

&Vly t?

%^v/ri —

?lDebuatelr

MY HUSBAND

THE ECHO OF WHOSE VOICE HAS BEEN MY INSPIRATION

PREFACE.

Otce of the motives that have actuated me in re-
calling these simple annals of our daily life, has been
to give a glimpse to civilians of garrison and camp
life — about which they seem to have such a very
imperfect knowledge.

This ignorance exists especially with reference to
anything pertaining to the cavalry, which is almost
invariably stationed on the extreme frontier.

The isolation of the cavalry posts makes them quite
inaccessible to travellers, and the exposure incident
to meeting warlike Indians does not tempt the visits
of friends or even of the venturesome tourist. Our
life, therefore, was often as separate from the rest of
the world as if we had been living on an island in
the ocean.

Yery little has been written regarding the domestic
life of an army family, and yet I cannot believe that
it is without interest; for the innumerable questions

6 PBEFACE.

that are asked about onr occupations, amusements, and
mode of house-keeping, lead me to hope that the actual
answers to these queries contained in this little storj
will be acceptable. This must also be ray apology for
entering in some instances so minutely into trifling
perplexities and events, which went to fill up the sum
of our existence.

E. B. C.

H8 East 18th Street,

N«w York City.

CONTENTS.

OnUTEK PAOB

I. Change of Station 9

II. A Blizzabd 17

III. Western Hospitality 30

IV. Cavalry on the March 37

V. CAMPiNa among the Sioux 49

VI. A Visit to the Village op "Tjto Bears" ... 60

VII. Adventures during the Last Days of the March 73

VIII. Separation and Reunion 86

IX. Our New Home at Fort Lincoln ...... 94

X. Incidents of Everyday Life 104

XI. The Burning of our Quarters. — Carrying the

Mail 115

XII, Perplexities and Pleasures of Domestic Life . 124

XIIL A "Strong Heart" Dance! 131

XIV. Garrison Life 138

XV. General Custer's Literary Work 140

XVI. Indian Depredations 154

XVII. A Day of Anxiety and Terror 159

XVIII. Improvements at the Post, and Gardening . .167
XIX. General Custer's Library 174

XX. The Summer op the Black Hills Expedition . . 181

8 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PACK

XXI. Domestic Tkiaxs 194

XXII. Captube and Escape of Rain-in-the-pace . . . 203

XXIII. Garrison Amusements 216

XXIV. An Indian Council 225

XXV. Breaking Up op the Missouri 229

XXVI. Curious Characters AND Excursionists AMONG us 240

XX VII. Religious Services. — Leave op Absence . . . 247

XXVIII. A Winter's Journey across the Plains . . . 253

XXIX. Our Life's Last Chapter 261

APPEITOIX: With Extracts op General Custer's Let-
ters 271

BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER I.

CHANGE OF STATION.

General Custeb graduated at West Point just in
time to take part in the battle of Bull Run. He
served with his regiment — the 5th Cavalry — for a time,
but eventually was appointed aide-de-camp to General
McClellan. He came to his sister's home in my native
town, Monroe, Michigan, during the winter of 1863,
and there I first met him. In the spring he returned to
the army in Virginia, and was promoted that summer,
at the age of twenty-three, from captain to brigadier-
general. During the following autumn he came to
Monroe to recover from a flesh-wound, which, though
not serious, disabled him somewhat. At that time we
became engaged. When his twenty days' leave of ab-
sence had expired he went back to duty, and did not'
return until a few days before our marriage, in Febru-
ary, 1864.

We had no sooner reached Washington on our wed-
ding-journey than telegrams came, following one another
in quick succession, asking him to give up the rest of

10 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

his leave of absence, and hasten without an hour's delay
to the front. I begged so hard not to be left behind
that I finally prevailed. The result was that I found
myself in a few hours on the extreme wing of the Army
of the Potomac, in an isolated Virginia farm-house,
finishing my honeymoon alone. I had so besought him
to allow me to come that I did not dare own to myself
the desolation and fright I felt. In the preparation for
the hurried raid which my husband had been ordered to
make he had sent to cavalry head-quarters to provide
for my safety, and troops were in reality near, although
I could not see them.

The general's old colored servant, Eliza, comforted
me, and the Southern family in the house took pity
upon my anxiety. It was a sudden plunge into a life
of vicissitude and danger, and I hardly remember the
time during the twelve years that followed when I
was not in fear of some immediate peril, or in dread
of some danger that threatened. After the raid was
ended, we spent some delightful weeks together, and
when the regular spring campaign began I returned to
Washington, where I remained until the surrender and
the close of the war.

After that we went to Texas for a year, my husband
still acting as major-general in command of Volunteers.
In 1866 we returned to Michigan, and the autumn of
the same year found us in Kansas, where the general
assumed charge of the 7th (Regular) Cavalry, to which
he had been assigned, with the rank of lieutenant-colo-
nel in the Regular Army. We remained in Kansas five
years, during which time I was the only oJQScer's wife

CHANGE OF STATION. 11

who always followed the regiment. "We were tiien or-
dered, with the regiment, to Kentucky. After being
stationed in Elizabethtown for two yeare, we went to
Dakota in the spring of 1873.

When orders came for the 7th Cavalry to go into the
field again. General Custer was delighted. The regi-
ment was stationed in various parts of the South, on the
very disagreeable duty of breaking up illicit distilleries
and suppressing the Ku-klux. Fortunately for us, being
in Kentucky, we knew very little of this service. It
seemed an unsoldierly life, and it was certainly uncon-
genial ; for a true cavalryman feels that a life in the
saddle on the free open plain is his legitimate exist-
ence.

!N"ot an hour elapsed after the official document an-
nouncing our change of station had arrived before our
house was torn up. In the confusion I managed to re-
tire to a corner with an atlas, and surreptitiously look
up the territory to which we were going. I hardly
liked to own that I had forgotten its location. When
my finger traced our route from Kentucky almost up
to the border of the British Possessions, it seemed as if
we were going to Lapland.

I From the first days of our marriage. General Custer
celebrated every order to move with wild demonstra-
tions of joy. His exuberance of spirits always found
expression in some boyish pranks, before he could set
to work seriously to prepare for duty. As soon as the
officer announcing the order to move had disappeared,
all sorts of wild hilarity began. I had learned to take
np a safe position on top of the table ; that is, if I had

18 BOOTS AND SADDLE&

not already been forcibly placed there as a spectator^
The most disastrous result of the proceedings was pos-
sibly a broken chair, which the master of ceremonies
would crash, and, perhaps, throw into the kitchen by
way of informing the cook that good news had come.
We had so few household effects that it was something
of a loss when we chanced to be in a country where
they could not be replaced. I can see Eliza's woolly
head now, as she thrust it through the door to repri-
mand her master, and say, " Chairs don't grow on trees
in these yere parts, gen'l." As for me, I was tossed
about the room, and all sorts of jokes were played upon
me before the frolic was ended. After such participa-
tion in the celebration, I was almost too tired with the
laughter and fun to begin packing.

I know that it would surprise a well-regulated mover
to see what short work it was for us to prepare for our
journeys. "We began by having a supply of gunny-
sacks and hay brought in from the stables. The saddler
appeared, and all our old traps that had been taken
around with us so many years were once more tied and
sewed up. The kitchen utensils were plunged into bar-
rels, generally left uncovered in the hurry; rolls of
bedding encased in waterproof cloth or canvas were
strapped and roped, and the few pictures and books
were crowded into chests and boxes. When these pos-
sessions were loaded upon the wagon, at the last mo-
ment there always appeared the cook's bedding to sur-
mount the motley pile. Her property was invariably
tied up in a flaming quilt representing souvenirs of
her friends' dresses. She followed that last instalment

CHANGE OF STATION. 13

with anxious eyes, and, true to her early training,
grasped her red bandanna, containing a few last things,
while the satchel she scorned to use hung empty on her
arm.

In all this confusion no one was cross. We rushed
and gasped through the one day given us for prepara-
tion, and I had only time to be glad with my husband
that he was going back to the life of activity that he so
loved. His enforced idleness made it seem to him that
he was cumbering the earth, and he rejoiced to feel that
he was again to have the chance to live up to his idea
of a soldier. Had I dared to stop in that hurried day
and think of myself all the courage would have gone
out of me. , This removal to Dakota meant to my hus-
band a reunion with his regiment and summer cam-
paigns against Indians ; to me it meant months of lone-
liness, anxiety, and terror. Fortunately there was too
much to do to leave leisure for thought.

Steamers were ready for us at Memphis, and we went
thither by rail to embark. "When the regiment was
gathered together, after a separation of two years, there
were hearty greetings, and exchanges of troublous or
droll experiences ; and thankful once more to be re-
united, we entered again, heart and soul, into the mi-
nutest detail of one another's lives. "We went into camp
for a few days on the outskirts of Memphis, and ex-
changed hospitalities with the citizens. The baclielors
found an elysium in the society of many very pretty
girls, and love-making went on either in luxurious par-
lors or in the open air as they rode in the warm spring
weather to and from our camp. Three steamers were

14 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

at last loaded and we went on to Cairo, where we found
tlie trains prepared to take us into Dakota.

The regiment was never up to its maximum of
twelve hundred men, but there may have been eight
or nine hundred soldiers and as many horses. The
property of the companies — saddles, equipments, arms,
ammunition, and forage — together with the personal
luggage of the officers, made the trains very heavy,
and we travelled slowly. We were a week or more
on the route. Our days were varied by the long
stops necessary to water the horses, and occasionally
to take them out of the cars for exercise. My hus-
band and I always went on these occasions to loose
the dogs and have a frolic and a little visit with our
own horses. The youth and gamins of the village
gathered about us as if we had been some travelling
show. While on the journey one of our family had a
birthday. This was always a day of frolic and fun,
and even when we were on the extreme frontier, pres-
ents were sent for into the States, and we had a little
dinner and a birthday cake. This birthday that came
during the journey, though so inopportune, did not
leave utterly without resources the minds of those
whose ingenuity was quickened by affection. The
train was delayed that day for an unusually long time;
our colored cook, Mary, in despair because we ate so
little in the " twenty-minutes-f or-refreshments " places,
determined on an impromptu feast. She slyly took a
basket and filled it at the shops in the village street.
Slie had already made friends with a woman who had
a little cabin tucked in between the rails and the em-

CHANGE OF STATION. 15

bankment, and there the never absent " eureka " coffee-
pot was produced and most delicious coffee dripped.
Returning to the car stove, which she had discovered
was filled with a deep bed of coals, she broiled us a
Bteak and baked some potatoes. The general and I
were made to sit down opposite each other in one of
the compartments. A board was brought, covered with
a clean towel, and we did table-legs to this impromptu
table. We did not dare move, and scarcely ventured
to giggle, for fear we should overturn the laden board
in our laps. For dessert, a large plate of macaroons,
which were an especial weakness of mine, was brought
out as a surprise. Mary told me, with great glee, how
she had seen the general prowling in the bakers' sliops
to buy them, and described the train of small boys who
followed him when he came back with his brown paper
parcel. "Miss Libbie," she said, "they thought a sure
enough gen'l always went on horseback and carried his
sword in his hand."

We were so hungry we scarcely realized that we
were anything but the embodiment of picturesque grace.
No one could be otherwise than awkward in trying to
cut food on such an uncertain base, while Mary had
taken the last scrap of dignity away from the general's
appearance by enveloping him in a kitchen towel as a
substitute for a napkin. With their usual indepen-
dence and indifference to ceremony, troops of curious
citizens stalked through the car to stare at my husband.
We went on eating calmly, unconscious that they
thought the picture hardly in keeping with their pre-
conceived ideas of a commanding officer. When we

16 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

thanked Mary for our feast, her face beamed and shone
with a combination of joy at our delight and heat from
the stove. "When she lifted up our frugal board and
set us free, we had a long stroll, talking over other
birthdays and those yet to come, until the train was
ready to start.

A BLIZZARD. 17

CHAPTER 11.

A BLIZZARD.

After so many days in the car, we were glad to stop
on an open plain about a mile from the town of Yank-
ton, where the road ended.

The three chief considerations for a camp are wood,
water, and good ground. The latter we had, but we
were at some distance from the water, and neither trees
nor brushwood were in sight.

The long trains were unloaded of their freight, and
the plains about us seemed to swarm with men and
horses. I was helped down from the Pullman car,
where inlaid woods, mirrors, and plush surrounded us,
to the ground, perfectly bare of every earthly comfort.
The other ladies of the regiment went on to the hotel
in the town. The general suggested that I should go
with them, but I had been in camp so many summers
it was not a formidable matter for me to remain, and
fortunately for what followed 1 did so. The house-
hold belongings were gathered together. A family of
little new puppies, some half-grown dogs, the cages of
mocjiing-birds and canaries, were all corralled safely in
a little stockade made of chests and trunks, and we set
ourselves about making a temporary home. The gen-
eral and a number of soldiers, composing the head-
quarters detail, were obliged to go at once to lay out

18 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

the main camp and assign the companies to their place&
Later on, when the most important work was done, our
tents were to be pitched. While I sat on a chest wait-
ing, the air grew suddenly chilly, the bright sun of the
morning disappeared, and the rain began to fall. Had
we been accustomed to the climate we would have
known that these changes were the precursors of a
snow-storm.

When we left Memphis, not a fortnight before, we
wore muslin gowns and were then uncomfortably
warm ; it seemed impossible that even so far north
there could be a returned winter in the middle of
April. We were yet to realize what had been told us
of the climate — that there were "eight months of win-
ter and four of very late in the fall." On the bluffs
beyond us was a signal -station, but they sent us no
warning. Many years of campaigning in the Indian
Territory, Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska, give one an
idea of what the weather can do; but each new coun-
try has its peculiarities, and it seemed we had reached
one where all the others were outdone. As the after-
noon of that first day advanced the wind blew colder,
and I found myself eying with envy a little half-fin-
ished cabin without an enclosure, standing by itself.
Years of encountering the winds of Kansas, when our
tents were torn and blown down so often, had taught
me to appreciate any kind of a house, even though it
were built upon the sand as this one was. A dug-out,
which the tornado swept over, but could not harm, was
even more of a treasure. The change of climate from
the extreme south to the far north had made a number

A BLIZZARD. 19

of the men ill, and even the superb health of the gen-
eral had suffered. He continued to superintend the
camp, however, though I begged him from time to time
as I saw him to give up. I felt sure he needed a shel-
ter and some comfort at once, so I took courage to plan
for myself. Before this I had always waited, as the
general preferred to prepare everything for me. Af-
ter he had consented that we should try for the little
house, some of the kind-hearted soldiers found the own-
er in a distant cabin, and he rented it to us for a few
days. The place was equal to a palace to me. There
was no plastering, and the house seemed hardly weather-
proof. It had a floor, however, and an upper story di-
vided off by beams ; over these Mary and I stretched
blankets and shawls and so made two rooms. It did
not take long to settle our few things, and when wood
and water were brought from a distance we were quite
ready for house-keeping, except that we lacked a stove
and some supplies. Mary walked into the town to hire
or buy a small cooking-stove, but she could not induce
the merchant to bring it out that night. She was
thoughtful enough to take along a basket and brought
with her a little marketing. Before she had come
within sight of our cabin on her return, the snow was
falling so fast it was with diflSculty that she found her
way.

Meanwhile the general had returned completely ex-
hausted and very ill. Without his knowledge I sent
for the surgeon, who, like all of bis profession in the
army, came promptly. He gave me some powerful
medicine to administer every hour, and forbade the

30 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

general to leave his bed. It was growing dark, and
we were in the midst of a Dakota blizzard. The snow
was so fine that it penetrated the smallest cracks, and
soon we found white lines appearing all around us,
where the roof joined tlie walls, on the windows and
under the doors. Outside the air was so thick with the
whirling, tiny particles that it was almost impossible to
see one's hand held out before one. The snow was
fluffy and thick, like wool, and fell so rapidly, and seem-
ingly from all directions, that it gave me a feeling of
suffocation as I stood outside. Mary was not easily
discouraged, and piling a few light fagots outside the
door, she tried to light a fire. The wind and the muf-
fling snow put out every little blaze that started, how-
ever, and so, giving it up, she went into the house and
found the luncheon - basket we had brought from the
car, in which remained some sandwiches, and these
composed our supper.

The night had almost settled down upon us when the
adjutant came for orders. Knowing the scarcity of
fuel and the danger to the horses from exposure to the
rigor of such weather after their removal from a warm
climate, the general ordered the breaking of camp. All
the soldiers were directed to take their horses and go
into Yankton, and ask the citizens to give them shelter
in their homes, cow-sheds, and stables. In a short time
the camp was nearly deserted, only the laundresses, two
or three oflBcers, and a few dismounted soldiers remain-
ing. The towns-people, true to the unvarying western
hospitality, gave everything they could to the use of
the regiment; the officers found places in the hotels.

A BLIZZARD. 31

The sounds of the hoofs of the hurrying horses flying
by our cabin on their way to the town had hardly died
out before the black night closed in and left us alone
on that wide, deserted plain. The servants, Mary and
Ham, did what they could to make^- the room below-
stairs comfortable by stopping the cracks and barricad-
ing the frail door. The thirty-six hours of our impris-
onment there seems now a frightful nightmare. The
wind grew higher and higher, and shrieked about the
little house dismally. It was built without a founda-
tion, and was so rickety it seemed as it rocked in a,
great gust of wind that it surely would be unroofed or
overturned. The general was too ill for me to venture
to find my usual comfort from his re-assuring voice. I
dressed in my heaviest gown and jacket, and remained
Tinder the blankets as much as I could to keep warm.
Occasionally I crept out to shake off the snow from the
counterpane, for it sifted in between the roof and clap-
boards very rapidly. I hardly dared take the little
phial in my benumbed fingers to drop the precious med-
icine for fear it would fall, I realized, as the night ad-
vanced, that we were as isolated from the town, and
even the camp, not a mile distant, as if we had been on
an island in the river. The doctor had intended to re-
turn to us, but his serious face and impressive injunc-
tions made me certain that he considered the life of the
general dependent on the medicine being regularl}^
given.

During the night I was startled by hearing a dull
sound, as of something falling heavily. Flying down the
stairs I found the servants prying open the frozen and

22 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

enow-packed door, to admit a half dozen soldiers who,
becoming bewildered by the snow, had been saved by
the faint light we had placed in the window. After
that several came, and two were badly frozen. We
were in despair q^ finding any wSy of warming them,
as there was no bedding, and, of course, no fire, until I
remembered the carpets which were sewed up in bun-
dles and heaped in one corner, where the boxes were,
and which we were not to use until the garrison was
reached. Spreading them out, we had enough to roll up
each wanderer as he came. The frozen men were in so
exhausted a condition that they required immediate at-
tention. Their sufferings were intense, and I could not
forgive myself for not having something with which to
revive them. The general never tasted liquor, and we
were both so well always we did not even keep it for
use in case of sickness.

I saw symptoms of that deadly stupor which is the
sure precursor of freezing, when I fortunately remem-
bered a bottle of alcohol which had been brought for
the spirit-lamps. Mary objected to using the only
means by which we could make coffee for ourselves,
but the groans and exhausted and haggard faces of the
men W9n her over, and we saw them revive under the
influence of the fiery liquid. Poor fellows ! They af-
terwards lost their feet, and some of their fingers had
also to be amputated. The first soldier who had reached
us unharmed, except from exhaustion, explained that
they had all attempted to find their way to town, and
the storm had completely overcome them. Fortunately
one had clung to a bag of hard-tack, which was all they

A BLIZZARD. 23

had had to eat. At last the day came, but so darkened
by the snow it seemed rather a twilight. The drifts
were on three sides of us like a wall. The long hours
dragged themselves away, leaving the general too weak
to rise, and in great need of hot, nourishing food. I
grew more and more terrified at our utterly desolate
condition and his continued illness, though fortunately
he did not suffer. He was too ill, and I too anxious, to
eat the fragments that remained in the luncheon-basket.
The snow continued to come down in great swirling
sheets, while the wind shook the loose window-casings
and sometimes broke in the door. When night ca||e
again and the cold increased, I believed that our holrs
were numbered. I missed the voice of the courageous
Mary, for she had sunk down in a corner exhausted for
want of sleep, while Ham had been completely demoral-
ized from the first. Occasionally I melted a little place
on the frozen window-pane, and saw that the drifts were
almost level with the upper windows on either side, but
that the wind had swept a clear space before the door.
During the night the sound of the tramping of many
feet rose above the roar of the storm. A great drove
of mules rushed up to the sheltered side of the house.
Their brays had a sound of terror as they pushed,"
kicked, and crowded themselves against our little cabin.
For a time they huddled together, hoping for warmth,
and then despairing, they made a mad rush away, and
were soon lost in the white wall of snow beyond. All
night long the neigh of a distressed horse, almost hu-
man in its appeal, came to us at intervals. The door
was pried open once, thinking it might be some suffer-

24 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

ing fellow-creature in distress. The strange, wild eyes
of the horse peering in for help, haunted me long af-
terwards. Occasionally a lost dog lifted up a howl of
distress under our window, but before the door could
be opened to admit him he had disappeared in the
darkness. When the night was nearly spent I sprang
again to the window with a new horror, for no one,
until he hears it for himself, can realize what varied
sounds animals make in the excitement of peril. A
drove of hogs, squealing and grunting, were push-
ing against the house, and the door which had with-
st^d so much had to be held to keep it from being
broken in.

It was almost unbearable to hear the groans of the
soldiers over their swollen and painful feet, and know
that we could do nothing to ease them. To be in the
midst of such suffering, and yet have no way of amel-
iorating it ; to have shelter, and yet to be surrounded by
dumb beasts appealing to us for help, was simply terri-
ble. Every minute seemed a day ; every hour a year.
When daylight came I dropped into an exhausted slum-
ber, and was awakened by Mary standing over our bed
with a tray of hot breakfast. I asked if help had come,
and finding it had not, of course, I could not understand
the smoking food. She told me that feeling the neces-
sity of the general's eating, it had come to her in the
night-watches that she would cut up the large candles
she had pilfered from the cars, and try if she could
cook over the many short pieces placed close together,
so as to make a large flame. The result was hot coffee
and some bits of the steak she had brought from town.

A BLIZZARD. 25

fried with a few slices of potatoes. She could not re-
sist telling me how much better she could have done
had I not given away the alcohol to the frozen men !

The breakfast revived the general so much that he
began to make light of danger in order to quiet me.
The snow had ceased to fall, but for all that it still
seemed that we were castaways and forgotten, hidden
under the drifts that nearly surrounded us. Help was
really near at hand, however, at even this darkest hour.
A knock at the door, and the cheery voices of men
Ciime up to our ears. Some citizens of Yankton had at
lust found their way to our relief, and the officers, who
neither knew the way nor how to travel over such a
country, had gladly followed. They told us that they
had made several attempts to get out to us, but the
snow was so soft and light that they could make no
headway. They floundered and sank down almost out
of sight, even in the streets of the town. Of course
no horse could travel, but they told me of their intense
anxiety, and said that fearing I might be in need of
immediate help they had dragged a cutter over the
drifts, which now had a crust of ice formed from the
sleet and the moisture of the damp night air. Of course
I declined to go without the general, but I was more
touched than I could express by their thought of me.
I made some excuse to go up-stairs, where, with my
head buried in the shawl partition, I tried to smother
the sobs that had been suppressed during the terrors of
our desolation. Here the general found me, and though
comforting me by tender words, he still reminded me
that he would not like any one to know that I had lost

26 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

mj pluck when all the danger I had passed through was
really ended.

The ofiBcers made their way over to camp, for they
were anxious and uncertain as to what might have hap-
pened to the few persons remaining there. I had been
extremely troubled, for each of the soldiers for whom
we had been caring had, with a trooper's usual love of
the sensational, told us of frozen men and of the birth
of babies to the laundresses. These stories had reached
town through stragglers, until we imagined from the ex-
aggeration that enough newly -born children might be
found to start a small orphan asylum. The officers soon
returned with the story reduced to one little stranger
who had come safely into this world in the stormy
night, sheltered by a tent only. No men were frozen,
fortunately, though all had suffered. The soldier de-
tailed to take care of the general's horses found his way
back with them, and in his solemn voice told us that in
spite of every effort, sharing his blankets and liolding the
little things through the storm, the thorough-bred pup-
pies had frozen one by one. There was one little box-
stove in camp which the officers brought back, accom-
panied by its owner, an old and somewliat infirm officer.

In the midst of all this excitement, and the reaction
from the danger, I could not suppress my sense of the
ludicrous when I saw the daintiest and most exquisite
officer of "ours," whom last I remembered careering on
his perfectly equipped and prancing steed before tlie
admiring eyes of the Memphis belles, now wound up
with scarfs and impromptu leggings of flannel ; his hat
tied down with a woollen comforter ; buffalo gloves on

A BLIZZARD. 27

his hands ; and clasping a stove-pipe, necessary for the
precious stove.

Some of the officers had brought out parcels contain-
ing food, while our brother, Colonel Tom Custer, had
struggled with a large basket of supplies. In a short
time another oflBcer appeared at our door with a face
full of anxiety about our welfare. He did not tell us
what we afterwards learned from others, that, fearing
the citizens would give up going to us, and knowing
that he could not find the way alone over a country
from which the snow had obliterated every landmark,
he had started to go the whole distance on the railroad.
Coming to a long bridge he found the track so covered
with ice that it was a dangerous footing ; the wind blew
the sleet and snow in his face, almost blinding him,
but nothing daunted, he crawled over on his hands and
knees, and continuing to use the track as his guide,
stopped when he thought he might be opposite our
cabin, and ploughed his way with diflSculty through the
drifts.

When the officers had returned to town, we made a
fire in the little stove which had been put up-stairs, as
the pipe was so short. "We ensconced our visitor, to whom
the stove belonged, near by. He was a capital fireman ;
we divided our bedding with him, and put it on the
floor, as close as possible to the fire. The shawl and
blanket partition separated our rooms, but did not seem
to deaden sound, and at night I only lost consciousness
of the audible sleeping of our guest after I had dropped
the point of a finger in my ear. He was the one
among us who, being the oldest of our circle, and hav-

88 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

ing had a varied experience, was an authority on many
subjects. He had peculiar and extreme ideas on some
questions. We listened out of respect, but we all drew
the line at following some of his advice, and over one
topic there was general revolt. He disbelieved entirely
in the external or internal use of water, and living as we
did in countries where the rivers were flowing mud, and
the smaller streams dried up under the blazing sun, his
would have been a convenient system, to say the least.
Unfortunately, our prejudices in favor of cleanliness in-
creased with the scarcity of water. Bathing became
one of the luxuries as well as one of the absolute neces-
sities of life. From being compelled to do with very
little water, we had learned almost to take a bath in a
thimble, and to this day I find myself pouring the wa-
ter out of a pitcher in a most gingerly manner, so strong
is the power of habit — even now with the generous
rush of the unstinted Croton at my disposal. The the-
ory of our venerable friend on the danger of bathing
was fortified with many an earnest argument, and the
advantages of his improved system of dry rubbing set
out elaborately in his best rhetoric. Nevertheless, tak-
ing a bath with the palm of the hand was combated to
the last by his hearers. When I had heard him arguing
previously I had rather believed it to be the vagary of
the hour. I had proof to the contrary the next morn-
ing after the storm, for I was awakened by a noise of
vigorous friction and violent breathing, as of some one
laboring diligently. I suddenly remembered the doc-
trine of our guest, and realized that he was putting the-
ory into practice. As softly as I awakened ray husband.

A BLIZZARD, 29

and tried to whisper to him, he was on nettles instant-
ly, hearing the quiver of laughter in my voice. He
feal-ed I might be heard, and that the feelings of the
man for whom he had such regard might be wounded.
He promptly requested me to smother my laughter in
the blankets, and there I shook witli merriment, per-
haps even greater because of the relief I experienced
in finding something to counteract the gloom of the
preceding hours. And if I owned to telling afterwards
that the old officer's theory and practice were one, it
could not be called a great breach of hospitality, for he
gloried in what he called advanced ideas, and strove to
wear the martyr's crown that all pioneers in new and
extreme beliefs crowd on their heads.

Our friend remained with us until the camp was in-
habitable and the regular order of military duties was
resumed. Paths and roads were made through the snow,
and it was a great relief to be again in the scenes of
busy life. We did not soon forget our introduction to
Dakota. After that wo understood why the frontiers-
man builds his stable near the house ; we also compre-
hended then when they told us that they did not dare
to cross in a blizzard from the house to the stable-door
without keeping hold of a rope tied fast to the latch as
a guide for their safe return when the stock was fed.
Afterwards, when even our cool-headed soldiers lost
their way and wandered aimlessly near their quarters,
and when found were dazed in speech and look, the
remembrance of that first storm, with the density of
the down-coming snow, was a solution to us of their be'
wilderment.

30 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER III.

WESTEEN HOSPITALITY.

The citizens of Yankton, endeavoring to make up
for the inhospitable reception the weather had given us,
vied with one another in trying to make the regiment
welcome. The hotel was filled with the families of the
officers, and after the duties of the day were over in
camp, the married men went into town. We were
called upon, asked to dine, and finally tendered a ball.
It was given in the public hall of the town, which, being
decorated with flags and ornamented with all the mili-
tary paraphernalia that could be used effectively, was
really very attractive. We had left gas far behind us,
and we had not the mellow, becoming light of wax-
candles, but those Western people were generous about
lamps, as they are about everything else, and the hall
was very bright.

The ladies had many trials in endeavoring to make
themselves presentable. We burrowed in the depths of
trunks for those bits of finery that we had supposed
would not be needed again for years. We knew the
officBrs would do us credit. Through all the sudden
changes of fashion, which leave an army lady when she
goes into the territories quite an antediluvian in toilet
after a few months, the officer can be entirely serene.

WESTERN HOSPITALITY. 31

He can be conscious that he looks his best in a perfect-
ly fitting uniform, and that he is never out of date.

The general and I went into the hotel and took a
room for the ntght of the ball. Such good-humor, con-
fusion, and jolly preparations as we had, for the young
officers came to borrow the corner of our glass to put
on the finishing touches, carrying their neckties, studs,
sleeve-buttons, and gloves in their hands. The aigret
had been taken from the helmet and placed across their
broad chests, brightening still more their shining new
uniforms. I remember with what pride the "plebs"
called our attention to the double row of buttons which
the change in the uniform now gave to all, without
regard to rank. The lieutenants had heretofore only
been allowed one row of buttons, and they declared that
an Apollo even could not do justice to his figure with a
coat fastened in so monotonous and straight up-and-down
a manner.

Yankton, like all new towns, was chiefiy settled with
newly - married people, who ornamented their bits of
front yards with shining new perambulators. The
mothers had little afternoon parades, proud enough to
trundle their own babies. If any one's father ever
came from the States to a Western town, we all felt at
liberty to welcome his gray hairs. There were but few
young girls, but that night must have been a memora-
ble one for them. All the town, and even the country
people, came to the ball. The mayor and common
council received us, and the governor opened the fes-
tivities. We crossed to the hotel to our supper. We
were asked to sit down to the table, and the abundance

82 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

of substantials proved that our hosts did not expect
us to nibble. The general was, of course, taken pos-
session of by the city fathers and mothers. Finding
among them a woman he knew I would appreciate, he
placed me beside her at supper. I had but little time
to eat, for she was not only clever and brave, but
very interesting in her description of the dangers and
hardships she had endured during the ten years of
her pioneering. The railroad had been completed
but a short time, and before that the life was wild
enough. She sat quietly among these people in her
simple stuff gown, honored and looked up to. Though
not even elderly, she was still almost the oldest citizen
and an authority in the history of the country. All
classes and conditions came to the ball, for Yankton
was not yet large enough to be divided into cliques;
besides, the rough and hazardous life these people had
shared endeared them to one another.

The days after this passed very rapidly. The officers
were already getting the command into condition to
begin the long march of five hundred miles that lay be-
fore us. Before we left, the general, desiring to return
some of the civilities of the citizens, gave the governor
and his staff a review. The wide plain on which our
camp was located was admirably adapted to the display
of troops. My heart swelled with pride to see our
grand regiment all together once more and in such fine
condition. When the review was closing, and that part
came where the officers leave their companies and, join-
ing, ride abreast to salute the commanding officer, the
general could hardly maintain the stereotyped, motion-

WESTERN HOSPITALITY. S3

less quiet of the soldier — the approach of this fine body
of men made him so proud of his command.

All were well mounted ; the two years' station in the
South had given them rare opportunities to purchase
horses. The general, being considered an excellent
judge, had, at the request of the officers, bought severa!
from the stables of his Kentucky friends. He told me
that if a colt failed a quarter of a second in making
certain time expected, the owner was disappointed and
willing to sell him at a merely nominal sum. So it
came about that even the lieutenants, with their meagre
pay, owned horses whose pedigree was unending. There
were three officers belonging to each of the twelve com-
panies; some were detailed on duty elsewhere, but
those remaining, with the adjutant, surgeon, quarter-
master, and commissary, made a long line of brilliantly
caparisoned and magnificently formed men mounted on
blood-horses. No wonder that the moment they saluted
the general, he jumped from the saddle to congratulate
them, and show them his pride in their soldierly ap-
pearance.

The governor and his staff were not chary in their
expressions of admiration. It was a great event in the
lives of the citizens, and the whole town was present.
Every sort of vehicle used on the frontier came out,
filled to overflowing, and many persons walked. The
music of the band, the sun lighting up the polished
steel of the arms and equipments, the hundreds of
spirited horses going through the variety of evolutions
which belong to a mounted regiment, made a memora-
ble scene for these isolated people. Besides, they felt

34 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

the sensation of possession when they knew that these
troops had come to open the country and protect those
more adventurous spirits who were already finding that
a place into which the railroad ran was too far East for
them.

One day we were all invited to take luncheon on
board the steamer that had been chartered to take the
regimental property up the river to Bismarck. The
owner of the boat was very hospitable, and champagne
flowed freely as he proposed old-fashioned toasts. The
oflScers and ladies of the regiment received with pleas-
ure all this politeness, and since these occasions were
rare in the lives of those of us who lived always on the
outskirts of civilization, we were reluctant to go home.
My horse had been sent away by some mistake, and the
general accepted the offer of the host to drive me out
to camp, he riding for a time beside the carriage, and
then, with his usual restlessness, giving rein to his horse
for a brisk gallop. It was not long before I discovered
that the uncertain swaying of the vehicle from side to
side, and the hazardous manner in which we skirted the
deep gullies, was due to the fact that our friend was
overcome with hospitality.

Trying to talk intelligently, and to appear not to no-
tice the vagaries of the driver, and at the same time to
control my wandering eyes as they espied from afar a
dangerous bit of road, I spent a very uncomfortable
hour. Fortunately the " dear Polly " was most demure
in harness, and possibly having been left before that to
find her own way under similar circumstances, she did
not attempt to leap with the carriage over ditches, ag

WESTERN HOSPITALITY. 85

her gay owner invited her to do. When we came up
within shouting distance of the general, I cried out, in
what I meant to seem like playful menace ; but he had
taken in the situation, and seeing that Polly was to be
trusted, he mischievously laughed back at me and flew
over the country. Finally we neared our little cabin,
and my last fear came upon me. Mary had spread the
clothes-line far and wide; it was at the rear of the
house, but my escort saw no door, and Polly soon wound
us hopelessly up in the line and two weeks' washing,
while she quietly tried to kick her way through the
packing-boxes and wood-piles! Mary and Ham extri-
cated me, and started the old nag on the road home-
ward, and I waved a relieved good-bye to the retreating
carriage.

Only such impossible wives as one reads of in Sun-
day-school books would have lost the opportunity for
a few wrathful words. I was not dangerous, though,
and the peals of laughter from my husband, as he de-
scribed my wild eyes peering out from the side of the
carriage, soon put me into a good-humor. Next day I
was called to the steps, and found that Polly's owner
had discovered that we had a door. He said an off-hand
"How d'ye?" and presented a peace-offering, adding,
"My wife tells me that I was hardly in a condition to
deliver a temperance lecture yesterday. As what she
says is always true, I bring my apologies." Ham car-
ried in the hamper, and though I urged our guest
to remain, be did not seem quite at ease and drove
away.

While we were at Yankton, something happened that

86 BOOTS AND SADDLES,

filled US with wonder. The Indians from the reserva-
tion near brought in reports that came through other
tribes of the Modoc disasters. It was a marvel to the
general to find that at that distance north news could
come to us through Indian runners in advance of that
we received by the telegraph.

CAVALRY OX THE MARCH. 87

CHAPTER rV.

; CAVALEY ON THE MARCH.

When the day came for us to begin our march, the
sun shone and the towns - people wished us good -luck
with their good-bje.

The length of each day's march varied according to
the streams on which we relied for water, or the arrival
of the boat. The steamer that carried the forage for the
horses and the supplies for the command was tied up to
the river-bank every night, as near to us as was possible.
The laundresses and ladies of the regiment were on
board, except the general's sister, Margaret, who made
her first march with her husband, riding all the way on
horseback. As usual, I rode beside the general. Our
first few days were pleasant, and we began at once to
enjoy the plover. The land was so covered with them
that the hunters shot them with all sorts of arms. We
counted eighty birds in the gunny-sack that three of the
soldiers brought in. Fortunately there were several
shot-guns in the possession of our family, and the little
thfngs, therefore, were not torn to pieces, but could be
broiled over the coals of the camp-fire. They were so
plump that their legs were like tiny points coming from
beneath the rounded outline that swept the grass as they
walked. No butter was needed in cooking them, for

38 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

they were very fat. Some of the officers had not left
behind them all of their epicurean tastes, and preferred
to have the birds cooked when they were decidedly
"gamy." In this way they secured the privilege of
taking their odoriferous luncheon quite apart from the
others. The general had invited two officers besides his
brother Tom, and his brother-in-law, Mr. Calhoun, to
mess with him. We had a tableful, and very merry we
were, even in the early morning. To joke before day-
light seems impossible, but even at breakfast peals of
laughter went up from the dining-tent.

One of the officers was envied, and we declared he
got more to eat than the rest, because he insisted upon
" carving the hash ;" while to cut meat for all our hun-
gry circle, as the general did at the other end of the
table, took many precious moments. One of our number
called us the " Great Grab Mess," and some one slyly
printed the words in large black letters on the canvas
that covered the luncheon-hamper, which was usually
strapped at the back of our travelling-carriage. How
gladly we gathered about that hamper when the com-
mand halted at noon ! How good the plover and sand-
wiches tasted, while we quenched our thirst with cold
coffee or tea I Since we were named as we were, we all
dared to reach over and help ourselves, and the one
most agile and with the longest arms was the best fed.

^o great ceremony is to be expected when one rises
before four, and takes a hurried breakfast by the light
of a tallow-candle ; the soldiers waiting outside to take
down the tent, the servants hastily and suggestively
rattling the kettles and gridiron as they packed them.

CAVALRY ON THE MARCH. 30

made it an irresistible temptation for one hungry to
"grab."

We had a very satisfactory little cook- stove. It
began its career with legs, but the wind used to lift it
up from the ground with such violence it was finally
dismembered, and afterwards placed flat on the ground.
Being of sheet-iron it cooled quickly, was very light,
and could be put in the wagon in a few moments after
the morning meal was cooked. When we came out
from breakfast the wagon stood near, partly packed,
and bristling with kitchen utensils ; buckets and baskets
tied outside the cover, axe and spade lashed to the side,
while the little stove looked out from the end. The
mess -chest stood open on the ground to receive the
dishes we had used. At a given signal the dining-tent
went down with all those along the line, and they were
stowed away in the wagons in an incredibly short time.
The wagon-train then drew out and formed in order at
the rear of the column.

At the bugle-call, " boots and saddles," each soldier
mounted and took his place in line, all riding two abreast.
First came the general and his staff, with whom sister
Margaret and I were permitted to ride; the private
orderlies and headquarters detail rode in our rear ; and
then came the companies according to the places as-
signed them for the day ; finally the wagon-train, with
the rear-guard. We made a long drawn-out cavalcade
that stretched over a great distance. When we reached
some high bluff, we never tired of watching the com-
mand advancing, with the long line of supply wagons,
with their white covers, winding around bends in the

40 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

road and climbing over the hills. Every day the break-
ing of camp went more smoothly and quickly, until, as
the days advanced, the general used to call me to his
side to notice by his watch how few moments it took
after the tents were ordered down to set the whole ma-
chinery for the march in motion ; and I remember the
regiment grew so skilful in preparation that in one cam-
paign the hour for starting never varied five minutes
during the whole summer.

The column was always halted once during the day's
march to water the horses, then the luncheons were
brought forth. They varied decidedly ; sometimes an
officer took from his pocket a hard biscuit wrapped in
his handkerchief ; the faithful orderly of another took
his chief's sandwiches from his own haversack and
brought them to him, wherever he was. Often a prov-
ident officer, as he seated himself to his little "spread"
on the grass, was instantly surrounded by interested
visitors, who, heedless ever of any future, believed that
the world owed them a living and they were resolved to
have it.

"When the stream was narrow, and the hundreds of
horses had to be ranged along its banks to be watered,
there was time for a nap. I soon acquired the general's
habit of sleeping readily. He would throw himself
down anywhere and fall asleep instantly, even with the
sun beating on his head. It only takes a little training
to learn to sleep without a pillow on uneven ground and
without shade. I learned, the moment I was helped
out of the saddle, to drop upon the grass and lose myself
in a twinkling. No one knows what a privilege it is to

CAVALRY ON THE MARCH. 41

be stretched out after being craraped over the horn of a
lady's saddle for hours, until she has experienced it. I
think I never got quite over wishing for the shade of a
tree ; but there was often a little strip of shadow on one
side of the travelling wagon, which was always near us
on the journey. I was not above selfishly appropriating
the space under the wagon, if it had not been taken by
somebody else. Even then I had to dislodge a whole
collection of dogs, who soon find the best places for
their comfort.

We had a citizen-guide with us, who, having been
long in the country, knew the streams, and the general
and I, following his instructions, often rode in advance
as we neared the night's camp. It was always a mild
excitement and new pleasure to select camp. The men
who carried the guidons for each company were sent
for, and places assigned them. The general delighted
to unsaddle his favorite horse. Dandy, and turn him
loose, for his attachment was so strong he never grazed
far from us. He was not even tethered, and after giv-
ing himself the luxury of a roll in the grass, he ate his
dinner of oats, and browsed about the tent, as tame as a,
kitten. He whinnied when my husband patted his sleek
neck, and looked jealously at the dogs when they all
followed us into the tent afterwards.

After tramping down the grass, to prevent the fire
from spreading, my husband would carry dry sticks and
underbrush, and place them against a fallen tree. That
made an admirable back-log, and in a little while we
had a glorious fire, the general having a peculiar gift
of starting a flame on the wildest day. The next thing

42 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

was to throw himself down on the sod, cover his eyes
with his white felt hat, and be sound asleep in no time.
No matter if the sun beat down in a perfect blaze, it
never disturbed him. The dogs came at once to lie be-
side him. I have seen them stretched at his back and
curled around his head, while the nose and paws of one
rested on his breast. And yet he was quite unconscious
of their crowding. They growled and scrambled for
the best place, but he slept placidly through it all.

When the command arrived, the guidons pointed out
the location for each company ; the horses were unsad-
dled and picketed out; the wagons unloaded and the
tents pitched. The hewing of wood and the hauling
of water came next, and after the cook -fires were
lighted, the air was full of savory odors of the soldiers'
dinner. Sometimes the ground admitted of pitching
the tents of the whole regiment in two long lines fac-
ing each other; the wagons were drawn up at either
end, and also at the rear of the two rows of tents ;
they were placed diagonally, one end overlapping the
other, so as to form a barricade against the attack of
Indians. Down the centre of the company street large
ropes were stretched, to which the horses were tied at
night; our tents were usually a little apart from the
rest, at one end of the company street, and it never
grew to be an old story to watch the camp before us.
After I liad changed my riding-habit for my one other
gown, I came out to join the general under the tent-fly,
where he lay alternately watching the scene and read-
ing one of the well-thumbed books that he was never
without. I always had sewing — either a bit of needle-

CAVALRY ON THE MARCH. 48

work that was destined to make our garrison quarters
more attractive, or more often some necessary stitches
to take in our hard-worn clothes. As we sat there it
would have been diflScult for a stranger seeing us to
believe that it was merely the home of a day.

Our camps along the river were much alike, and
each day when we entered the tent our few things
were placed exactly as they were the day before. The
only articles of furniture we had with us were two fold-
ing-chairs, a bed, a wash-bowl, with bucket and tin dip-
per, and a little mirror. This last, fastened to the tent-
pole, swayed to and fro with the never-ceasing wind, and
made it a superfluous luxury, for we learned to dress
without it. The camp-chairs were a great comfort:
they were made by a soldier out of oak, with leathe^r
back, seat and arms, the latter so arranged with straps
and buckles that one could recline or sit upright at
will. I once made a long march and only took a camp-
stool for a seat ; I knew therefore what an untold bless-
ing it was to have a chair in which to lean, after having
been sitting in the saddle for hours.

We had tried many inventions for cot-beds that fold-
ed, but nothing stood the wear and tear of travel like
the simple contrivance of two carpenter's horses placed
at the right distance apart, with three boards laid upon
them. Such a bed was most easily transported, for the
supports could be tied to the outside of the wagon,
while the boards slipped inside before the rest of the
camp equipage w^s packed.

An ineffaceable picture remains with me even now of
those lovely camps, as we dreamily watched them by

44 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

the fading light of the afternoon. The general and I
used to think there was no bit of color equal to the del-
icate blue line of smoke which rose from the camp-fire,
where the soldiers' suppers were being cooked. The
effect of light and shade, and the varying tints of that
perfect sky, were a great delight to him. The mellow
air brought us sounds that had become dear by long
and happy association — the low notes of the bugle in
the hands of the musician practising the calls ; the
click of the currycomb as the soldiers groomed their
horses ; the whistle or song of a happy trooper. And
even the irrepressible accordeon at that distance made
a melody. It used to amuse us to find with what per-
sistent ingenuity the soldiers smuggled that melancholy
instrument. No matter how limited the transporta-
tion, after a few days' march it was brought out from
a roll of blankets, or the teamster who had been
bribed to keep it under the seat, produced the prized
possession. The bay of the hounds was always music
to the general. The bray of the mules could not be
included under that head but it was one of those
" sounds from home " to which we had become at-
tached. Mingling with the melodies of the negro serv-
ants, as they swung the blacking - brushes at the rear
of the tents, were the buoyant voices of the officers ly-
ing under the tent-flies, smoking the consoling pipe.

The twilight almost always found many of us gath-
ered together, some idling on the grass in front of the
camp-fire, or lounging on the buffalo robes. The one
with the best voice sang, while all joined in the chorus.

We all had much patience in listening to what must

CAVALRY ON THE MARCH. 45

necessarily be "twice-told tales," for it would have taken
the author of "The Arabian Nights" to supply fresh
anecdotes for people who had been so many years to-
gether. These stories usually varied somewhat from
time to time, and the more Munchausen-like they bo-
came the more attentive was the audience.

The territories are settled by people who live an in-
tense, exaggerated sort of existence, and nothing tame
attracts them. In order to compel a listener, I myself
fell into the habit of adding a cipher or two to stories
that had been first told in the States with moderate
numbers. If the family overheard me, their unquench-
able spirit of mischief invariably put a quietus on my
eloquence. In fact I was soon cured of temptation to
amplify, by the repeated asides of ray deriding family,
" Oh, I say, old lady, won't you come down a hundred
or two ?" Sometimes, when we were all gathered to-
gether at evening, we improved the privilege which
belongs to long-established friendships of keeping si-
lent. The men yielded to the soporific influence of
tobacco, in quiet content, knowing that nothing was
expected of them if they chose not to talk. My hus-
band and I sometimes strolled through the camp at
twilight, and even went among the citizen teamsters
that are employed for the march, when they were pre-
paring their evening meal.

These teamsters mess together on the march as the
officers do, with rarely more than four or five in the cir-
cle. One of the number buys the supplies, takes charge
of the rations, and keeps the accounts. The sum of
expenses is divided at the end of the month, and each

46 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

pays his portion. They take turns in doing the cook-
ing, which, being necessarily simple, each can bear a
share of the labor. Sometimes we found a more ambi-
tious member of the mess endeavoring to rise superior
to the tiresome hard-tack ; he had bared his brawny arms
and was mixing biscuit on the tail-board of the wagon, let
down for the purpose. He whistled away as he mould-
ed the dough with his horny hands, and it would have
seemed that he had a Delmonico supper to anticipate.

We had not left Yankton far behind us before we
were surprised to see one of its most hospitable citizens
drive up ; he acknowledged that he had missed us, and
described the tameness of life after the departure of the
cavalry as something quite past endurance. "We were
BO stupid as not to discover, until after he had said the
second good-bye, that he really wanted to join us on the
march ; still, had he kept on, I am sure his endurance
would have been tested, for while I do not remember
ever to have been discouraged before in all our cam-
paigning, I was so during the storm that followed. The
weather suddenly changed, and we began our march
with a dull, gray morning and stinging cold. The gen-
eral wound me up in all the outside wraps I had until
I was a shapeless mass of fur and wool as I sat in the
saddle. We could talk but little to each other, for the
wind cut our faces and stiffened the flesh until it ached.
My hands became too numb to hold my horse, so I gave
him his own way. As we rode along like automatons,
I was keeping my spirits up with the thought of the
camp we would make in the underbrush of a sheltered
valley by some stream, and the coming camp-fire rose

CAVALRY ON THE MARCH. 47

brightly in my imagination. We went slowly as the
usual time a cavalry command makes is barely four
miles an hour. It was a discouraging spot where we
finally halted ; it was on a stream, but the ice was thick
along the edges, and all we could see was the opposite
bank, about thirty feet high, so frozen over that it looked
like a wall of solid ice. It was difficult to pitch the tent,
for the wind twisted and tore the canvas ; the ground
was already so frozen that it took a long time to drive
in the iron pins by which the ropes holding the tents
are secured. All the tying and pinning of the opening
was of little avail, for the wind twisted off the tapes
and flung the great brass pins I had brought on purpose
for canvas far and wide.

No camp-fire would burn, of course, in such a gale,
but I remembered thankfully the Sibley stove that we
always carried. The saddler had cut a hole in the roof
of the tent for the pipe, and fastened zinc around it to
make it safe from fire. I shall never think about a Sib-
ley stove without gratitude, nor cease to wonder how so
simple an invention can be the means of such comfort.
It is only a cone of sheet-iron, open at the top and bot-
tom ; the broader part rests on the ground, while the
little pipe fits on the top. The v;ood is put through a
door cut in the side; only billets can be used, for the
aperture is of course small. It requires almost constant
attention to keep the insatiable little thing filled, but
it never occurs to one, where half a dozen are huddled
together, to ask who shall be the fireman, and there is
equal division of labor. The stove is so light that, in
marching, the pipe is removed and a rope run through

48 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

the openings, whicli enables it to be tied underneath
the wagon, beside the bucket which is always suspended
there to be used to water the horses.

The general was busy in the adjutant's tent, so I sent
for the sergeant, who was our factotum, and asked him
to hunt up the Sibley stove. I felt disheartened when
he told me it had been forgotten.* I could have gone
to the next tent where a provident officer had put his
up, but I felt in too disagreeable a humor to inflict my-
self on any one, and so crept into bed to keep warm.
It was an unmistakable fit of sulks, and I was in the
valley of humiliation next morning, for I knew well
how difficult it is to have ladies on the march, and how
many obstacles the general had surmounted to arrange
for my coming. My part consisted in drilling myself
to be as little trouble as I could. I had really learned,
by many a self-inflicted lesson, never to be too cold or too
hot, and rarely allowed a thought of hunger if we were
where no supplies could be had. It was a long struggle,
but I finally learned never to drink between meals, as it
is always difficult to get water on a march. I can re*
member being even mortified at dropping my whip, for
I wished to be so little trouble that every one would be
unconscious of my presence, so far as being an incon-
venience was concerned. The cold of Dakota overcame
me on that one day, but it was the last time I succumbed
to it.

* It was afterwards recovered.

CAMPING AMONG THE SIOUX. 49

CHAPTER V.

CAMPING AMONG THE SIOUX.

Our march tookus througli the grounds set apart by
^the Government for the use of the Sioux Indians at
peace with our country. We had not made much prog-
ress before we began to see their graves. They do not
bury their dead, but place them on boards lashed to the
limbs of trees, or on high platforms raised from the
ground by four poles perhaps twenty feet. The body
is wound round and round with clothing or blankets,
like a mummy, and inside the layers are placed fire-
arms, tobacco, and jerked beef, to supply them on the
imaginary journey to the happy hunting-grounds. In
the early morning, when it was not quite light, as we
filed by these solitary sepulchres, it was uncanny and
weird, and the sun, when it came, was dpubly welcome.
Oar first visitor from Agency Indians was Fool-dog, a
^ioux chief. He was tall, commanding, and had really
a fine face. When he was ready to go home he invited
us to come to his village before we left on our next
march. At twilight my husband and I walked over.
The village was a collection of tepees of all sizes, the
largest being what is called the Medicine Lodge, where
the councils are held. It was formed of tanned buf-
falo - hides, sewed together with buckskin thongs, and

60 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

stretched over a collection of thirtj-six poles. These
poles are of great value to the Indians, for in a sparsely
timbered country like Dakota it is difficult to find suit-
able trees. It is necessary to go a great distance to pro-
cure the kind of sapling that is light and pliable and
yet sufficiently strong for the purpose. The poles are
lashed together at the tops and radiate in a circle below.
The smoke was pouring out of the opening above, and
the only entrance to the tepee was a round aperture
near the ground, sufficiently large to allow a person to
crawl in. Around the lodge were poles from which
were suspended rags; in these were tied their medi-
cines of roots and herbs, supposed to be a charm to keep
off evil spirits. The sound of music came from within ;
I crept tremblingly in after the general, not entirely
quieted by his keeping my hand in his, and whispering
something to calm my fears as I sat on the buffalo robe
beside him. In the first place, I knew how resolute the
Indians were in never admitting one of their own wom-
en to council, and their curious eyes and forbidding ex-
pressions towards me did not add to my comfort. The
dust, smoke, and noise in the fading light were not re-
assuring. Fool-dog arose from the circle of what com-
posed their nobility, and solemnly shook hands with the
general ; those next in rank followed his example.
The pipe was then smoked, and the general had to take
a whiff when it came his turn. Fortunately we escaped
the speeches, for we had not brought an interpreter.

Coming out of the light into this semi-darkness, with
the grotesque figures of the plebeians, as they danced
around their chiefs and contorted their bodies to the

CAMPING AMONG THE SIOUX. 61

sound of the Indian drum and minor notes of tiie
singers, made it something unearthly in appearance ;
their painted faces, grunts and grins of serious mirth
as they wheeled around the tepee, made me shiver. How
relieved I felt when the final pipe was smoked and the
good-bye said ! The curious eyes of the squaws, who
stood in the vicinity of the lodge, followed us, as they
watched me clinging to the general's arm while we dis-
appeared, in the direction of camp, through the thicken-
ing gloom.

As we went farther north the twilights became longer,
and I was greatly deceived by having so much daylight.
Every morning, when the reveille sounded, in attempt-
ing to obey its summons I found myself actually mysti-
fied from excessive drowsiness, and I announced my
resolve to go to bed at dark — as was often my custom
on previous marches — when I was informed that we had
marched into a land where daylight continues into the
night hours. The general, who was always looking at
the curious effects in the heavens, delighted in the clear-
ness of the atmosphere and the myriads of stars that
seemed to far outnumber all we had ever seen in other
skies. All the strange phenomena of northern climea
revealed themselves to us day by day. Tlie sun and
moon dogs, the lunar rainbows, and sometimes three
perfect arcs of brilliant color formed directly above us
in the heavens as we made our day's march through
spring showers. The storms came down in great belts of
rain sometimes, and if the country were level enough we
could look ahead on the plain and see where the storm
was crossing. This enabled us to halt in time to escape

63 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

a perfect sheet of pouring rain which fell like a wall
of water directly before us. Once we found ourselves
in the midst of it, and not knowing then the peculiari-
ties of such storms, we took our drenching philosophi-
cally, and believed that it was like too many others that
had kept us soaked to the skin for hours. Seeing the
sun shining in advance on the plain, the general and I
put spurs to our horses and rode out of the storm to
perfectly dry ground. The sun came down on us so
hotly that we were soon enveloped in a halo of steam
from our drying clothes.

The history of one day's march was that of many; they
were varied by small misfortunes over which we amused
ourselves, but which were very serious affairs to the
melancholy Ham. He had cooked by fireplaces in
Kentucky, but never having lived out-doors before, he
gained his experience by hard trials. The little sheet-
iron cooking-stove which we considered such a treasure,
was placed in the kitchen-tent on stormy nights, and the
bit of pipe, put through a hole in the canvas, had an
elbow so that it could be turned according to the direc-
tion of the wind.

One day, after camp was re-established, the general
saw the smoke pouring out of the opening of the kitchen-
tent, and hurried to see what was the matter. It was
one of those days when the Dakota winds, like those of
Kansas, blow in all directions; poor Ham was barely
visible in the dense smoke inside the tent. "Why
don't you turn the pipe?" the general called, above the
tempest; and Ham shouted back, "Giniril, I did; see
whar she's p'intin' now?" His master's sides shook

CAMPING AMONG THE SIOUX. 53

with laughter, for sure enough the pipe Would have
been right if there had been any uniformity in the course
of the wind. The general was hungry, but he did not
stop to complain ; he found a place somewhat sheltered,
and digging a hole in the ground, taught the discouraged
darkey how to build a fire outside. At last we sat
down to a burned, smoky meal, and had to go to bed
hungry.

Another day, when there was a small tornado, we
began to wonder why dinner was delayed ; we looked
out, to find the cook-tent blown flat to the ground. The
general ran to the rescue, and found Ham interred, as
the old-time child stories buried their heroes, " in a pot
of grease." He had been thrown among skillets and
kettles, and the half-cooked dinner was scattered over
him. The general helped him out, and was too much
exhausted with laughter over the old fellow's exasper-
ated remarks about " such a low-down country," to mind
the delay of the dinner. Indeed, he soothed him by
telling him to wait and begin again when the wind went
down, as it usually does when the sun sets.

One day we caught sight of our American flag on the
other side of the river, floating over a little group of
buildings inside a stockade. When they told me that
it was a military post, I could hardly believe it possible ;
it seemed that no spot could be more utterly desolate.
Then I remembered having met an ofiicer at Yankton
who had told me that was his station. As I looked at
his fine face and figure, I could not help thinking how
thoroughly some woman would appreciate him. Think-
ing aloud, I said that I hoped he had " improved each

64 BOOTS AND SADDLES

shining hour " of his leave of absence, and was already
engaged. He replied that I would see his post as we
went up the river, and then might comprehend why he
did not dare ask any woman to be his wife. I argued
that if some girl grew fond of him, it would little mat-
ter to her where she went, if it were only by her hus-
band's side. I confess, however, that when I saw that
lonely place, I thought that it would require extraordi-
nary devotion to follow him there. It was an infantry
station, and the soldiers' barracks, officers' quarters, and
storehouses were huddled together inside a wall made
of logs placed perpendicularly and about fifteen feet
high. The sand was so deep about this spot that noth-
ing could be made to grow. Constant gusts of wind
over the unprotected plain kept little clouds of fine
alkaline dust whirling in the air and filling the eyes and
mouth; not a tree was near, as the Missouri — that most
uncertain of rivers — kept constantly changing its chan-
nel, and the advancing water washed away great hollows
in the banks. The post would then have to be moved
farther back for safety. The soldiers would be obliged
to take up the stockade, and bury the logs as deep as they
could to keep them from blowing over. The frail build-
ings, " built upon the sand," rocked and swayed in the
wind.

Beside the forlorn situation of this garrison, no one
could go outside to ride or hunt without peril. The
warlike Indians considered that side of the river theirs,
and roamed up and down it at will. They came in-
cessantly to the small sliding panel in the gates of
the stockade, and made demands, which, if not con-

CAMPING AMONG THE SIOUX. 55

Rented to, were followed by howls of rage and threaten-
ing gestures. All that the handful of men could do was
to conciliate them as best they could. The company was
not full, and possibly, all told, there were but fifty white
men against hundreds of Indians. The only variety in
their lives was the passing of an occasional steamer in
the brief summer. Then settled down the pitiless w^in-
ter, burying them in snow which never left l4ie ground
until late in the spring. The mail only reached them at
irregular intervals. They were compelled to live almost
entirely on commissary stores, for though living in the
midst of game it was too hazardous to attempt to hunt.
When we found that one regiment had been seven
years on the river, and some of the officers had never
taken leave of absence, it seems strange that any one
stationed at such a post had not gone stark mad. It
makes me proud of women when I recall the fact that
the wife of an officer did live in that wretched little
post afterwards, and did not complain. The cavalry,
turning to look their last at that garrison, thanked the
good-fortune that had placed them in a branch of the
service where there was the active duty of campaigns
to vary a life otherwise so monotonous.

The dogs had almost as hard a time to become accus-
tomed to the vagaries of a Dakota climate as we did.
We had to be their nurses and surgeons. In our large
pack of hounds there were many that had marked indi-
viduality of character. Not many days could be passed
in their company before we were noticing new peculi-
arities not previously observed. The general had a
droll fashion, as we rode along, of putting words into

56 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

their mouths when they got into trouble, fought among
themselves, or tried to lord it over one another. One
of them had been given us, and had been called by her
former owner " Lucy Stone." In vain did we try, out
of respect for the life of the useful woman for whom
she was named, to rechristen the dog. She would
neither listen nor obey if called anything else. I can
see her now, sitting deliberately down in the road
directly in front of us, and holding up a paw full of
cactus thorns. The general would say, " There sits Lucy
Stone, and she is saying, ' If you please, sir, since you
chose to bring me into a land of bristling earth like this,
will you please get down immediately and attend to my
foot?'" Her howls and upturned eyes meant an ap-
peal, certainly, and her master wonld leap to the ground,
sit down in the road, and taking the old creature in
his arms, begin the surgery. He carried one of those
knives that had many adjuncts, and with the tweezers
he worked tenderly and long to extract the tormenting
cactus needles. Lucy was a complaining old dame, and
when the general saw her sit down, like some fat old
woman, he used to say that the old madam was telling
him that she " would like to drive a bit, if you please." So
it often happened that my travelling- wagon was the hos-
pital for an ill or foot-sore dog. The general had to stop
very often to attend to the wounded paws, but experi-
ence taught the dogs to make their way very skilfully
where the cactus grew. A dancing -master, tripping
the steps of instruction, could not have moved more
lightly than did they. If there were no one near to
whom they could appeal in the human way those dumb

CAMPING AMONG THE SIOUX. 57

things have, thej learned to draw out the offending
thorns with their teeth.

While we were all getting accustomed to the new
climate, it was of no use to try to keep the dogs out of
ray tent. They stood around, and eyed me with such
reproachful looks if I attempted to tie up the entrance
to the tent and leave them out. If it were very cold
when I returned from the dining-tent, I found dogs
under and on the camp-bed, and so thickly scattered
over the floor that I had to step carefully over them to
avoid hurting feet or tails. If I secured a place in the
bed I was fortunate. Sometimes, when it had rained, and
all of them were wet, I rebelled. The steam from their
shaggy coats was stifling; but the general begged so
hard for them that I taught myself to endure the air at
last. I never questioned the right of the half-grown
puppies to everything. Our struggles to raise them,
and to avoid the distemper which goes so much harder
with blooded than with cur dogs, endeared them to us.
When I let the little ones in, it was really comical to
hear my husband's arguments and cunningly-devised
reasons why the older dogs should follow. A plea was
put up for " the hound that had fits;" there was always
another that "had been hurt in hunting;" and so on until
the tent would hold no more. Fortunately, in pleasant
weather, I was let off with only the ill or injured ones
for perpetual companions. We were so surrounded with
dogs when they were resting after the march, and they
slept so soundly from fatigue, that it was difficult to
walk about without stepping on them.

My favorite, a great cream-colored stag-hound, was

68 BOOTS A^D SADDLES.

named " Cardigan." He never gave up trying to be
mj lap-dog. He was enormous, and yet seemingly un-
conscious of liis size. He kept up a perpetual struggle
and scramble on his hind-legs to get his whole body up
on my lap. If I pieced myself out with a camp-stool to
support him, he closed his eyes in a beatific state and
sighed in content while I held him, until my foot went
to sleep and I was cramped with his weight. One thing
that made me so fond of him was that on one. occasion,
when he was put in the kennel after an absence, he was
almost torn to pieces by the other dogs. He was a brave
hound, but he was at fearful odds against so many.
Great slices of flesh were torn from his sides, and gaping
wounds made by the fang-like teeth showed through his
shaggy coat. It was many months before they healed.

Though the stag-hound is gentle with human beings
he is a terrible fighter. They stand on their hind-legs
and, facing each other, claw and tear like demons. It was
always necessary to watch them closely when a new dog,
or one that they had not seen for some time, was put in
their midst.

I will anticipate a moment and speak of the final fate
of Cardigan. When I left Fort Lincoln I asked some
one to look out for his welfare, and send him, as soon as
possible, to a clergyman who had been my husband's
friend. My request was complied with, and afterwards,
when the poor old dog died, his new master honored
him by having his body set up by the taxidermist, and a
place was given him in one of the public buildings in
Minneapolis. I cannot help thinking that he was worthy
of the tribute, not only because of the testimony thus

CAMPING AMONG THE SIOUX. 59

given to the friendship of the people for his master, but
because he was the bravest and most faithful of animals.

Most of the country passed, over in our route belonged
to the Indian Reservations, and the Government was
endeavoring to teach the tribes settled there to culti-
vate the soil. They had hunted off most of the game ;
an occasional jack-rabbit, the plover, and a few wild
ducks were all that were left. I must not forget the
maddening curlew. It was not good eating, but it was
always exciting to see one. There never was a more
exasperating bird to shoot. Time and again a successful
shot was prophesied, and I was called to be a witness,
only to see finally the surprise of the general when the
wily bird soared calmly away. I believe no person
was able to bring one down during the entire trip.

As we approached an Indian village, the chiefs came
out to receive us. There were many high-sounding
words of welcome, translated by our guide, who, having
lived among them many years, knew the different dia-
lects. The Government had built some comfortable log-
houses for them, in many of which I would have lived
gladly. The Indians did not care for them, complaining
that they had coughs if they occupied a house. A tepee
was put up alongside, in which one or two families
lived, while little low lodges, looking like the soldiers'
shelter-tents, were used for the young men of the circle
to sleep in. The tools and stores given by the Govern-
ment were packed away in the otherwise empty houses.

60 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER VI.

A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF " TWO BEARS."

A SiOFX chief, called Two Bears, had the most pict-
uresque village that we saw. The lodges were placed
m a circle, as this was judged the most defensive posi-
tion ; the ponies were herded inside the enclosure at
night. This precaution was necessary, for the neighbor-
ing tribes swept down on them after dark and ran off
the stock if they were not secured. As we dismounted,
we saw an old man standing alone in the circle, appar-
ently unconscious of everything, as he recounted some
war tale in loud, monotonous tones. He had no listen-
ers— all were intently watching the approaching regi-
ment ; still the venerable Sioux went on as persistently
as if he were looking " upon a sea of upturned faces."
He was the "medicine -man," or oracle, of the tribe,
or possibly the "poet -laureate" of the village, for the
guide told us he sang of the deeds of valor of his peo-
ple far back in history.

Just outside of the village, the chiefs sat in a circle
awaiting us. Two Bears arose to welcome the general,
and asked him to go with him to his lodge. I was asked
to go also and be presented to Miss Two Bears ; for she
was too royal in birth to be permitted outside, and it
was not in keeping with the dignity of her rank to

A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF "TWO BEARS." 61

mingle with the others, the guide afterwards explained
to us.

Tlie honor of going alone into the tepee was one that
I could have foregone, for my courage was much greater
if I did ray Indian sight-seeing surrounded by the regi-
ment. The general, fearing their amour propre might
be offended if I declined the invitation, whispered an
encouraging word, and we dipped our heads and crept
into the tepee. The chief was a dignified old man,
wrapped in his blanket, without the usual addition of
some portion of citizen's dress which the Indians believe
adds to their grandeur. His daughter also was in com-
plete squaw's costume ; her feet were moccasined, her
legs and ankles wound round with beaded leggings, and
she had on the one buckskin garment which never varies
in cut through all the tribes. A blanket drawn over
her head was belted at her waist. To crown all this,
however, she had an open parasol, brought to her,
doubtless, as a present by some Indian returning from
a council at Washington. She held it with dignity, as
if it might be to her as much an insignia of state as the
mace of the lord-mayor.

Forfunately they did not ask us to sit down and par-
take of jerked beef, or to smoke the never-ending pipe,
80 we soon got through our compliments and returned
to the outer entrance of the village.

Here the tribe were assembled, and evidently attired
in gala-dress in our honor. "We were most interested in
the village belle, and the placid manner in which she
permitted us to walk around her, gazing and talking her
good points over, showed that she expected homage.

62 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

She sat on a scarlet blanket spread on the ground, and
over her, stretched from poles, was another for an awn-
ing. She was loaded with ornaments, row after row of
beads about her neck, broad armlets and anklets of
brass, pinchbeck rings, and a soft buckskin dress and
leggings, heavily embroidered. Her ears were pierced
twice — on the side as well as in the lobe — and from these
holes were suspended circles of gilt. Her bright eyes,
the satin smoothness of her hair, and the clear brown
of the skin made a pretty picture. There was no at-
tempt to blend into the brown the bright patch of car-
mine on each cheek.

Only extreme youth and its ever attractive charms
can make one forget the heavy sc^^uare shape of Indian
faces and their coarse features. It was surprising to see
all the other squaws giving up the field to this one so
completely. They crouched near, with a sort* of " every-
dog-raust-have-its-day " look, and did not even dispute
her sway by making coy eyes as we spoke to them.

There were but few young men. Their absence was
always excused by the same reason — they were out hunt-
ing. We knew how little game there was, and surmised
—what we afterwards found to be true — that they had
joined the hostile tribes, and only came in to the dis-
tribution of supplies and presents in the fall. A few
rods from the village a tripod of poles was set in the
ground, and lashed to it the Indian's shield, made of the
hide of the buffalo where it is thickest about the neck.
There were rude paintings and Indian hieroglyphics
covering it. The shield is an heirloom with the Indian,
and the one selected to hang out in this manner has al-

A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF "TWO BEARS." 63

ways the greatest war record. One of their supersti-
tions is that it keeps away enemies. These noraads had
some idea of luxury, for I recollect seeing some of them
reclining on a kind of rest made of a framework of
pliable rods, over which was stretched buckskin. After-
wards I found how comfortable such contrivances were,
for one was given me. The slope is so gradual that you
half recline and can read with great ease.

When we had reached camp and were taking our
afternoon siesta the same day, with the tent walls raised
for air, we were roused by the sound of music. Look-
ing off over the bluffs we saw a large body of Indians
approaching on ponies, while squaws and children ran
beside them. It was the prompt response of Two Bears
to the general's invitation to return his call. The war-
riors stopped near camp, and dismounting advanced to-
wards us. The squaws unbridled and picketed the po-
nies, and made themselves comfortable by arranging
impromptu shades of the bright blankets. They staked
down two corners closely to the ground, and propped
up the others with poles stuck in the sod.

When the Indians came up to us, the council was, as
usual, begun. The pipe being smoked, Two Bears gave
us a eulogy of himself. He then demanded, in behalf
of the tribe, payment for the use of the ground on which
we were encamped, and also for the grass consumed,
though it was too short to get more than an occasional
tuft. He ended, as they all do, with a request for food.
The general in reply vaguely referred them to the Great
Father in payment for the use of their land, but pre-
sented them with a beef in return for their hospitality-

64 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

Only half satisfied, they stalked away one by one. We
watched them at a distance kill and divide the beef. It
surprised us to see how they despatched it, and that
hardly a vestige of it was left.

Many of the Indians coming from reservations carried
papers which they valued and carefully guarded. After
burrowing under robe and shirt, something was produced
wrapped in layers of soiled cotton cloth. It was a rec-
ommendation of them obtained from some officer or
Indian agent. This was presented on entering, as their
letter of introduction. Most of these papers read very
much the same way. Giving the Indian's name, it stat-
ed that he had been living on the reservation for a cer-
tain length of time, that he was friendly to the whites,
etc.

One of our guests that day carried something a little
different. He was called "Medicine Jo." Lingering
behind the rest, he presented his letter with perfect good
faith and great pomposity. Some wag had composed it,
and it read something like this :

"Medicine Jo says lie is a good Indian, that you can trust him.
If he is, he is the first I have ever seen, and in my opinion he, like
all the rest, will bear watching."

It was all the general could do to keep his face straight
as he handed back to the unconscious owner this little
libel on himself.

The interpreter kept constantly before us the fine post
that we were approaching, and the last day before we
reached there it was visible for a long distance. The
atmosphere of Dakota was so deceptive that we imag-

A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF "TWO BEARS." 65

ined ourselves within a few miles of the garrison, when,
in reality, there was a march of twenty-nine long miles
before us.

Our road led up from the river valley on the high
bluffs, and sometimes followed along the backbone of
hills from which on either side we looked down a great
distance. There was barely room for the travelling-
wagon. Occasionally I had been obliged to take refuge
from the cold for a little while and drive. Our lead-
mules were tiny, quick -moving little dots, and I soon
discovered that they were completely demoralized at
the sight of an Indian. They could see one in advance
long before the driver could. A sudden shying and
quick turning of these agile little brutes, a general tan-
gle of themselves in the harness and legs of the wheelers,
loud shouts of the driver, and a quick downfall of his
foot on the brake, to keep us from overturning, made
an exciting meUe.

Nothing would get them righted and started again.
They would have to be unharnessed, and the rebellious
pair tied to the rear of the wagon until we had gone
far beyond the object of terror. Part of the day that
we were following the wanderings of the road alongside
hills and over the narrow, sfliooth level of the hill-tops,
I was compelled to drive, and I watched anxiously the
ears of these wretched little beasts to see if they ex-
pressed any sentiment of fright. We came to such steep
descents, the brake holding the wheels seemed of no
use. Looking down from the wagon on to the mules
below us, we appeared to be in the position of flies on
a wall.

66 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

As we came to one descent more awful than tlie rest,
the general, who was always near, rode up to the car-
riage and told rae not to be afraid, for he would order
the wheels manned. The head-quarters escort of over a
hundred men, dismounting, attached ropes to the wheels,
and held on with all their strength while I went down
the steepest declivity I had ever descended. After that
I begged to get out, and the general carried rae to a
bank and set rae down where I could watch the repair-
ing of the road.

He took off his coat and joined the soldiers in carry-
ing logs and shovelling earth, for they were obliged to
fill up the soft bed of the stream before the command
could cross. It took a long time and much patience;
but the general enjoyed it all, and often helped when
the crossings needed to be prepared. When the logs
were all laid, I had to laugh at the energy he showed
in cracking a whip he borrowed from a teamster, and
shouting to the mules to urge them to pull through
where there was danger of their stalling. When the
road was completed, I was ready to mount my horse,
for it seemed to me preferable to die from accident, sur-
rounded with friends, than to expire alone in the mule-
wagon. The ascent was aendered so wet and slippery,
the general feared my saddle would turn, and I was once
more shut in by myself. The soldiers again manned
the wheels to prevent the carriage sliding back, the
mules scrambled, and with the aid of language prepared
expressly for them, we reached the summit.

The driver had named the lead -mules Bettie and
Jane, and when they were over their tempers he petted

A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF "TWO BEARS." 67

and caressed them. Their repeated rebellion at last
wore out even his patience. One morning I noticed
new leaders, but the imperturbable face of the driver
gave no hint of his successful plotting. Mary told me,
however, that he was worn out with his struggles, and
had gone after dark into the herd of mules with Bettie
and Jane, and, as he expressed it, "lost them." He se-
lected two more from among those belonging to the
wagon-train, and returned triumphant over his premedi-
tated exchange. He carefully reclipped their manes
and tails, and disguised them still further with blotches
of black paint, to give them a mottled appearance.
"When the other teamster prepared to harness in the
morning, of course he discovered the fraud perpetrated
on him. There was no redress then, and he had to take
out his wrath in language more forcible than elegant,
which the teamsters have adapted expressly for extreme
occasions. Our driver told Mary, with a chuckle, that
with a command of many hundred men waiting for a
teamster to harness, he found "no time for swapping
horses."

Burkman, the soldier who took care of our horses,
was a middle-aged man, so deliberate in speech and slow
in his movements, he seemed as incongruous among the
spirited cavalrymen as would be an old-time farmer.
Early in the march I had heard him coughing as he
groomed the horses. When I asked if he had done any-
thing for his cold, he replied, " Bottle after bottle of
stuff, mum, but it don't do no good," so I begged the
surgeon to look more carefully into his case. He made
an examination, and told me, as the result, that the man

68 BOOTS AND SADDUIS.

must have only light work and nourishing food. After
that I asked Mary to save everything for Burkman and
make his recovery her especial care. The oflBcers made
fun of me, as they were rather incredulous, and thought
a bit of shamming was being practised on me, but I knew
better. They never failed to comment and smile when
they saw the old defender of his country coming out of
the kitchen-tent, his jaws working and his mouth full,
while he carried all the food his hands would hold. To
tell the truth, he kept up this prescription of nourishing
food long after he had quite recovered.

It became the delight of ray husband and the oflScers
to chaflE me about " Old Nutriment," for such was the
sobriquet they gave him. At last, even Mary began
to narrate how he swept everything before him with
voracious,^ convalescing appetite. "Why, Miss Libbie,"
she said to me one day, " I thought I'd try him with a
can of raw tomatoes, and set them before him, asking
if he was fond of them. And he just drawled out,
^Always was,'' and the tomatoes were gone in no time,"
His laconic answer passed into a proverb with us all,
when invited to partake of anything we liked.

Such a tender heart as that old soldier had! I
had noticed this first in Kentucky. My horse, which I
prized above all that I have ever ridden, died during
my temporary absence from home. I was too greatly
grieved to ask many questions about him, but one day,
some time afterwards, when we were riding through a
charming bit of country, Burkman approached me from
the place whei-e he usually rode behind us, and said,
" I'd like to tell Mrs. Custer there's whar poor Phil lies.

A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF «'T\VO BEARS." 69

I picked the purtiest place I could find for him." And
he had indeed, for the green valley under wide-spread-
ing trees would have gone far to reconcile many a weary
human heart to be placed under the sod.

We thought we had made the first step towards sav-
age life when Burkman brought the mother of the one
baby of our regiment the dried vertebra of a rattle-
snake that he killed, because he had heard that it was
the best of anything on which the infant could cut its
teeth !

I had made some scarlet flannel shirts for my hus-
band's use on the summer campaign, and he was as
much pleased as possible, beginning at once to wear
them. Not many days' march proved to me what an
error I had made. The bright red color could be seen
for miles, when the form itself was almost lost on the
horizon. I had to coax to get them away again and
replace them with the dark blue that he usually wore.
Though I triumphed, I was met with a perfect fusillade
of teasing when I presented the red shirts to Burkman.
The officers, of course, hearing all the discussion over
the subject — as no trifle was too small to interest us in
one another's affairs — attacked me at once. If I had
been so anxious to protect the general from wearing
anything that would attract the far-seeing eye of the
vigilant Indian on the coming campaign, why should I
be so willing to sacrifice the life of " Old Nutriment ?"
They made no impression on me, however, for they
knew as well as I did that the soldier, though so faith-
ful, was not made of that stuff that seeks to lead a Bal-
aklava charge.

70 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

My husband and I were so attached to him, and ap-
preciated so deeply his fidelity, we could not thank the
good-fortune enough that gave us one so loyal to our
interests.

Before we reached the post we were approaching,
the commandant sent out ice for our use, and the
despatches of the Associated Press. The general was
greatly delighted to get news of events that had oc-
curred all over the world, in this far distant land. We
found afterwards that the officers joined in paying for
the despatches. The Indians had such a superstition
about molesting the wires, that the lines ran through
even the most dangerous country. I can hardly say
how good it seemed to us to see a telegraph-pole again.

We were not surprised, after seeing the other posts
below on the river, that the guide had praised Fort
Sully. It was the head-quarters of one of the infantry
regiments, and the commanding officer had been at the
post long enough to put it in excellent order. It was
situated on an open plateau, from which there was an
extensive view. Below in the valley the companies
had gardens, and they "also kept cows, pigs, and chick-
ens. We looked upon all this as an El Dorado, and the
thought of remaining long enough at one fort to get
any good out of a garden was simply unknown in our
vagrant existence.

Our camp was very near the post, on the same open
plain, without tree^ or shelter. We were received with
genuine hospitality, and finally all of us invited to
luncheon. The ladies came up from the steamer, and
the large house was filled with bappy people. The

A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE OF "TWO BEARS." 71

post band played outside on the parade-ground while
we lunched. We had nine kinds of game on the table.
Some of it was new to us — the beaver tail, for instance
— but it was so like pork and so fat I could only taste it.
We had, in addition, antelope, elk, buffalo tongue, wild
turkey, black-tailed deer, wild goose, plover, and duck.
The goose was a sort of "fatted calf" for us. The
soldiers had caught it while young, and by constantly
clipping its wings, had kept it from joining the flocks
which its cries often brought circling around the post.
At last it began to make the life of the chickens a
burden to them, and we arrived in time to enjoy the
delicious bird served with jelly made from the tart,
wild " bullberries " that grew near the river. The
home-made bread, delightful cake, tender ham of the
garrison's own curing, and the sweets made with cream,
fresh butter, and eggs — three unheard-of luxuries with
us — proved that it is possible for array people to live
in comfort if they do not belong to a mounted regb
ment. Still, though they had a band and a good li-
brary belonging to the regiment, the thought of being
walled in with snow, and completely isolated for eight
months of the year, made me shudder. The post was
midway between Yankton and Bismarck, each the
termination of a railroad, and each two hundred and
fifty miles away.

The wife of the commanding ofiicer was known
throughout the department for her lovely Christian
character, and the contented life she led under all cir-
cumstances. I was much amused at her account of her
repeated trials in trying to secure a permanent govern-

72 BOOTS AND SADDLES,

ess. She said all the posts along the river seemed to
know intuitively when a new one arrived from the
East. The young officers found more imperative du-
ties calling them to Fort Sully than they had dreamed
of in a year. Before long the governess began to be
abstracted, and watch longingly for the mails. A ring
would next appear on the significant first finger, and
be the forerunner of a request to allow her to resign
her place. This had happened four times when I met
our hostess, and though she was glad to furnish the
officers with wives, she rather sighed for a woman who,
though possessing every accomplishment, might still be
80 antiquated and ugly that she could be sure to keep
her for a time at least.

The commandant had some fine greyhounds, and
joining the general with his packs of stag and fox
hounds, they had several hunts in the few days that
remained. Of course, after so bright a visit and such
a feast, it was hard to begin again on the march with
baking-powder biscuit and tough beef. The cattle that
supplied us with meat were driven along on the march,
and killed every other day, and could not be expected
to be in very good condition. The interest of our
journey, however, made us soon forget all deprivations.
Grateful sentiments towards those who had been sc
kind to us as strangers remained as a memory.

ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MaJRCH. 73

CHAPTER VII.

ADVENTURES DUEING THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH.

My husband and I kept up our little detours by our-
selves as we neared the hour for camping each day.
One day one of the officers accompanied us. We left
the higher ground to go down by the water and have
the luxury of wandering through the cottonwood-trees
that sometimes fringed the river for several miles. As
usual, we had a number of dogs leaping and racing
around us. Two of them started a deer, and the general
bounded after them, encouraging the others with his
voice to follow. He had left his friend with me, and
we rode leisurely along to see that the younger dogs
did not get lost. Without the least warning, in the
dead stillness of that desolate spot, we suddenly came
upon a group of young Indian warriors seated in their
motionless way in the underbrush. I became perfectly
cold and numb with terror. My danger in connection
with the Indians was twofold. I was in peril from
death or capture by the savages, and liable to be killed
by my own friends to prevent my capture. During the
five years I had been with the regiment in Kansas I had
marched many hundred miles. Sometimes I had to
ioin my husband going across a dangerous country, and
the exposure from Indians all those years had been con

74 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

stant. I had been a subject of conversation among the
officers, being the only woman who, as a rule, followed
the regiment, and, without discussing it much in my
presence, the universal understanding was that any one
having me in charge in an emergency where there was
imminent danger of my capture should shoot me in-
stantly. While I knew that I was defended by strong
hands and brave hearts, the thought of the double
danger always flashed into my mind when we were in
jeopardy.

If time could have been measured by sensations, a
cycle seemed to have passed in those few seconds.
The Indians snatched up their guns, leaped upon their
f)onies, and prepared for attack. The officer with me
was perfectly calm, spoke to them coolly without a
change of voice, and rode quickly beside me, telling me
to advance. My horse reared violently at first sight of
the Indians, and started to run. Gladly would I have
put him to his mettle then, except for the instinct of
obedience, which any one following a regiment acquires
in all that pertains to military directions. The gen-
eral was just visible ascending a bluff beyond. To avoid
showing fear when every nerve is strung to its utmost,
and your heart leaps into your throat, requires super-
human effort. I managed to check my horse and did
not scream. No amount of telling over to myself what
I had been told, that all the tribes on this side were
peaceable and that only those on the other side of the
river were warlike, could quell the throbbing of my
pulses. Indians were Indians to me, and I knew well
that it was a matter of no time to cross and recross on

ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH. 75

their little tub-like boats that shoot madly down the
tide.

What made me sure that these warriors whom we had
just met were from the fighting bands was the recollec-
tion of some significant signs we had come upon in the
road a few days previous. Stakes had been set in the
ground, with bits of red flannel fastened on them pecul-
iarly. This, the guide explained, meant warnings from
the tribes at war to frighten us from any further ad-
vance into their country. Whether because of the cool-
ness of the officer, or because the warriors knew of the
size of the advancing column, we were allowed to pro-
ceed unharmed. How interminable the distance seemed
to where the general awaited us, unconscious of what
we had encountered ! I was lifted out of the saddle a
very limp and unconscious thing.

Encouraged h^ references to other dangers I had lived
through without flinching, I mounted again and followed
the leader closely. He took us through some rough
country, where the ambitious horses, finding that by
bending their heads they could squeeze through, forgot
to seek openings high enough to admit those sitting in
the saddle. We crashed through underbrush, and I, with
habit torn and hands scratched, was sometimes almost
lifted up, Absalom-like, by the resisting branches. Often
we had no path, and the general's horse, " Yic," would
start straight up steep banks after we had forded streams.
It never occurred to his rider, until after the ascent was
made, and a faint voice arose from the valley, that all
horses would not do willingly what his thorough-bred did.
He finally turned to look back and tell me how to manage

76 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

mj horse. I abandoned the bridle when we came to
those ascents, and wound my hands in the horse's mane
to keep from sliding entirely off, while the animal took
his own way. All this was such variety and excitement
I was delighted, and forgot my terror of the morning.

We found a bit of lovely road, which only those who
go hundreds of miles under a blazing sun can appreci-
ate fully. The sunshine came flickering down through
the branches of the trees and covered the short grass
with checkered light and shade. Here we dawdled, and
enjoyed looking up at the patches of blue sky through
great grown-up tree-tops. It was like a bit of woods at
home, where I never thought to be grateful for foliage,
but took it as a matter of course. My husband remem-
bered my having put some biscuit in the leather pocket
on my saddle, and invited himself to luncheon at once.
We dismounted, and threw ourselves on the ground to
eat the very frugal fare.

After resting, we gave ourselves the privilege of a
swift gallop over the stretch of smooth ground before
us. We were laughing and talking so busily I never
noticed the surroundings until I found we were almost
in the midst of an Indian village, quite hidden under a
bluff. My heart literally stood still. I watched the
general furtively. He was as usual perfectly unmoved,
and yet he well knew that this was the country where it
was hardly considered that the Indian was overburdened
with hospitality. Oh, how I wished ourselves safely
with the column, now so far away! There were but
few occupants of the village, but they glowered and
growled, and I could see the venomous glances they

ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH. 77

cast on ns as I meekly followed. I trembled so I conld
barely keep my seat as we slowly advanced, for the gen-
eral even slackened his speed, to demonstrate to them,
I suppose, that we felt ourselves perfectly at home.
He said " How," of course, which was his usual saluta-
tion to them. An echoing "how" beside him proved
that I still had power of utterance. When we came to
one Indian, who looked menacingly at us and doggedly
stood in our road, the officer with us declared that I
accompanied my " how " with a salaam so deep that it
bent my head down to the pommel of my saddle ! At
all events, I meant, if politeness wbuld propitiate, not to
be deficient in that quality at such a critical moment.

In a few moments, which seemed however a lifetime,
we saw the reason why the village appeared so empty.
Men, women, and children had gone nearly to the top
of the bluff, and there, witli their bodies hidden, were
looking off at a faint cloud of dust in the distance.

My husband, appreciating my terror, quickly assured
me it was the 7th Cavalry. Even then, what a stretch
of country it seemed between us and that blessed veil
of sand, through which we perceived dimly that succor
was at hand.

My horse was rather given to snuggling, and pressed
80 against the general that he made his leg very uncom-
fortable sometimes. But then, in my terror, it seemed
to me an ocean of space was dividing us. I longed for
the old Puritan days, when a wife rode on a pillion be-
hind her liege as a matter of course.

I found courage to look back at last. The bluff was
crowned with little irregularities, so still they seemed

78 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

like tufts of grass or stones. They represented many
pairs of bead-like eyes, that peered over the country at
the advancing troops.

The next day the general thought I might rather not
go with him than run the risk of such frights ; but I
well knew there was something far worse than fears for
my own personal safety. It is infinitely worse to be
left behind, a prey to all the horrors of imagining what
may be happening to one we love. You eat your heart
slowly out with anxiety, and to endure such suspense
is simply the hardest of all trials that come to the sol-
dier's wife.

I gladly consented to be taken along every day, but
there never seemed a time when it was not necessary to
get accustomed to some new terror. However, it is
only the getting used to it that is so bad. It is the
unexpected things that require fresh relays of courage.
When a woman has come out of danger, she is too utterly
a coward by nature not to dread endiiiiiig the same thing
again ; but it is something to know that she is equal to
it. Though she may tremble and grow faint in antici-
pation, having once been through it, she can count on
rising to the situation when the hour actually comes.

The rattlesnakes were so numerous on this march that
all Texas and Kansas experience seemed to dwarf in
contrast. My horse was over sixteen hands high, but
I would gladly have exchanged him for a camelopard
when I rode suddenly almost upon a snake coiled in the
grass, and looked down into the eyes of the upraised
head. We counted those we encountered in one day's
journey until we were tired. The men became very

ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH 79

expert and sj^stematic in clearing the camp of these
reptiles. If we halted at night in the underbrush, they
cut and tore away the reeds and grass, and began at
once to beat the ground and kill the snakes. When I
say that as many as forty were killed in one night, some
literal person may ask if I actually saw the bodies of
all those " lately slain !" It is not an exaggerated story,
however, and one only needs to see hundreds of men
pounding and clearing such a place to realize that many
snakes could be disposed of in a short time. After
that, when the ground was selected for our camp in the
low part of the valley, I was loath to lie down and sleep
until the soldiers had come up to prepare the ground.
My husband used to indulge this little prejudice of mine
against making my head a reproduction of Medusa's,
and we often sought the high ground for a rest until the
command came up.

The guide rode often at the head of the column, and
we found him full of informatiop. about the country.
We be^an also to listen for a new domestic disclosure
every time we approached an Indian village. He waa
the most married of any man I ever saw, for in every
tribe he had a wife. Still this superfluity did not burden
him, for the ceremony of tying a marital knot in the
far West is simple, and the wives support themselves.
Sometimes he gave us new points about making our-
selves comfortable in camp. One day I was very grate-
ful to him. We were far in advance of the wagon-train
containing the tents ; the sun was scorching; not a tree,
nor even a clump of bushes was near. In a brief time,
however, the guide had returned from the stream, where

80 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

he had cut some willow saplings, and sticking them in
the ground made what he called " wik-a-up." He wove
the ends loosely together on top, and over this oval
cover he threw the saddle blankets. There was just
room enough to crawl into this oven-like place, but it
was an escape from the heat of the sun, and I was soon
asleep. After I emerged the general took my place.
When he had taken his nap the dogs crept in ; so a very
grateful family thanked the guide for teaching us that
new device.

The bends in the Missouri River are sometimes so
long that the steamer with supplies would have to make
a journey of sixty miles w^hile we had perhaps only five
to march across the peninsula. All the soldiers, officers'
servants, teamsters, and other citizen employes took
that time to wash their clothes, for we were two days in
camp. The creek on which we halted was lined with
bending figures, their arms moving vigorously back and
forth as they wrung out each article. Later on the
camp looked like an animated laundry. From every
tent-rope and bush floated the apparel. I had only a
small valise for my summer's outfit, but Mary had soon
taken out our few things, and around the kitchen-tent
was suspended the family linen. As soon as this was
dry she folded and pressed it as best she could, and
laid it between the mattresses as a substitute for
ironing.

All the way up the river the guide was constantly in-
terviewed as to the chances for fishing. He held out
promises that were to be realized upon reaching Choteau
Creek. We arrived there on one of the resting - days.

ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH. 81

and camp was no sooner made, and food and water
brought, than a great exodus took place.

The general called me to the tent -door to see the
deserted camp, and wondered how the soldiers could all
have disappeared so quickly. Another problem was,
where the fishing-tackle came from ! Some had brought
rods, even in the restricted space allotted them, but many
cut them from the bushes along the river, attaching
hooks and lines, while some bent pins and tied them to
strings. The soldiers shared so generously with one an-
other that one pole was loaned about while the idle ones
watched. I never cared for fishing, but my husband
begged me to go with him always, and carried my book
and work. I sat under a bush near him, which he
covered with a shawl to protect me from the sun, and
there we stayed for hours. Officers and men competed
alike for the best places by the quiet pools. The gen-
eral could hardly pay attention to his line, he was so in-
terested watching the men and enjoying their pleasure.
His keen sense of the ludicrous took in the comical
figures as far as we could see. In cramped and uncom-
fortable positions, with earnest eyes fixed steadily in
one place for hours, they nearly fell into the water with
excitement if they chanced to draw out a tiny fish.
The other men came from all along the bank to observe
if any one was snccessful.

One of the men near us was a member of the band.

He was a perfect reproduction of the old prints of Izaak

Walton. The fixedness of his gaze — his whole soul in

his eyes — while he was utterly unconscious of any one

being near, was too much for the general's equanimity.

83 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

He put his head under the canopy made by my sliawl,
not daring to laugh aloud, for fear he might be heard
by the man, and said it was more fun to see that soldier
fish than to hear him play on the violin. I^o wonder the
men enjoyed the sport, for even these little bull-fish,
fairly gritty from the muddy water in which they lived,
were a great addition to their pork and hard-tack fare.

For once the sun overcame me, and I knew the ig-
nominy of being compelled to own that I was dizzy and
faint. I had not been long in military life before I was
ns much ashamed of being ill as if I had been a real sol-
<lier. The troops pride themselves on being invulnera-
ble to bodily ailments. I was obliged to submit to being
helped back to camp, and in the cool of the evening
watched the return of the fishers, who were as proud of
the strings of ugly little things they carried as if they
had been pickerel or bass. Then the blue flame and
soft smoke began to ascend from the evening fires, and
the odor from the frying supper rose on the air.

In my indolent, weak condition I never knew how I
was able to perform such agile pirouettes as I did ; but
hearing a peculiar sound, I looked down and saw a huge
rattlesnake gliding towards me. I had long ago learned
to suppress shrieks, but I forgot all such self-control
then. How I wished myself the Indian baby we had
seen the day before — the veritable "baby in the tree-
top," for it was tied by buckskin thongs to a limb !
There I thought I could rest in peace. The snake was
soon despatched. The men had left camp so hurriedly
in the morning that the usual beating of the ground
was omitted) and so I had this unwelcome visitor.

ADVENTURES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH. 83

When we camped near a village, the Indians soon
appeared. Groups of half a dozen on ponies, with chil-
dren running after, would come. The ponies were, most
of them, dull and swaj-backed. It was no wonder, for
I have seen four persons on one pony — an Indian and
three half-grown boys. No horse could keep its shape
loaded down, as those oif the Indians usually are, with
game and property. These visitors grew to be great
trials, for they were inveterate beggars. One day an
old Indian, called " The-Man-with-the-Broken-Ear," came
riding in, elaborately decorated and on a shapely pony.
He demanded to see the chief. The general appeared,
assisted him to dismount, and seated him in my camp-
phair. The savage leaned back in a grand sort of man-
ner and calmly surveyed us all. I was soon in agonies
of anxiety, for Colonel Tom and the young officers
lounging near entered the tent. They bowed low, took
the hand of the old fellow with profound deference, and,
smiling benignly, addressed him. In just as suave a
voice as if their words had been genuine flattery, they
said, " You confounded old galoot, why are you here
begging and thieving, when your wretched old hands
are hardly dry from some murder, and your miserable
mouth still red from eating the heart of your enemy ?"
Each one saluted him, and each vied with the other in
pouring forth a tirade of forcible expletives, to which
he bowed in acknowledgment and shook hands. My
t.error was that he might understand, for we often
found these people as cunning as foxes, sitting stolid
and stupid, pretending not to know a word, while they
understood the gist of much that was said.

84 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

The officers gave this chief tobacco — Perique I think
it is called — and so strong that, though I was acciTstomed
to all kinds, I rather avoided the odor of it. "We had
no whiskey, but if we had kept it, the general obeyed
the law of the reservation too strictly to allow it to be
given away. He was called to the office -tent a few
moments, and in a trice one of the others had emptied
the alcohol from the spirit-lamp and offered the cup to
the distinguished guest. Putting the great square of
Perique into his mouth, with a biscuit beside, he washed
it all down with gulps of the burning fluid. His eyes,
heretofore dull, sparkled at the sight of the fire-water.
The officers said, "How," and he replied, "How."
This did not surprise me, for that one word is the In-
dian toast, and all tribes know it. But my breath almost
went out of my body when they asked him if he would
have more, and he replied, " You bet." I was sure then
that he had understood all the railing speeches and that
he would plan a revenge. Loud cries of laughter greet-
ed his reply ; but matching their cunning against his,
they eventually found that he knew no more English.
He had learned these words, without understanding
their meaning, at the trader's store on the reserva-
tion. He waited around in the tent, hoping for more
alcohol, until I was weary of the sight of him ; but
I was too much afraid of him, limp as he then was, to
look bored.

Finally he was lifted out, a tumbled up, disorganized
heap of drooping feathers, trailing blanket, and demor-
alized legs. When once, however, one drunken old foot
was lifted over the pony for him, he swung himself into

ADVENTUEES— THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH. 85

tlie saddle, and though swaying uncertainly, he man-
aged to ride away.

During the last days of our march we came upon an-
other premonitory warning from the Indians. A pole
was found stuck in the trail before us, with a red flag,
to which, were fastened locks of hair. It was a chal-
lenge, and when interpreted meant, that if we persisted
in advancing, the hostiles were ready to meet the sol-
diers and fight them. The officers paid little attention
to this, but my heart was like lead for days afterwards.

We encamped that night near what the Indians call
"Medicine Kock;" my husband and I walked out to
see it. It was a large stone, showing on the flat sur-
face the impress of hands and feet made ages ago, be-
fore the clay was petrified. The Indians had tied bags
of their herb medicine on poles about the rock, believ-
ing that virtue would enter into articles left in the
vicinity of this proof of the marvels or miracles of the
Great Spirit. Tin cans, spoons, and forks, that they had
bought at the Agency, on account of the brightness of
the metal, were left there as offerings to an unseen God.

Everything pertaining to the Indians was new and
interesting to me. While we were in Kansas the tribes
were at war, and we had not the opportunity to see
their daily life as we did while passing through the
Sioux reservations on the march.

I regretted each day that brought us nearer to the
ooo elusion of our journey, for though I had been fright-
ened by Indians, and though we had encountered cold,
storms, and rough life, the pleasures of the trip over-
balanced the discomforts.

86 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER VIII.

8EPAEATI0N AND EEUNION.

The day at last came for our marcli of five hundred
miles to terminate. A rickety old ferryboat that took
us over the river made a halt near Fort Rice, and there
we established ourselves. Strange to say, the river was
no narrower there than it was so many liundred miles
below, where we started. Muddy and full of sand-bars
as it was, we began bravely to drink the water, when
the glass had been filled long enough for the sediment
partially to settle, and to take our bath in what at first
seemed liquid mud. We learned after a time to settle
the water with alum, and we finally became accustomed
to the taste.

The commandant at Fort Rice was most hospitable,
and his wife charming. The quarters were very ordi-
nary frame buildings, with no modern improvements.
They were painted a funereal tint, but one warranted to
last. The interior showed the presence of a tasteful
woman. She met us as cheerfully as if she were in the
luxurious home from which we knew she had gone as
a girl to follow a soldier's life. Contrast often helps us
to endure, and Dakota was not so bad as their last sta-
tion in Arizona. Tlie dinner was excellent, and our
entertainers were the happy possessors of a good cook.

SEPARATION AND REUNION. 87

Rarely do army people have two good servants at the
same time on the frontier. Our host and hostess made
no apologies, but quietly waited on the table them-
selves, and a merry time we had over the blunders of
the head of the house, who was a distinguished general,
in his endeavors to find necessary dishes in the china
closet.

A steamer that arrived a day or two after we had
reached Fort Rice brought the regimental property,
consisting of everything that was not used on the march.
Our household effects and trunks were delivered to us
in a very sorry condition. They had been carelessly
stored on the wharf at Yankton, near the government
warehouse, without any covering, during all the storms
that drenched us coming up the river. Almost every-
thing was mildewed and ruined. We tried to dry our
clothing in the sun. Many a little bit of silken finery
that we had cherished since our marriage days, feeling
sure that we should never attain to such grandeur again,
was suspended from the tent -ropes, stained and dull.
Our sister's husband helped her to unpack her clothes
and his own soaked uniform. He was dignified and re-
served by nature, but on that occasion the barriers were
broken. I heard him ask Margaret to excuse him while
he went outside the tent to make some remarks to him-
self that he felt the occasion demanded. There were
furious people on all sides, and savage speeches about
the thoughtlessness of those who had left our property
exposed to snow and rain, when we were no longer
there to care for it. I endured everything until my
pretty wedding-dress was taken out, crushed and spotted

88 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

with mildew. My husband had great control over him-
self in the small annoyances of life, and was able to re-
peat again the proverb he had adopted in his boyhood,
" Never cry for spilled milk." How he could submit
so quietly, when he took out his prized books and the
few pictures I knew that he valued, was a mystery.

All thought began now to centre on the coming events
of the summer. It was decided that the regiment was
to go out to guard the engineers of the Northern Pacific
Railroad while they surveyed the route from Bismarck
to the Yellowstone River. The ladies necessarily were
to be left behind. Now began the summer of my dis-
content. I longed to remain in Dakota, for I knew it
would take much longer for our letters to reach us if
we went East. Besides, it was far more comforting to
stay at a military post, where every one was interested
in the expedition, and talked about it as the chief topic
of concern. I remembered when I had gone East' be-
fore, during a summer when our regiment was fighting
Indians, and my idea was that the whole country would
be almost as absorbed as we were, how shocked. I wap
to be asked, when I spoke of the regiment, "Ah, is there
a campaign, and for what purpose has it gone out?"

I was willing to live in a tent alone at the post, but
there were not even tents to be had. Then we all
looked with envious eyes at the quarters at Fort Rice.
The post was small, and there were no vacant rooms ex-
cept in the bachelor quarters. These are so called when
the unmarried men take rooms in the same house and
mess together. No opportunity was given us to wheedle
them into offering us a place. Our officers hinted to

SEPARATION AND REUNION. 89

them, but thej seemed to be completely intimidated re-
garding women. They received an honest and emphatic
" no " when they asked if the ladies of the 7th Cavalry
quarrelled. Even then these wary men said " they did
not dare to offer to take in any women." They added
that there were but three in the post, and no two of
them «poke to each other. They thought if we were
asked to remain it might be the history of the Kilkenny
cats repeated, and they were obdurate.

There was nothing left for us, then, but to go home.
It was a sore disappointment. "We were put on the
steamer that was to take us to Bismarck, a heart-broken
little group. I hated Dakota, the ugly river, and even
my native land. We were nearly devoured with mos-
quitoes at once. Only the strongest ammonia on our
faces and hands served to alleviate the torment. The
journey was wretchedness itself. I had thrown myself
on the berth in one of the little suffocating state-rooms,
exhausted with weeping, and too utterly overcome with
the anguish of parting to know much of the surround-
ings. I was roused by the gentle hand of a woman,
who had forgotten her own troubles to come to me.
Ah, even now, when the tears rain down my face at the
remembrance of those agonizing good-byes, which were
like death each time, and which grew harder with each
separation, I think of the sympathy shown me. The
sweet, tender eyes of the wives of officers come to me
now, and I feel the soft touch of their hands as they
came to comfort me, even when their own hearts were
wrung. Grief is so selfish, I wonder now that they could
have been such ministering angels.

90 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

At last the slow, wearisome journey was over, and
we went into the little town of Bismarck to take the
cars. The Department Commander, returning to his
head-quarters, had offered to take charge of us to St.
Paul, and was kind enough to share with us the car of
the President of the Northern Pacific Railroad, which
had been placed at his disposal. There were seven of
us and his own personal staff. Another five hundred
miles were before us, but in such luxury it hardly
seemed that my sister and I were the same two who
had been "roughing it" on the march a few days before.

The journey was very quiet and over an uninteresting
country, but we ladies had something to occupy our
time, as we began to prepare some of our meals, for the
untidy eating-houses on the road were almost unendur-
able. The staff of the Commanding General went out
at the stations and foraged for what food they could find
to add to our bill of fare. At St. Paul we bade them
all good-bye, and soon found ourselves welcomed by dear
father and mother Custer, at Monroe. Their hearts were
ever with the absent ones.

For several slow, irksome months I did little else
than wait for the tardy mails, and count each day that
passed a gain. I had very interesting letters from
my husband, sometimes thirty and forty pages in
length. He wrote of his delight at having again his
whole regiment with him, his interest in the country,
his hunting exploits, and the renewal of his friendship
with General Rosser. The 7th Cavalry were sent out
to guard the engineers of the ITorthern Pacific, while
they surveyed the route to the Yellowstone. This party

SEPARATION AND REUNION. 91

of citizens joined the command a few days out from
Fort Kice. The general wrote me that he was lying
on the buffalo-robe in his tent, resting after the march,
when he heard a voice outside asking the sentinel which
was General Custer's tent. The general called out,
"Halloo, old fellow! I liaven't heard that voice in
thirteen years, but I know it. Come in and welcome !"

General Rosser walked in, and such a reunion as they
had ! These two had been classmates and warm friends
at "West Point, and parted with sorrow when General
Eosser went into the Southern army. Afterwards they
had fought each other in the Shenandoah Yalley time
and time again. Both of them lay on the robe for
hours talking over the campaigns in Virginia. In the
varying fortunes of war, sometimes one had got posses-
sion of the wagon-train belonging to the other. I knew
of several occasions when they had captured each oth-
er's head-quarters wagons with the private luggage. If
one drove the other back in retreat, before he went into
camp he wrote a note addressing the other as "dear
friend," and saying, "you may have made me take a
few steps this way to-day, but I'll be even with you to-
morrow. Please accept my good-wishes and this little
gift." These notes and presents were left at the house
of some Southern woman, as they retreated out of the
village.

Once General Custer took all of his friend's luggage,
and found in it a new uniform coat of Confederate
gray. He wrote a humorous letter that night thanking
General Rosser for setting him up in so many new
things, but audaciously asking if he " would direct his

92 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

tailor to make the coat-tails of his next uniform a little
shorter " as there was a difference in the height of the
two men. General Custer captured his herd of cattle
at one time, but he was so hotly pursued by General
liosser that he had to dismount, cut a whip, and drivo
them himself until they were secured.

To return to the Yellowstone expedition. The hour
for starting never varied more than a few moments
during the summer, and it was so early the civilians
connected with the engineering party could not be-
come reconciled to it. In the afternoon my husband
sometimes walked out on the outskirts of camp, and
threw himself down in the grass to rest with his dogs
beside him.

It was a source of amusement to him if he acciden-
tally overheard the grumbling. His campaigning dress
was so like that of an enlisted man, and his insignia of
rank so unnoticeable, that the tongues ran on, indiffer-
ent to his presence. Sometimes, in their growling, the
civilians accused him of having something on his con-
science, and declared that, not being able to sleep him-
self, he woke every one else to an unearthly reveille.
At this he choked with laughter, and to their dismay
they discovered who he was.

I remember his telling me of another occasion, when
he unavoidably heard a soldier exclaim, " There goes
taps, and before we get a mouthful to eat, reveille
will sound, and 'Old Curley' will hike us out for the
march." The soldier was slightly discomfited to find
the subject of his remarks was within hearing.

The enlisted men were constantly finding new names

SEPARATION AND REUNION. 93

for the general, which I would never have known —
thereby losing some amusement — if Mary had not occa-
sionally told me of them. A favorite was "Jack," the
letters G. A. C. on his valise having served as a sug-
gestion.

When the expedition returned from the Yellowstone,
a despatch came to me in Michigan, saying the regi-
ment had reached Fort Lincoln in safety. Another soon
followed, informing me that my husband was on his
way home. The relief from constant anxiety and sus-
pense, together with all the excitement into which I
was thrown, made me almost unfit to make prepara-
tion to meet him. There was to be an army reunion
in the city nearest us, and in my impatience I took
the first train, thinking to reach there in advance of
General Custer. As I walked along the street, looking
into shop - windows, I felt, rather than saw, a sudden
rush from a door, and I was taken off my feet and set
dancing in air. Before I could resent what I thought
was an indignity, I discovered that it was my hus-
band, who seemed utterly regardless of the passers-by.
He was sunburnt and mottled, for the flesh was quite
fair where he had cut his beard, the growth of the sum-
mer. He told me the officers with whom he had trav-
elled in the Pullman car had teased him, and declared
that no man would shave in a car going at forty miles
an hour, except to prepare to meet his sweetheart. I
was deeply grateful, though, for I knew the fiery tint
of the beard, and infinitely preferred the variegated
flesh tints of his sunburnt face.

94 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER IX.

OUR NEW HOME AT FOET LINCOLN.

In a few days we were ready to return to Dakota,
and very glad to go, except for leaving the old parents.

The hardest trial of my husband's life was parting
with his mother. Such partings were tlie only occa-
sions when I ever saw him lose entire control of him-
self, and I always looked forward to the hour of their
separation with dread.

For hours before we started, I have seen him follow
his mother about, whispering some comforting word
to her ; or, opening the closed door of her own room,
where, womanlike, she fought out her grief alone, sit
beside her as long as he could endure it. She had been
an invalid for so many years that each parting seemed
to her the final one. Her groans and sobs were heart-
rending. She clung to him every step when he started
to go, and exhausted at last, was led back, half fainting,
to her lounge.

The general would rush out of the house, sobbing
like a child, and then throw himself into the carriage
beside me completely unnerved. I could only give si-
lent comfort. My heart bled for him, and in the long
silence that followed as we journeyed on, I knew that
his thoughts were with his mother. At our first stop

OUR NEW HOME AT FORT LINCOLN. 95

he was out of the cars in an instant, buying fruit to send
back to her. Before we were even unpacked in the
hotel, where we made our first stay of any length, he
had dashed off a letter. I have since seen those mis-
sives. No matter how hurriedly he wrote, they were
proofs of the tenderest, most filial love, and full of the
prophecies he never failed to make, of the reunion that
he felt would soon come.

After long debates with her parents, we had captured
a young lady who was to return with us. She was a
"joy forever," and submitted without a word to the
rough part of our journey. After we left St. Paul, the
usual struggle for decent food began. Some of the of-
ficers returning from leave of absence had joined us,
and we made as merry over our hardships as we could.
When we entered the eating-houses, one young mem-
ber of our party, whom we called the " butter fiend,"
was made the experimenter. If he found the butter too
rancid to eat imdisguised, he gave us a hint by saying,
under his breath, " this is a double-over place." That
meant that we must put a layer of bread on top of the
butter to smother the taste.

The general was so sensitive when living in civiliza-
tion that the heartiest appetite would desert him if an
allusion to anything unpleasant or a reference to suffer-
ing was made at the table. But he never seemed to be
conscious of surroundings when " roughing it." Of
course I had learned to harden myself to almost any-
thing by this time, but I can see the wide-open eyes
of our girl friend when she saw us eat all around any
foreign ingredients wo found in our food. She nearly

96 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

starved on a diet consisting of the interior of badly-
baked potatoes and the inside of soggy rolls.

One of the eating -places on the road was kept in
a narrow little house, built on a flat car. Two men
presided, one cooking and the other waiting on the
table. We were laboriously spearing our food with
two tined forks, and sipping the muddy coffee with a
pewter spoon, when I heard with surprise the general
asking for a napkin. It seemed as foreign to the place
as a finger-bowl. The waiter knew him, however, and
liked him too well to refuse him anything; so he said,
" I have nothing but a towel, general." " Just the thing,
just the thing," repeated my husband, in his quick, jol-
ly way. So the man tied a long crash towel under his
chin, and the general ate on, too indifferent to appear-
ances to care because the tableful of travellers smiled.

When we finally reached the termination of the road
at Bismarck, another train was about starting back to
St. Paul. The street was full of people, wildly expost-
ulating and talking loudly and fiercely. It appeared that
this was the last train of the season, as the cars were
not to run during the winter. The passengers were
mostly Bismarck citizens, whose lawless life as gam-
blers and murderers had so outraged the sentiments of
the few law-abiding residents that they had forced them
to depart. We could see these outlaws crowding at the
door, hanging out of the windows, swearing and mena-
cing, and finally firing on the retreating crowd as the
cars passed out of town. I was inclined to remain a
fixture in our car; to step down into such a melee was
too much for ray courage. The general made allow-

OUR NEW HOME AT FORT LINCOLN. 07

ance for my fears, and we were quietly slipped out on
the other side of the depot, hurried into the ambu-
lance, and driven to the river.

The ice was already thick enough to bear our weight
part way over; then came a swift rushing torrent of
water which had to be crossed in a small boat. Some
of the soldiers rowed, while one kept the huge cakes
of floating ice from our frail boat with a long, iron-
pointed pole. As I stepped into the little craft, I
dropped upon the bottom and hid my eyes, and no
amount of reference to dangers I had encountered be-
fure induced me to look up. The current of the Mis-
souri is so swift it is something dreadful to encounter.
"We were lifted out upon the ice again, and walked to
the bank. Once more on shore, I said to myself, here
will I live and die, and never go on that river again.

Our brother, Colonel Tom, met us, and drove us to
our new home. In the dim light I could see the great
post of Fort Lincoln, where only a few months before
we had left a barren plain. Our quarters were light-
ed, and as we approached, the regimental band played
"Home, Sweet Home," followed by the general's fa-
vorite, " Garryowen."

The general had completely settled the house before
he left for the East, but he had kept this fact secret, as
a surprise. Our friends had lighted it all, and built
fires in the fireplaces. The garrison had gathered to
welcome us, and Mary had a grand supper ready. How
we chattered and gloried over the regiment having a
home at last. It seemed too good to believe that the
7th Cavalry had a post of its own, with room for the

08 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

half of tho regiment assigned to duty there. In other
garrisons, when we had come in late in the fall from
campaigns, the officers, in order to get places for them-
selves, had been obliged to turn some one else out.
There is a disagreeable, though probably necessary law
in the army regulations, which directs officers to take
their quarters according to rank.

Fort Lincoln was built with quarters for six com-
panies. The barracks for the soldiers were on the side
of the parade-ground nearest the river, while seven de-
tached houses for officers faced the river opposite. On
the left of the parade-ground was the long granary and
the little military prison, called the " guard-house." Op-
posite, completing the square, were the quartermaster
and commissary storehouses for supplies and the adju-
tant's office. Outside the garrison proper, near the
river, were the stables for six hundred horses. Still
farther beyond were the quarters for the laundresses,
easily traced by the swinging clothes-lines in front, and
dubbed for this reason " Suds Kow." Some distance on
from there were the log-huts of the Indian scouts and
their families, while on the same side also was the level
plain used for parades and drill. On the left of the
post was the sutler's store, with a billiard-room attached.
Soon after the general arrived he permitted a citizen to
put up a barber-shop, and afterwards another built a
little cabin of cottgn-wood, with canvas roof for a pho-
tographer's establishment.

The post was located in a valley, while just back of
us stretched a long chain of bluffs. On the summit of
a hill, nearly a mile to the left, was a small infantry

OUR NEW HOME AT FORT LINCOLN. 99

garrison, wliicli had been established some time, and now
belonged to our post. When we went to return the
visits of the infantry ladies, the mules dragged the am-
bulance up the steep hill with difficulty. We found liv-
ing in this bleak place — in small, shabbily built quarters,
such as a day-laborer would consider hardly good enough
for his family — delicate women and children, who, as
usual, made no complaint about their life. Afterwards
we were much indebted to one of the ladies, who, de-
termined to conquer fate, varied our lives and gave us
something to look forward to, by organizing a reading-
club that met every week. She had sent to the East,
before the trains ceased running, for the new books.

This little post had been built before the railroad was
completed, and the houses were put together with as
few materials as possible. There was no plastering, but
the ceilings and partitions were of thick paper made for
the purpose. When narrow mouldings of wood were
tacked over the joined places, and all of it painted, the
effect was very pretty. When it was torn and ragged
it looked poverty-stricken enough. In one set of quar-
ters there chanced to be so many children and so little
room that the parents had invented a three-story bed,
where the little ones could be all stowed at night. While
we were calling there one day, I sat talking with the
cheerful little mother, and wondering how she could be
so bright. Everything in garrison life was, of course,
new to my girl friend, and I discovered she was trying
to smother a laugh. She commanded a view of the in-
ner door. One of the children, who had been beating
the wall and crying to enter, had finally made prelimi-

100 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

nary preparations. She had thrust through a hole in
the paper partition each article of her little wardrobe,
even to her shoes, and was putting the first rosy foot
through after them. When the mother discovered this
she laughed heartily, and gave us thus an opportunity
to join her.

Our own post was somewhat sheltered by the bluffs
behind ; but though our quarters were plastered, the un-
seasoned lumber warped, and it was a struggle to keep
warm. The wood with which we were provided was
far from dry, and much of it of that kind that burns
quickly but sends out little heat. It seemed to require
the entire time of one man to keep up the fires. It
was thus a blessed thing for the poor fellow whose duty
it was, for he had never been able to remain long with
his company at a time. He had an uncontrollable habit
of drinking. Most of the time he belonged to the band
of prisoners who are taken out of the guard-house every
day, under a sentinel, to police the garrison and cut the
wood. Mary gave them the coffee and whatever else was
left from the table every day. This seemingly worth-
less fellow told Mary that he believed he could " keep
straight" if Mrs. Custer would get the general to remit
his sentence and let him come to us to keep the fires.
So he came, and was occasionally sober for some time.
He learned to go through the house with his arms full
of wood when he was quite drunk. He really had too
thuch heart to cause me trouble, and used to say, " Mary,
I am pretty full, but don't let Mrs. Custer know it, for
I told her I wonld not do so again, and I don't like to
make her feel bad." So Mary spied but the land before

OUR NEW HOME AT FORT LINCOLN. 101

him and opened his doors. After he had tried her pa-
tience long, she finally lost her temper on finding that
he had swallowed all the .Worcestershire sauce and her
bottle of pain-killer. She held out the can of kerosene
oil to him, and asked if he would not add that to his
dram, and began such a berating that he hurried ofE to
escape from the violence of her tongue.

The soldiers asked the general's permission to put up
a place in which they could have entertainments, and
he gave them every assistance he could. They prepared
the lumber in the saw-mill that belonged to the post.
The building was an ungainly looking structure, but
large enough to hold them all. The unseasoned cotton-
wood warped even whilo the house was being built, but
by patching and lining with old torn tents, they man-
aged to keep out the storm. The scenery was painted
on condemned canvas stretched on a frame-work, and
was lifted on and o£E as the plays required. The foot-
lights in front of the rude stage were tallow -candles
that smoked and sputtered inside the clumsily cobbled
casing of tin. The seats were narrow benches, without
backs. The ofiicers and ladies were always invited to
take the front row at every new performance, and after
they entered, the house filled up with soldiers. Some
of the enlisted men played very well, and used great in-
genuity in getting up their costumes. The general ac-
cepted every invitation, and enjoyed it all greatly. The
clog -dancing and negro character songs between the
acts w^ere excellent. Indeed, we sometimes had profes-
sionals, who, having been stranded in the States, had
enlisted.

102 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

A regiment is recruited from all classes and condi-
tions of men. Occasionally accident revealed the secret
that there were fugitives from justice in the ranks. If
they changed their names, they found no place where
they were so hidden from every one they ever knew as
in a regiment that is always on duty in the territories.
It came to pass sometimes that a man of title, who had
" left his country for his country's good," wore the gov-
ernment blue as a disguise, and served as a trooper for
want of anything better to do. Among the men who
sent word they would be glad to help me about the
house when we were settling — either as a carpenter, a
saddler to sew carpets, or a blacksmith to put up stoves
— there were several with histories. Though they were
strictly military witli the general, observing the rule of
never speaking unless spoken to, they sought the first
opportunity to tell me their troubles. These were in-
variably domestic difficulties, until I began to think
our regiment was "a city of refuge" for outraged
husbands. It would eventually be found out that
these men had run away and enlisted under assumed
names, when driven desperate by the scoldings of a
turbulent wife. Time, and the loneliness of a sol-
dier's life, would soften their woes, and they began at
last to sigh even for the high-pitched voice of the de-
serted woman. The general felt as badly as I did when
I carried their stories to him, begging him to get them
discharged. He had a little fashion, however, of asking
me to remember that about this, as about every other sub-
ject that we ever discussed, "there were always two sides
to a question." My sympathy for the soldiers in trou-

OUR NEW HOME AT FORT LINCOLN. ^ 103

ble was of little avail, for the law compelling them to
Berve the five years out was irrevocable. All I could do
was to write letters at their solicitation, revealing their
identity and asking for a reconciliation.

My husband's duties extended over a wide range. If
the laundresses had a serious difficulty, he was asked to
settle it. They had many pugilists among them, and
the least infringement of their rights provoked a battle
in which wood and other missiles filled the air. Band-
aged and bruised, they brought their wrongs to our
house, where both sides had a hearing. The general
had occasionally to listen and arbitrate between husband
and wife, when the laundress and her soldier husband
could not agree. I was banished from the room, while
he heard their story and gave them counsel. In the
same way he listened to whatever complaints the sol-
diers made. Some of them came into our quarters on
one occasion with a tin cup of coffee for the general to
taste, and determine whether he agreed with them that
it was too poor to drink. From that time on, after ev-
ery Sunday morning inspection, the general went with
all the officers to visit the kitchens, as well as the bar-
racks of each company, and every troop commander was
called upon to pass criticisms on the cleanliness of the
quarters and the wholesomeness of the food.

104 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER X.

INCIDENTS OF EVEKY-DAY LIFE.

The companies each gave a ball in turn during the
winter, and the preparations were begun long in ad-
vance. There was no place to buy anything, save the
sutler's store and the shops in the little town of Bis-
marck, but they were well ransacked for materials for
the supper. The bunks where the soldiers slept were
removed from tlie barracks, and flags festooned around
the room. Arms were stacked and guidons arranged
in groups. A few pictures of distinguished men were
wreathed in imitation laurel leaves cut out of green
paper. Chandeliers and side brackets carved out of
cracker -box boards into fantastic shapes were tilled
with candles, while at either end of the long room great
logs in the wide fireplaces threw out a cheerful light.

The ball opened, headed by the first-sergeant. After
this the officers and their wives were invited to form a
set at one end of the room, and we danced several
times. One of the men whose voice was clear and loud
sang the calls. lie was a comical genius, and impro-
vised new ways of calling oil. When the place came
in the quadrille to " Turn your partners," his voice rose
above the music, in the notes of the old song, " Oh swing
those girls, those pretty little girls, those girls you left
behind you !" This was such an inspiration to the fun-

INCIDENTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. 105

lovers that the swinging usually ended in our being
whirled in the air by the privileged members of our
family.

The soldiers were a superb lot of men physically.
The out-door life had developed them into perfect spec-
imens of vigorous manhood. After tlie company tailor
had cut over their uniforms, they were often the per-
fection of good fitting. The older soldiers wore, on the;
sleeves of their coats, the rows of braid that designate
the number of years in the service. Some had the army
badges of the corps in which they fought during the
war, while an occasional foreign decoration showed that
they had been brave soldiers in the fatherland. Wo
were escorted out to the supper-room in the company-
kitchen in advance of the enlisted men. The general
delighted the hearts of the sergeant and ball-managers
by sitting down to a great dish of potato-salad. It was
always well-flavored with the onion, as rare out* there,
and more appreciated than pomegranates are in l!^ew
York. We ladies took cake, of course, but sparingly,
for it was also a great luxury.

When we returned to watch the dancing, the general
was on nettles for fear we should be wanting in tact, and
show our amusement by laughing at the costumes of the
women. There was but a sprinkling of them : several
from Bismarck and a few white servants of the oflScers,
Each company was allowed but three or four laundress-
es. The soldier was obliged to ask permission to mar-
ry, and his engagement was a weary waiting sometimes.
In order to get a vacancy for his sweetheart, he had to
await the discharge of some other soldier from the comr

106 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

pany, whose wife held the appointment of laundress.
These women were at the ball in full force, and each
one brought her baby. When we removed our wraps in
the room of the first -sergeant we usually found his bed
quite full of curly -headed infants sleeping, while the
laundress mothers danced. The toilets of these women
were something marvellous in construction. In low
neck and short sleeves, their round, red arms and well-
developed figures wheeled around the barracks all night
long. Even the tall Mexican laundress, hereafter spe-
cially mentioned, would deck herself in pink tarletan
and false curls, and notwithstanding lier height and co-
lossal anatomy, she had constant partners.

The little Dutch woman, who loved her husband
more devotedly after each beating, and did not dance
with any one else, was never absent from the balls.
Her tiny little figure was suspended between heaven
and earth while her tall soldier whirled her around the
long hall in the endless German waltz. Some officer
would whisper slyly in my ear, as she bowed and
smiled in passing, "Do you see the get-up of 'Old
Trooble Agin V " She had long before earned this
sobriquet, when coming to me for help out of her
misfortunes, beginning each story of woe with " Troo-
ble agin." Wherever we were, when the orders were
issued for a campaign, she soon appeared claiming sym-
pathy. No one could feel at such a time more than I
the truth of her preface, for if we were to be left be-
liind, it was, indeed, " Trouble again."

The pack of hounds were an endless source of delight
to the general. We had about forty : the stag-hounds

INCIDENTS OF EVERY-DAY LIFE. 107

that run by sight, and are on the whole the fleetest and
most enduring dogs in the world, and the fox-hounds
that follow the trail with their noses close to the ground.
The first rarely bark, but the latter are very noisy. The
general and I used to listen with amusement to their
attempts to strike the key-note of the bugler when he
sounded the calls summoning the men to guard mount,
stables, or retreat. It rather destroyed the military ef-
fect to see, beside his soldierly 'figure, a hound sitting
down absorbed in imitation. With lifted head and roll-
ing eyes there issued from the broad mouth notes so
doleful they would have answered for a misericordia.

The fox-hounds were of the most use in the winter,
for the hunting was generally in the underbrush and
timber along the river. I never tired of watching the
start for the hunt. The general was a figure that would
have fixed attention anywhere. He had marked indi-
viduality of appearance, and a certain unstudied care-
lessness in the wearing of his costume that gave a pict-
uresque effect, not the least out of place on the frontier.
He wore troop -boots reaching to his knees, buckskin
breeches fringed on the sides, a dark navy blue shirt
with a broad collar, a red necktie, whose ends floated
over his shoulder exactly as they did when he and his
entire division of cavalry had worn them during the
war. On the broad felt hat, that was almost a sombrero,
was fastened a slight mark of his rank.

He was at this time thirty-five years of age, weighed
one hundred and seventy pounds, and was nearly six
feet in height. His eyes were clear blue and deeply set,
his hair short, wavy, and golden in tint. His mustache

108 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

was long and tawny in color ; his complexion was florid,
except where his forehead was shaded by his hat, for
the sun always burned his skin ruthlessly.

He was the most agile, active man I ever knew,
and so very strong and in such perfect physical con-
dition that he rarely knew even an hour's indisposi-
tion.

Horee and man seemed one when the general vaulted
into the saddle. His Body was so lightly poised and so
full of swinging, undulating motion, it almost seemed
that the wind moved him as it blew over the plain. Yet
every nerve was alert and like finely tempered steel, for
the muscles and sinews that seemed so pliable were
equal to the curbing of the most fiery animal. I do not
think that he sat his horse with more grace than the
other officers, for they rode superbly, but it was ac-
counted by others almost an impossibility to dislodge
the general from the saddle, no matter how vicious the
horse might prove. He threw his feet out of the stir-
rups the moment the animal began to show his inclina-
tion for war, and with his knees dug into the sides of
the plunging brute, he fought and always conquered.
With his own horses he needed neither spur nor whip.
They were such friends of his, and his voice seemed so
attuned to their natures, they knew as well by its in-
flections as by the slight pngssure of the bridle on their
necks what he wanted. By the merest inclination on
the general's part, they either sped on the wings of the
wind or adapted their spirited steps to the slow move-
ment of the march. It was a delight to see them to-
gether, they were so in unison, and when he talked to

INCIDENTS OF EVERT-DAY LIFE. 109

them, as though they had been human beings, their in-
telligent eyes seemed to reply.

As an example of his horsemanship he had a way of
escaping from the stagnation of the dull march, when
it was not dangerous to do so, by riding a short distance
in advance of the column over a divide, throwing him-
self on one side of his horse so as to be entirely out of
sight from the other direction, giving a signal that the
animal understood, and tearing o£E at the best speed
that could be made. The horse entered into the frolic
with all the zest of his master, and after the race the
animal's beautiful, distended nostrils glowed blood-red
as he tossed his head and danced with delight.

In hunting, the general rode either Yic or D;indy.
The dogs were so fond of the latter, they seemed to
have little talks with him. The general's favorite
dog, Bliicher, would leap up to him in the saddle, and
jump fairly over the horse in starting. The spirited
horses, mounted by officers who sat them so well, the
sound of the horn used for the purpose of calling the
dogs, their answering bay, the glad voices, and "whoop-
la" to the hounds as the party galloped down the valley,
are impressions ineffaceable from my memory. They
often started a deer within sound of the bugle at the
post. In a few hours their shouts outside would call
me to the window, and there, drooping across the back
of one of the orderlies' horses, would be* a magnificent
black-tailed deer. We had a saddle of venison hanging
on the wood-house almost constantly during the winter.
The officers', and even the soldiers', tables had this rari-
ty to vary the monotony of the inevitable beef.

110 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

After these hunts the dogs had often to be cared for.
They would be lame, or cut in the chase, through the
tangle of vines and branches. These were so dense it
was a constant wonder to the general how the deer
could press through with its spreading antlers. The
English hounds, unacquainted with our game, used to
begin with a porcupine sometimes. It was pitiful,
though for a moment at first sight amusing, to see their
noses and lips looking like animated pin - cushions.
There was nothing for us to do after such an encounter
but to begin surgery at once. The general would not
take time to get off his hunting-clothes nor go near the
fire until he had called the dog into his room and ex-
tracted the painful quills with the tweezers from his
invaluable knife. I sat on the dog and held his paws,
but quivered even when I kept my head averted. The
quills being barbed cannot be withdrawn, but must be
pulled through in the same direction in which they en-
tered. The gums, lips, and roof of the mouth were full
of little wounds, but the dogs were extremely sagacious
and held very still. When the painful operation was
over they were very grateful, licking the general's hand
as he praised them for their pluck.

Sometimes, when the weather was moderate, and I
rode after the fox-hounds, one of them separated him-
self from the pack, and came shaking his great, velvet
ears and wagging his cumbrous tail beside my horse.
The general would call my attention to him, and tell
me that it was our latest surgical patient, paying us his
bill in gratitude, " which is the exchequer of the poor."

Among the pack was an old hound that had occa-

INCIDENTS OF EVERY-DAY LIFE. Ill

Bional fits. When he felt the symptoms of an attack
he left the kennel at the rear of the house, came round
to the front-door, and barked or scratched to get in.
My husband knew at once that the dog was goiog to
suffer, and that instinct had taught him to come to us
for help. Eover would lie down beside the general un-
til his hour of distress, and then solicit the ever-ready
sympathy with his mournful eyes. The general rubbed
and cared for him, while the dog writhed and foamed at
the mouth. He was always greatly touched to see the
old hound, when he began to revive, try to lift the tip
of his tail in gratitude.

With the stag-hounds, hunting was so bred in the
bone tliat they sometimes went off by themselves, and
even the half-grown puppies followed. I have seen
them returning from such a hunt, the one who led the
pack holding proudly in his mouth a jack-rabbit.

The wolves in their desperate hunger used to come
up on the bluffs almost within a stone's-throw of our
quarters. It was far from pleasant to look out of the
window and see them prowling about. Once when the
stag-hounds were let out of the kennel for exercise, they
flew like the winds over the hills after a coyote. The
soldier who took care of them could only follow on
foot, as the crust on the snow would not bear the weight
of a horse. After a long, cold walk he found the dogs
standing over the wolf they had killed. When he had
dragged it back to our wood-shed he sent in to ask if
the general would come and see what the dogs had done
unaided and alone, for he was very proud of them.

As the family all stood talking over the size of the

113 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

coyote and its fur, I said, triumphantly, " Now, I shall
have a robe !" It was enough for them, and they made
no end of sport about my planning a robe out of one
small skin. After we had all gone into the house, the
soldier, who was not accustomed to hear such badger-
ing, went in to Mary, and indignantly exclaimed, " Be
jabers, and they'll not tease her about that long !" Af-
ter that, during the winter, he walked frequently over
the plain with the dogs, and when they had started a
trail and run almost out of sight, he patiently followed
until he reached the spot where they had brought down
the game. Even in that bitter weather he brought in
enough foxes, swifts, and coyotes to make me a large
robe. When it was made up, I triumphantly placed
myself on it, and reminded my family of their teasing,
and the time, so lately past, when I had been an object
of jest to them.

The weather seemed to grow colder and colder as the
winter advanced — from 20° to 30° below zero was or-
dinary weather. The officers were energetic enough to
get up sleighs, even with all the difficulties they had to
encounter. There was no lumber at the post except
unseasoned cotton-wood. The man who could get a
packing-box for the body of his sleigh was a Croesus.
The carpenter cut and sawed the edges into scallops
and curves ; the rudest bobs were ironed by the com-
pany blacksmith ; and the huge tongue of an army wag-
on was attached to the frail egg-shell. The wood-work
was painted black, and reallj'^ the color and shape re-
minded one of a little baby hearse. Sister Margaret
and I disliked sleighing even under favorable circum-

INCIDENTS OF EVERY-DAY LIFE. Ha

stances, but that made no sort of difference ; we were ex-
pected to go twice a day, and try in turn eacli new sleigh.

My husband found a sketch in some of the illustrated
papers, which he thought such a fitting representation
of us that he added some lines and drew some applica-
ble features to the picture, and wrote underneath, " Mar-
garet and Libbie enjoying a sleigh-ride !" (two wretched,
shivering beings, wrapped in furs, sit with their feet in
a tub of ice-water, while a servant rings a dinner-bell
over their heads). When we were thus taken out, as a
sacrifice we were enveloped in so many wraps we had
literally to be carried and dropped into the sleigh, and
after hot bricks were adjusted to our feet, we assumed
the martyr look that women understand how to take on
when persuaded against their will, and off we flew. It
made no impression if we were speechless — the dearth
of women made the men far from critical. Sometimes
we went to the Hart River, which empties into the Mis-
souri, and which we were not afraid to drive over, as it
was frozen solid. And yet it should be understood that
we preferred to go and be frozen rather than stay at
home and be comfortable, for we were a band of frienas
sharing the same isolation, and each took comfort in
contributing to the enjoyment of the rest.

One sort of sleighing we really did enjoy. One of the
officers got up a long sleigh, using the bed of an army
wagon for the box. He was his own coachman, and
stood in front driving an excellent four-in-hand. We all
placed ourselves in the straw and robes, and nothing of
the whole party was visible except two rows of " tip tilt-
ed," rosy-tinted noses peeping out from under fur caps

114 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

and gay mufflers. If any one rashly left a seat to play
some prank it was never regained. The space closed np
instantly, and it was a choice of standing for the rest of
the distance, or uncomfortably sitting on the spurs, arc-
tics, or buffalo over-shoes of the others. Another of
our number tried driving tandem ; and as his horses
were very fleet and his sleigh very frail, it was a study
from first to last how soon we should gather up the
fragments of our scattered selves from the white plain
over which we flew at eagle speed.

When the thermometer went down to 45° below
zero, the utmost vigilance was exercised to prevent
the men from being frozen. The general took off
all the sentinels but two, and those were encased
in buffalo overcoats and shoes, and required to walk
their beat but fifteen minutes at a time. There were
no wells or cisterns, and the quartermaster had no
means of supplying the post with water, except with a
water-wagon that required six mules to haul it around
the garrison. The hole in the river through which the
water was drawn was cut through five feet of ice. It •
was simply dreadful on those bitter days to see the
poor men whose duty it was to distribute the supply.
My husband used to turn away with a shudder from
the window when they came in sight, and beg me not
to talk of a matter that he was powerless to remedy.
The two barrels at the kitchen - door were all that we
could have, and on some days the men and wagon could f
not go around at all. We husbanded every drop, and
borrowed from a neighbor, if any neighbor was fortu-
nate enough not to have used all his supply.

THE BURNING OF OUR QUARTERS. 115

CHAPTER XI.

THE BUKNESra OF OUK QUAETEKS. CARRYING THE MAIL.

"We had hardly finished arranging our quarters when,
one freezing night, I was awakened by a roaring sound
in a chimney that had been defective from the first.
Women have such a rooted habit of smelling smoke and
sending men on needless investigating trips in the dead
of night, that I tried to keep still for a few moments.
The sound grew too loud to be mistaken, and I awakened
my husband. He ran up -stairs and found the room
above us on fire. He called to me to bring him some
water, believing he could extinguish it himself. While
I hurried after the water, there came such a crash and
explosion that my brain seemed to reel from fright. I
bad no thought but that my husband was killed. Noth-
ing can describe the relief with which I heard his voice
calling back to my agonized question as to his safety.
His escape was very narrow; the chimney had burst,
the whole side of the room was blown out, and he was
covered with plaster and surrounded with fallen bricks.
The gas from the petroleum paper put on between the
plastering and the outer walls to keep out the cold had
exploded. The roof had ignited at once, and was blown
o£E with a noise like the report of artillery. The sen-
tinel at the guard-house fired his carbine as an alarm.
The general ran to one of the lower windows, and with

116 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

his powerful voice that he could throw so far called for
the guard. Then we hurried to the room occupied by
our girl-friend. The plastering falling on her bed from
the burning roof was the first hint she had of the dan-
ger. It was unsafe for her to stop to gather her clothes,
and wrapping a blanket about her we sent her to our
sister next door.

In an incredibly short time the men were swarming
about the house. The general had buttoned his vest,
containing his watch and purse, ov^er his long night-
dress, and unconscious of his appearance, gave just as
cool orders to the soldiers as if it were at drill. They,
also, were perfectly cool, and worked like beavers to
remove our things; for with no engine and without
water it was useless to try to save the house. The gen-
eral stood upon the upper landing and forbade them to
join him, as it was perilous, the floors being then on
fire. He had insisted upon my going out of the house,
but I was determined not to do so until he was safe.
When I did leave I ran in my night-dress over the snow
to our sister's. The house burned very quickly. Fortu-
nately it was a still, cold night, and there was no wind
to spread the flames. Except for this the whole garri-
son must have been burned.

When the morning came we went to inspect the heap
of household belongings that had been carried out on
the parade-ground. It was a sorry collection of torn,
broken, and marred effects ! Most of my clothes were
gone. Our poor girl-friend looked down into her trunk,
empty except for one tarlatan party gown. I had lost
silver and linen, and what laces and finery I had. The

THE BURNING OF OUR QUARTERS. 117

only loss I mourned, as it was really irreparable, was
a collection of newspaper clippings regarding my hus-
band that I had saved during and since the war. Be-
sides these I lost a little wig that I had worn at a fancy-
dress ball, made from the golden rings of curly hair cut
from my husband's head after the war, when he had
given up wearing long locks.

The fire served one purpose after all. Before it oc-
curred I had always been a trial to Mary because I cared
60 little for dress and really owned so few ornaments.
When the servants gathered together after that to boast
of the possessions of their several mistresses, as is custom-
ary with the colored people, who so love display, Mary
was armed with an excuse for me. I used to hear of her
saying, " You jist orter seed what Miss Libbie had afo'
the fire ;" and then she would describe in detail elegant
apparel that I had never even thought of having. Long
afterwards I heard of the comments of one of our num-
ber, who loved the loaves and fishes of this life beyond
everything. In vain she accumulated and had the proud
satisfaction of out-doing every one in the number of her
dresses. Mary managed to slip into her kitchen on some
feigned errand, and drawing upon her imagination re-
lated how much richer Miss Libbie's possessions were
before the fire. I had a hearty laugh by myself when I
heard that the Miss Flora McFlimsey of our circle, worn
out with the boasting of the cook, was heard to exclaim,
"I wish I might have seen for myself all the gorgeous-
ness described. I am tired to death of hearing about
' bef o' the fire.' "
The general selected another set of quarters next to

118 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

his brother's, and thither removed the remnants of out
household goods. He begged me not to go near the
house, or attempt to settle, until I had recovered from
the fright of the fire and of liis imperilled life the night
before. We were all busy enough trying to fit our
things upon our little friend. Her purse, with abun-
dance to buy a new outfit, was burned, and it would be
weeks before she could receive a remittance from home
by our slow mails. Next day, as she sat among us in
borrowed apparel, several sizes too large, she had a sur-
prise. A huge clothes-basket was handed in at the
door, with a note addressed to her, begging her to con-
sider herself, what the garrison had long felt that she
was, " the daughter of the regiment." The basket con-
tained everything that the generous hearts of friends
could suggest. Not content with this, another was sent
on the next day, with a further supply of things bought
in the store at Bismarck. She objected to the accept-
ance, and tears rose in her eyes at the thoughtf ulness ;
but there were no names signed to the note, so we would
not heed remonstrances. Every oiiQ came with needles
and thimbles, and the scissors flew.

I was too much absorbed in this scheme to ask many
questions about the new quarters. When I did inquire,
the general put me off by saying that in a few days I
should begin to settle. The second evening after the
fire he sent for me, and asked if I would come and con-
sult with him about some arrangement of the furniture,
as ho was too busy to come after me. I started at once,
Ijnt Mary, ever thoughtful of my appearance, and deep
in the mystery that followed, urged me to put on my

THE BURNING OF OUR QUARTERS. 119

other gown. I was unwillingly put into it, and went
to the new house to find both sets of quarters lighted
throughout, and the band playing "Home, Sweet Home."
My husband, meeting me, led me in, and to ray utter
surprise I found the whole place completely settled, a
door cut through into Colonel Tom's quarters, and the
garrison assembled at the general's invitation for the
house-warming. The pantry was full of good things to
eat that Mary had prepared for the supper. Every one
tried, by merry frolic and dancing, to make me forget
the catastrophe, and the general, bubbling over with fun,
inspired me to join. Then he told me to what subter-
fuges he had resorted to get the house ready, and re-
peated to me again that it was never worth while to
" cry over spilled milk."

The life of the enlisted men was very dull during the
cold weather. In the summer they had mounted drill
and parades, and an occasional scout, to vary the life.
They got very little good out of their horses in the win-
ter. An hour in the morning and another in the after-
noon were spent every day in grooming them. The
general took me down to the stables sometimes to watch
the work. Each horse had the name given to him by
his rider printed in home-made letters over his stall.
Some of the men were so careful of their horses that
they were able to keep them for service during the five
years of their enlistment. The daily intercourse of
horse and rider quickened the instinct of the brute, so
that he seemed half human. Indeed, I have seen an old
troop-horse, from whose back a raw recruit had tumbled,
go through the rest of the drill as correctly as if mount-

120 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

ed by a well-trained soldier. Many of the soldiers love
and pet their dumb beasts, and if the supply of grain
gives out on a campaign they unhesitatingly steal for
them, as a mother would for a starving child.

Beside every stall hung the saddle and equipments
of the trooper, and the companies vied with one anoth-
er in keeping them in perfect condition. Some of tho
horses' coats shone like satin under the busy currycomb
of an attached master. The captain of a company and
his first-sergeant soon discovered the faults of a horse.
When the preparations for a campaign began, it was
really laughable to hear the ingenious excuses why an
apparently sound horse should be exchanged for an-
other from the fresh supply.

In the same way a soldier who was hopelessly worth-
less was often transferred to another company. The
officers who had been the recipient of the undesirable
soldier would come to the general to complain. I could
not always keep a straight countenance when the in-
jured captain narrated his wrongs. One told of what
desperate need he had been in for a tailor. He had
been proffered this man with many eulogies by a broth-
er officer, and the final recommendation given which
insured the acceptance of this seemingly generous offer
was, "He has made clothes for meP Not until the
transfer was effected, and a suit of clothes ruined for
the captain, was he told by his would-be liberal friend
the whole story, which was, " Oh yes ! he made clothes
for me, but, I forgot to add) I couldn't wear them."

The general sympathized with the impatience of the
snlisted men in their dull life, which drove the ser*

CARRYING THE MAIL. 12i

geants to solicit as a privilege the transportation of the
mail. For a man of my husband's temperament it was
easy to understand that danger was more end arable
than the dead calm of barrack life. The telegraph lines
were frequently down, and except for the courage of
the sergeants we should have been completely isolated
from the outside world. With four mules and the cov-
ered body of a government wagon on bobs, they went
over a trackless waste of snow for two hundred and fifty
miles. Occasionally there were huts that had once been
stage stations, where they could stop, but it was deadly
perilous for them to leave the telegraph line, no matter
through what drifts they were compelled to plunge.

The bewilderment of a snow-storm comes very soon.
An ofiicer lying in the hospital, quite crazed from hav-
ing been lost in attempting to cross a parade-ground
only large enough for the regiment in line, was a fear-
ful warning to these venturesome men. If the mail ser-
geant did not appear when he was due — at the end of
two weeks — the general could scarcely restrain his anx-
iety. He was so concerned for the man's safety that
he kept going to the window and door incessantly. He
spoke to me so often of his fears for him that I used
to imagine he would, for once, express some of his anx-
iety when the sergeant finally appeared to report ; but
military usage was too deeply bred in the bone of both,
and the report was made and received with the custom-
hry repressed dignity of manner. However, I have seen
my husband follow the man to the door, and tell him
that he had felt great concern about him, and renew his
directions to take every precaution for his safety. How

122 BOOTS AND SADDLEa

thankful I used to be tliat I was not hedged in with a
soldier's discipline, but that I could follow the faithful
old trooper and tell him how the general had worried
about hira, and how thankful we all were for his safe
return.

It did not take long for the garrison to discover the
poor mules, witli their tired, drooping heads and wilted
ears, dragging the mail-sleigh into the post. Every offi-
cer rushed to the adjutant's office for his mail. It was
a great event and the letters were hailed with joy. An
orphan, and having no brothers and sisters, I must have
been the only one who was contented not to get any.
For my world was there. An officer's wife who could
hardly wait for news from her lonely, delicate mother
in the East used to say pathetically, realizing the dis-
tance that intervened, that no one knew what it was
to be married to a husband and a mother at the same
time.

As soon as the mail was distributed, the general bur-
ied himself with the newspapers. For several days af-
ter he agreed with me that an old engraving, called
"My Husband," was a faithful likeness of him at such
a time (the picture represented a man sitting in a
chair, completely hidden, except his crossed legs and
his hands, and clasping an outspread paper). As soon
as the contents were devoured, he cut from the illus-
trated papers comic pictures, and adding to them some
doggerel, sent them in to our witty neighbor as illus-
trating some joke that had transpired against her.
With other papers, by a little drawing he transposed
the figures and likenesses of some of the officers who

CARRYING THE MAIL. 123

had been placed previously in some ludicrous position.
Adding marginal comments, he left the pictures upper-
most where they were sure to be seen by the persons for
whom they were intended, when they came in as usual
to look over the papers and magazines in his room. A
clever lady in a neighboring garrison, speaking of the
arrival of the mail, described how voraciously she seized
the new reading matter and closeted herself for hours
to read up in advance of the others. She felt that " hav-
ing exhausted every other topic she must coach up on
something new."

In spite of the great risks and dangers of the mail-
carriers, their journeys were accomplished without seri-
ous accident. I used to hear occasionally that the ser-
geant had levied such a heavy tax upon the citizens of
Bismarck, when he brought small parcels through for
them, that he had quite a little sura of money for him-
self by spring.

124 aOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER Xn.

PEEPLEXrriES AND PLEASrEES OF DOMESTIC LIFE.

The climate of Dakota was so fine that those who
had been poisoned by malaria in the South became per-
fectly well after a short residence there. Sickness was
of rare occurrence, and because of its infrequency it
drew forth lavish sympathy. In the autumn a "beauti-
ful little girl, the daughter of the sutler, was brought
into the garrison dying with diphtheria. There was
no law, like the city ordinance, compelling a warning
placard to be placed on the door, and it would have
been of no avail in keeping her friends away. When
I begged the heart-broken mother to turn from the
last breath of her idol, it seemed to me her lot was
too hard for human endurance. Every sorrow seemed
much worse out there, where we were so unaccustomed
to suffering.

As I looked at the little waxen body prepared for
burial, lying so like a pretty flower, I did not wonder
at the mother's grief and despair. She was a thousand
miles from Eastern friends ; her husband was absent on
business, and she among strangers. At another time,
when a young mother was caring for her newly-born
babe, the little toddling brother was unfortunately ex-
posed to the cold, and fell violently ill with pneumonia.

PERPLEXITIES AND PLEASURES OF DOMESTIC LIFE. 125

Every lady came daily to help care for him, and at last
the officers' repeatedly proffered services were accepted
for night nursing. I remember watching and admir-
ing the tenderness of a handsome, dashing young fel-
low as he walked the floor with the feverish little suf-
ferer, or rocked him patiently until dawn. And when I
saw him often afterwards gliding about in the dance,
or riding beside some pretty girl, I used to think to
myself that I could tell his sweetheart something good
about him. "We were all like one family — every one
was so quick to sympathize, so ready to act if trouble
came.

After the trains had been taken off, and winter had
fairly set in, the young mother, whom we all loved, was
in despair about clothing for her little ones. We had
reached a land where there were no seamstresses, no
ready-made clothing, and nothing suitable for children.
Money did no good, though our friend had abundance
of that, but busy fingers were needed. The ladies
quietly arranged, as a surprise, a sewing-bee. We im-
pressed our brother Tom into our service, and taught
him to use the sewing-machine. A laughing crowd
dropped scissors and thimbles at parade-time and fol-
lowed to the door to watch him hurry on his belt and
sabre and take his place — the quintessence then of every-
thing military and manly. A roomful of busy women,
cutting, basting, making button - holes, and joining to-
gether little garments, soon had a passable outfit for the
brave mother's little ones, and even a gown for her own
sweet self. I do not remember ever seeing anything
quite so Dutchy and cumbersome, however, as those

-126 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

little children dressed in the cobbled-out woollen clothes
our ignorant fingers had fashioned.
. A woman on the frontier is so cherished and appre-
ciated, because she has the courage to live out there,
that there is nothing that is not done for her if she be
gracious and courteous. In twenty little ways the
officers spoiled us: they never allowed us to wait on
ourselves, to open or shut a door, draw up our own
chair, or to do any little service that they could perform
for us. If we ran to the next house for a chat, with a
shawl thrown over our heads, we rarely got a chance to
return alone, but with this undignified head - covering
were formally brought back to our door ! I wonder if
it will seem that we were foolishly petted if I reveal
that our husbands buttoned our shoes, wrapped 'us up
if we went out, warmed our clothes before the fire,
poured the water for our bath out of the heavy pitcher,
and studied to do innumerable little services that a maid
would have done for us in the States.

I don't think it made us helpless, however. In our
turn we watched every chance we could to anticipate
their wants. We did a hundred things we would not
have remembered to do had not the quickly passing time
brought nearer each day those hours of separation when
we would have no one to do for. I am sure I never
saw more tender men than the officers. One learned to
conceal the fact that one was ailing or fatigued, for it
made them so anxious. The eyes of sister Margaret's
husband come to me now, full of intense suffering for
his wife, as she silently read her home letters telling of
our mother Custer's failing strength. She suppressed

PERPLEXITIES AND PLEASURES OF DOMESTIC LIFE. 137

her weeping until tliey had retired and she believed
him asleep. She found her mistake when his gentle
hands stole softly to her cheeks to feel if they were
moistened with tears.

So seldom did we hear of an officer's unkindness to
his wife, that a very old legend used to be revived if a
reference to anything of the kind was needed. Before
the war some officer wished to measure the distance of
a day's march, and having no odometer elected his wife
to that office. The length of the revolution of a wheel
was taken, a white handkerchief tied to a spoke, and
the madam was made to count the rotations all day
long. The story seldom failed to fire the blood of the
officers when it was told. They agreed that notliing-
but a long life among Indians, and having the treat-
ment of the squaw before him, would cause a man to
act with such brutality.

Domestic care sat very lightly on me. Kothing
seemed to annoy my husband more than to find me in
the kitchen. He . determinedly opposed it for years,
and begged me to make a promise that I would never
go there for more than a moment. We had such ex-
cellent servants that my presence was unnecessary most
of the time, but even in the intervals when our fare was
wretched he submitted uncomplainingly rather than that
I should be wearied. A great portion of the time my
life was so rough that he knew it taxed me to the ut-
most, and I never forgot to be grateful that I was spared
domestic care in garrison. "We had so much company
that, though I enjoyed it, I sometimes grew weary.
When the winter came and there was little to do

128 BOOTS A^^D SADDLES.

officially, my husband made every preparation for onr
receptions : ordered the supplies, planned the refresh-
ment, and directed the servants. The consequence was
that I sometimes had as enjoyable a time as if I had
been entertained at some one else's house. To prove
how much pleasure I had, I recall a speech that the
family kept among a collection of my faux pas. They
overheard me saying to some of our guests, " Don't go
home, we are having such a good time." Afterwards
the tormenting home circle asked me if it would not
have been in a little better taste to let the guests say
that !

We had such a number of my husband's family in
garrison that it required an effort occasionally to pre-
vent our being absorbed in one another. A younger
brother came on from Michigan to visit us, and our
sister Margaret's husband had a sister and brother at
the post. Sometimes we found that nine of us were
on one side of the room deeply interested in conver-
sation. Something would rouse us to a sense of our
selfishness, and I was the one sent off to look out the
quiet ones at the hop who needed entertaining. If I
chanced to be struggling to teach new steps in dancing
to feet unaccustomed to anything but march or drill,
or strove to animate the one whom all pronounced a
bore, the family never failed to note it. They played
every sly trick they could to disconcert and tease me.
I did not submit tamely. As soon as I could, I made
my way to them, and by threats and intimidations scat-
tered them to their duty !

At the hops the officers waited long and patiently for

PERPLEXITIES AND PLEASURES OF DOMESTIC LIFE. 139

the women to dance with them; sometimes the first
waltz they could get during the evening would not
come before midnight. I think it would have been
very hard for me to have kept a level head with all the
attention and delightful flattery which the ordinary
manners of oflScers convey, if I had not remembered
how we ladies were always in the minority. The ques-
tion whether one was old or young, pretty or plain, nev-
er seemed to arise with them. I have seen them solicit
the honor of taking a grandmamma to drive, and even
to ride as gallantly as if she were young and fair. No
men discover beauty and youth more quickly, but the
deference they feel for all women is always apparent.

It seemed very strange to me that with all the value
that is set on the presence of the women of an ofiicer's
family at the frontier posts, the book of army regula-
tions makes no provision for them, but in fact ignores
them entirely ! It enters into such minute detail in its
instructions, even giving the number of hours that bean-
soup should boil, that it would be natural to suppose
that a paragraph or two might be wasted on an officer's
wife ! The servants and the company laundresses are
mentioned as being entitled to quarters and rations and
to the services of the surgeon. If an officer's wife falls
ill she cannot claim the attention of the doctor, though
it is almost unnecessary to say that she has it through
his most urgent courtesy. I have even known a sur-
geon, who from some official difficulty was not on
friendly terms with an officer, go personally and solicit
the privilege of prescribing through the illness of his
wife, whom he knew but slightly.

130 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

The officers used sportively to look up the rules in
the army regulations for camp followers, and read them
out to us as they would the riot act ! In the event of
any question being raised regarding our privileges, we
women really came under no other head in the book
which is the sole authority for our army. If we put
down an emphatic foot, declaring that we were going to
take some decisive step to which they were justly op-
posed as involving our safety, perhaps, we would be at
once reminded, in a laughingly exultant manner, of the
provision of the law. The regulations provide that the
commanding officer has complete control over alt cairvp
followers^ with power to put them off the reservation
or detain them as he chooses. Nevertheless, though
army women have no visible thrones or sceptres, nor
any acknowledged rights according to military law, I
never knew such queens as they, or saw more willing
subjects than they govern.

A "STRONG HEART" DANCE! 181

CHAPTER XIII.

A "STKONG HEAKt" DANCE !

The Indian scouts employed by our government and
living at our post belonged to a tribe called the Arick-
arees. This tribe was small, and though not strong
enough in numbers to attack the more powerful Sioux,
there was implacable enmity between them, and a con-
stant desire for revenge. During the preceding sum-
mer a band of Sioux came to Fort Lincoln, and drew
the scouts belonging to the infantry garrison out of their
quarters by some cunningly devised pretext. E^o sooner
did they appear than they were fired upon by the Sioux.
They fought all day, and finally the Eees succeeded in
driving their enemies away. All this took place right
at the post, where the firing could be seen from the win-
dows. It was not known how many Sioux were killed,
for all tribes make extraordinary exertions to carry their
dead from the field. Four only were left. After some
months the Sioux, for some reason best known to them-
selves, sent word that they were coming for a treaty.
The Rees prepared to receive them with what they
termed a " Strong Heart " dance. A message inviting
the garrison was sent by them, through the interpret-
er, and we hailed with relief the variety in our exist-
ence this spectacle would afford. Indian life was still

132 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

a novelty to us, for we had not been witli any peaceable
tribe before coming into Dakota. "We stowed ourselves
away in long sleighs which took us to the quartei's of
the scouts. Their buildings were of logs, and were long
and low in construction. Around the walls on the in-
side were bunks on which were marks showing the quar-
ters assigned to each family. "When the outer door
closed upon us we could scarcely breathe; the atmos-
phere was stifling, and loaded with the odor of smoked
meat, tanned skins, and killikinick tobacco. The place
was lighted by burning logs in a large fireplace, and
the deep shadows threw into high -relief the figures
that came into tlie glare of the fire, and produced
effects from which Dore might have found material for
ji most powerful work.

Before the ceremonies began, we women went round
the place to see the papooses in their mothers' arms, as
they sat in the bunks or on the earthen floor. Each moth-
er held her baby up for our inspection, with as much
pride as if there had never been a little one on earth
before. The squaws were not permitted to come near
the charmed circle in front of the flre, where the mimic
orchestra beat their drums ; they were allowed to sing
at a distance, and joined in the low monotone of the
musicians. At regular intervals, as if keeping time,
they jerked out a nasal twanging note which was em-
phasized by the coarse voices of the warriors. The
dancers were naked, except for the customary covering
over their loins. They had attached to their belts beads
and metal ornaments. Some had so fastened to their
girdles the feathers from the tail of the wild turkey, that

A "STRONG HEART" DANCE! 133

they stood up straight as the savages bent over in the
evolutions of the dance. One leg and arm would be
painted bright vermilion or blue, and the other a vivid
green, with cabalistic characters drawn on them in black.
The faces were hideous, being painted in all colors. A
few had necklaces of bears' claws, on which they set great
value. These hung over the bronze shoulders, the claws
pointing into the brown skin of their chests. One, evi-
dently poorer than the rest, had a rudely cut shirt made
out of an old ham-bag, on which the trade-mark and
name of the manufacturing firm figured conspicuously
as his sole decoration. Another, equally poor, wore only
the covering over his hips, while suspended by a cord
from his neck was a huge tin toy horse. From the scalp-
lock of some there was a strip of cloth falling to the
ground, on which silver disks made of coins were fast-
ened at close intervals.

In the plait of hair falling to their waists we saw
sticks crossed and running through the braid. The in-
terpreter explained that these represented "coups." Our
attention was arrested at once by a little four-year-old
boy, who, from time to time during the evening, was
brought to the circle by his mother, and left to make
his little whirling gyrations around the ring of the dan-
cers. It was explained to us that he had won his right
to join in the festivities of the tribe when the fight took
place the summer before, to settle which this treaty was
planned. Of the four Sioux left on the battle-field that
day, one, though mortally wounded, was not yet dead
when the retreat took place. A Ree squaw, knowing
that it would count her child " a coup " if he put an-

134 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

other wound in the already dying man, sent him out
and incited the child to plunge a knife into the wound-
ed warrior. As a reward he was given the privilege of
joining in all celebrations, and the right to wear an eagle
feather standing straight from the scalp-lock of his tiny
head. We saw the mother's eyes gleam with pride aa
she watched this miniature warrior admitted among the
mature and experienced braves. All the dancers rotated
around together for a time, their bodies always bent,
and they howled as they moved. In the shadowy gloom,
only momentarily made brilliant by the flashes of light
from tlie fire, these grotesque, crouching figures were
wild enough for gnomes. Only occasionally," where
there was a large mixture of white blood, did we see a
well-developed figure. The legs and arms of Indians
are almost invariably thin. ]S[one of them ever do any
manual labor to produce muscle, and their bones are de-
cidedly conspicuous.

We were surprised to observe that though dancing in
so small a space, and weaving in and out in countless
figures, without an apparent effort to avoid collisions,
they never interfered or caught their brandished weap-
ons in the ornaments of one another's toggery. When
a warrior wished to speak, he made some sign to the
others. They then sat down around him, and the music
ceased. He began with a recital of his achievements —
Indians never fail to recapitulate these as a preface to
each speech. Sometimes the speaker's career was illus-
trated, and a cotton sheet was unfolded on which were
painted a number of primitive figures. He gradually
grew more and more earnest ; his dull eyes glared as he

A "STRONG HEART" DANCE! 135

pointed to the scalps he had taken, which were even
then dangling from his belt. Finally the warrior began
to give presents, and to receive them in return, as is the
custom on those occasions. If he gave a pony, he de-
clared it by throwing down a stick on which were cut
notches that signified the gift to the recipient.

After several had told their " coups," for so they des-
ignate their deeds of prowess, one bounded with great
energy into the circle. He narrated with spirit how he
had revenged the death of two of their band by killing
the murderer at the last fight at the post. Before any
one realized it, an old squaw pushed her way violently
into the open space, threw down a roll of calico at his
feet, and fiung off her leggings and blanket as presents
in her gratitude, for it was of her husband and son that
he spoke. As she was about to complete tlie gift; by
removing her last garment, the interpreter, in considera-
tion for us, hurried her out to her bunk in the darkness,
and we saw her no more. Last of all an old Sioux,
wrapped in a black mourning blanket, tottered into the
circle, and silence settled down on all. He spoke of
his son who had been in the fight, and had fallen brave-
ly, but said that before he was killed he had made
many Kees " bite the dust," as he then figurative-
ly expressed it. Excited by the story of the courage
of his offspring, he tottered back to his place, but his
pride soon succumbed to his greater sorrow ; he buried
his head in his blanket when he sank down to his seat.
Hardly had he ceased, before a young Ree leaped into
the midst of the warriors, threw off his blanket, and
with flashing eye plunged into a hurried enumeration

136 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

of his acliievements, to prove his courage in days past.
Then, striding up to the bereaved father, he said in exult-
ant, imperious tones, " Boast no longer of the successes
of your dead, I who stand here am he who killed him !"
The father did not even raise his eyes. The E.ee
called out to the listening warriors, " Will he not fight
me? I stand ready." The old warrior remained un-
moved, even under the Insolent words of the aggressor.
Many years of an eventful life had made him too well
versed in, and too subservient to the laws of Indian
warfare, not to know that a "Strong Heart" dance
bound all in inviolable honor not to break the tempo-
rary peace ; but he knew that once meeting each other
on the open plain there were no restrictions.

When we left the unearthly music, the gloom, and the
barbaric sights, and breathed pure air again, it seemed
as if we had escaped from pandemonium.

One morning soon after that we heard singing, and
found that the squaws were surging down from their
quarters nearly a mile distant. We had not received a
hint of the honor to be conferred, and were mystified
when they all halted in front of our house. They had
come to give us a dance. It was an unusual occurrence,
for the women rarely take part in any but the most
menial services. They were headed by Mrs. Long Back,
the wife of the chief of the scouts. She was distin-
guished as the leader by a tall dress-hat that had been
the property of some society man when he wore civilian
dress. in the States. They began going around after
each other in a jogging, lumbering sort of movement,
and singing a humdrum song in a minor key. Much of

A "STRONG HEART" DANCE! 187

the finery we bad seen at the genuine war-dance was
borrowed from the warriors for this occasion. It was
festooned over the figures of the women already well
covered with blankets, and the weight was not calculated
to add materially to their grace. The ranking lady had
a sabre which her chief had received as a present, and
this she waved over the others in command. One wom-
an carried her six-weeks'-old papoose on her back, and
its little, lolling head rolled from side to side as the
mother trotted round and round after the others.

During the dance one of the officers' colored servants
rushed out, and in his excitement almost ran his head
into the charmed precincts. An infuriated squaw, to
whom all this mummery was the gravest and most mo-
mentous of concerns, flew at him, brandishing a toma-
hawk over his head. He had no need to cry, " O, that
this too, too solid flesh would melt !" for his manner of
vanishing was little short of actual evaporation into air.
Neither his master nor any one else saw him for twenty-
four hours afterwards.

When the women stopped their circumvolutions for
want of breath, we appeared on the porch and made
signs of thanks. They received them with placid self-
satisfaction, but the more substantial recognition of the
general's thanks, in the shape of a beef, they acknowl-
edged more warmly.

138 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER XIV.

GAKKISON LIFE.

There were about forty in our garrison circle, and
as we were very harmonious we spent nearly every
evening together. I think it is the general belief that
the peace of an army post depends very much upon the
example set by the commanding officer. My husband,
in the six years previous, had made it very clear, in a
quiet way, that he would much prefer that there should
be no conversation detrimental to others in his quarters.
It required no effort for him to refrain from talking
about his neighbors, but it was a great deprivation to
me occasionally. Once in a while, when some one had
brought down wrath upon his or her -head by doing
something deserving of censure, the whole garrison
was voluble in its denunciation ; and if I plunged into
the subject also and gave my- opinion, I soon noticed
my husband grow silent and finally slip away. I was
not long in finding an excuse to follow him and ask
what I had done. Of course I knew him too well not
to divine that I had hurt him in some manner. Then
he would make a renewed appeal to me beginning by an
unanswerable plea, "if you wish to please me," and im-
ploring me not to join in discussions concerning any
one. He used to assure me that in his heart he believed

GARRISON LIFE. 139

me superior to such things. In vain I disclaimed being
of that exalted order of females, and declared that it
required great self-denial not to join in a gossip. The
discussion ended by his desiring me to use him as a
safety-valve if I raust criticise others. From motives
of policy alone, if actuated by no higher incentive, it
seemed wise to suppress one's ebullitions of anger. In
the States it is possible to seek new friends if the old
ones become tiresome and exasperating, but once in a
post like ours, so far removed, there is no one else to
whom one can turn. We never went away on leave of
absence, and heard ladies in civil life say emphatically
that they did not like some person they knew, and
" never would," without a start of terror. I forgot that
their lives were not confined to the small precincts of a
territorial post, where such avowed enmity is disas-
trous.

I had very little opportunity to know much of oiiicial
matters ; they were not talked about at home. Instinct
guided me alwa3'^s in detecting the general's enemies,
and when I found them out, a struggle began between
us as to my manner of treating them. My husband
urged that it would embarrass him if others found out
that I had surmised anything regarding official affairs-
He wished social relations to be kept distinct, and he
could not endure to see me show dislike to any one who
did not like liira. I argued in reply that I felt myself
dishonest if I even spoke to one whom I hated. The
contest ended by his appealing to my good-sense, argu-
ing that as the wife of the commanding officer I be-
longed to every one, and in our house I should be hos-

140 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

pitable upon principle. As every one visited us, there
was no escape for me, but I do not like to think now
of having welcomed any one from whom I inwardly
recoiled.

I was not let off on such occasions with any formal
shake of the hand. My husband watched me, and if I
was not sufficiently cordial he gave me, afterwards, in
our bedroom, a burlesque imitation of my manner. I
could not help laughing, even when annoyed, to see him
caricature me by advancing coldly, extending the tips of
his fingers, and bowing loftily to some imaginary guest.
His raillery, added to my wish to please him, had the
effect of making me shake hands so vigorously that I
came near erring the other way and being too demon-
strative, and thus giving the impression that I was the
best friend of some one I really dreaded.

As I was in the tent during so many summers, and
almost constantly in my husband's library in our winter
quarters, I naturally learned something of what was
transpiring. I soon found, however, that it would do
no good if I asked questions in the hope of gaining fur-
ther information. As to curiosity ever being one of
my conspicuous faults, I do not remember, but I do
recollect most distinctly how completely I was taken
aback by an occurrence which took place a short time
after we were married. I had asked some idle question
about official matters, and was promptly informed in a
grave manner, though with a mischievous twinkle of the
eye, that whatever information I wanted could be had by
application to the adjutant-general. This was the ster-
eotyped form, of endorsement on papers sent up to the

GARRISON LIFE. 141

regimental adjutant asking for information. One inci-
dent of many comes to me now, proving how little I knew
of anything but what pertained to our own home cir-
cle. The wife of an officer once treated me with marked
coldness. I was unaware of having hurt her in any way,
and at once took my grievance to that source where I
found sympathy for the smallest woe. My husband
pondered a moment, and then remembered that the
husband of my friend and he had had some slight offi-
cial difficulty, and the lady thinking I knew of it was
taking her revenge on me.

When I first entered army life I used to w^onder what
it meant when I heard officers say, in a perfectly serious

voice, "Mrs. commands her husband's company."

It was my good-fortune not to encounter any such fe-
male grenadiers. A circumstance occurred which made
me retire early from any attempt to assume the slightest
authority. One of the inexhaustible jokes that tlie offi-
cers never permitted me to forget was an occurrence
that happened soon after the general took command of
the 7th Cavalry. A soldier had deserted, and had stolen
a large sum of money from one of the lieutenants. My
sympathy was so aroused for the officer that I urged
him to lose no time in pursuing the man to the nearest
town, whither he was known to have gone. In my in-
terest and zeal I assured the officer that I knew the
general would be willing, and he need not wait to apply
for leave through the adjutant's office. I even hurried
him away. When the general came in I ran to him
with my story, expecting his sympathy, and that he
would endorse all that I had done. On the contrary, he

142 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

quietly assured me that he commanded the regiment,
and tliat he would like me to make it known to the
lieutenant that he must apply through the proper chan-
nels for leave of absence. Thereupon I ate a large
piece of humble pie, but was relieved to find that the
officer had shown more sense than I, and had not ac-
cepted my proferred leave, but had prudently waited
to write out his application. Years afterwards, when my
husband told me what a source of pride it was to him
that others had realized how little I knew about official
affairs, and assured me that my curiosity was less than
that of any woman he had ever known, I took little
credit to myself. It would have been strange, after the
drilling of military life, if I had not attained some
progress.

The general planned every military action with so
much secrecy that we were left to divine as best we
could what certain preliminary movements meant. One
morning, when it was too cold for anything but impor-
tant duty, without any explanations he started off with
a company of cavalry and several wagons. As they
crossed the river on the ice, we surmised that he was
going to Bismarck. It seemed that the general had
been suspicious that the granaries were being robbed,
and finally a citizen was caught driving off a loaded
wagon of oats from the reservation in broad daylight.
This was about as high-handed an instance of thieving as
the general had encountered, and he quietly set to work
to find out the accomplices. In a little while it was
ascertained that the robbers had concealed their plunder
in a vacant store in the principal street of Bismarck.

GARRISON LIFE. 143

The general detennined to go himself directly to the
town, thinking that he could do quickly and without
opposition what another might find difficult. The better
class of citizens honored him too highly to oppose his
plan of action, even though it was unprecedented for
the military to enter a town on sucli an errand. The
general knew the exact place at which to halt, and drew
the company up in line in front of the door. He de-
manded the key, and directed the men to transfer the
grain to the wagons outside. "Without a protest, or an
exchange of words even, tlie troops marched out of the
town as quietly as they had entered. This ended tlie
grain thefts.

It was a surprise to me that after the life of excite-
ment my husband had led, he should grow more and
more domestic in his tastes. His daily life was very
simple. He rarely left home except to hunt, and was
scarcely once a year in the sutler's store, where the offi-
cers congregated to play billiards and cards. If the
days were too stormy or too cold for hunting, as they
often were for a week or more at a time, he wrote and
studied for hours every day. "We had the good-fortune
to have a billiard-table loaned us by the sutler, and in
the upper room where it was placed, my husband and I
had many a game when he was weary with writing.

The general sometimes sketched the outline of my
pictures, which I was preparing to paint, for he drew
better than I did, and gladly availed himself of a chance
to secure variety of occupation.

The relatives of the two young housemaids whom we
had in our service regretted that they were missing

144 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

school, SO the general had the patience to teach them.
The day rarely passed that Col. Tom, my husband, and
I did not have a game of romps. The grave orderly
who sat by the hall-door used to be shocked to see the
commanding officer in hot pursuit of us up the steps.
The quick transformation which took place when he was
called from the frolic to receive the report of the officer
of the day was something very ridiculous.

Occasionally he joined those who gathered in our
parlor every evening. He had a very keen sense of his
social responsibilities as post-commander, and believed
that our house should be open at all hours to the garri-
son. His own studious habits made it a deprivation if
he gave up much of his time to entertaining. I learned
that in no way could I relieve him so much as by being
always ready to receive. He grew to expect that I
would be in the parlor at night, and plan whatever di-
versions we had. I managed to slip away several times
in the evening, and go to him for a little visit, or possi-
bly a waltz, while the rest danced in the other room.
If I delayed going to him while absorbed in the general
amusement, a knock at the door announced the orderly
carrying a note for me. Those missives always reminded
me of my forgetfulness in some ingenious arrangement
of words. When I laughed outright over one of these
little scraps, our friends begged me t^ share the fun
with them. It was only a line, and read, "Do you
think I am a confirmed monk 1" Of course they insisted
laughingly upon my going at once to the self-appointed
hermit.

We spent the days together almost uninterruptedly

GARRISON LIFE. 145

during the winter. The garrison gave me those hours
and left us alone. My husband had arranged my sew-
ing-chair and work-basket next to his desk, and he read
to me constantly. At one time we had read five author-
ities on Napoleon, whose military career was a never-
ending source of interest to him. He studied so care-
fully that he kept the atlas before him, and marked the
course of the two armies of the French and English
with pencils of different color. One of his favorite
books was a life of Daniel Webster, given him in the
States by a dear friend. Anything sad moved him so
that his voice choked with emotion, and I have known
him lay down the book and tell me he could not go on.
One of the many passages in that beautifully written
book, which my husband thought the most utterly pa-
thetic of all, was the tribute an old farmer had paid to
the dead statesman. Looking down upon the face of
the orator for the last time, the old man says, in solilo-
quy, "Ah, Daniel, the world will be lonesome now you
are gone !"

I became so accustomed to this quiet life in the
library with my husband that I rarely went out. If I
did begin the rounds of our little circle with our girl-
friend, whom every one besought to visit them, an
orderly soon followed us up. Without the glint of a
smile, and in exactly the tone of a man giving the order
for a battle, he said, " The general presents his compli-
ments, and would like to know when he shall send the
trunks ?" I recollect a message of this sort being once
brought to us when we were visiting an intimate friend,
by the tallest, most formidable soldier in the regiment.

146 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

It was a mystery to us how he managed to deliver his
errand without moving a muscle of his face. He pre-
sented the compliments of the commanding officer, and
added, " He sent you these." We did not trust our-
selves to look up at his lofty face, but took from his ex-
tended hands two bundles of white muslin. There was
no mistaking the shape; they were our night-dresses.
"When we hurried home, and took the general to task
for making us face the solemn orderly, he only replied
by asking if we had intended to stay forever, pointing
to his open watch, and speaking of the terrors of solitary
conlinement !

It was the custom at guard mount every morning to
select the cleanest, most soldierly-looking man for duty
as orderly for the post-commander. It was considered
the highest honor, and really was something of a holi-
day, as the man detailed for this duty had but little to
do, and then had his night in bed ; otherwise, belonging
to the guard, and being newly appointed every twenty-
four hours, he would have been obliged to break his rest
to go on picket duty at intervals all night. There was
great strife to get this position, and it was difficult for
the adjutant to make the selection. He sometimes
carried his examination so far as to try and find dust
on the carbines with his cambric handkerchief.

Guard mount in pleasant weather, with the adjutant
and officer of the day in full uniform, each soldier per-
fect in dress, with the band playing, was a very interest-
ing ceremony. In Dakota's severe cold it looked like
a parade of animals at the Zoo ! x\ll were compelled to
wear buffalo overcoats and shoes, fur caps and gloves.

GARRISON LIFE. 147

When the orderly removed these heavy outside wraps,
however, he stood out as fine a specimen of manhood
as one ever sees. His place in our hall was near the
stove, and on the table by his side were papers and
magazines, many of which were sent by the Young
Men's Christian Association of New York. The general
had once met the secretary of the society, and in re-
sponse to his inquiry about reading-matter, he impressed
him by a strong statement of what a treasure anything
of the kind was at an isolated post.

There was usually a variety of reading-matter, but
one day the orderly stole out to the cook with a com-
plaint. He asked for the general's Turf, Field, and
Farm, or Wilkes's Spirit of the Times, which he was
accustomed to find awaiting him, and confessed that
" tliose pious papers were too bagoted " for him ! He
usually sat still all day, only taking an occasional mes-
sage for the general, or responding to a beckoning invi-
tation from Mary's brown finger at the kitchen - door.
There he found a little offering from her of home
tilings to eat. Occasionally, in the evening, the general
forgot to dismiss him at taps. After that a warning
cough issued from the hall. When this had been re-
peated several times, my husband used to look up so
merrily and say to me it was remarkable how temporary
consumption increased after the hour of bedtime had
come. When the general had a message to send, he
opened his door and rattled off his order so fast that it
was almost impossible for one unacquainted with his
voice to understand. If I saw the dazed eyes of a new
soldier, I divined that probably he did not catch a

148 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

word. Witliout the general's noticing it, I slipped
through our room into the hall and translated the mes-
sage to him.

When I returned, and gave my husband the best imi-
tation I could of the manner in which he spoke when
hurried, and described the orderly, standing, rubbing
his perplexed head over the unintelligible gibberish, he
threw himself on the lounge in peals of laughter.
While we were in the States, sometimes he was in-
vited to address audiences, but being unaccustomed to
public speaking, and easily embarrassed, he made very
droll attempts. He realized that he had not the gift
of oratory, and I used to wish that he would practise
the art. I insisted, that if he continued to speak so
fast in public, I would be obliged to stand beside him
on the platform as interpreter for his hearers, or else
take my position in the audience and send him a sign
of warning from there. I proposed to do something so
startling that he could not help checking his mad speed.
He was so earnest about everything he did, I assured
him no ordinary signal would answer, and we finished
the laughing discussion by my volunteering to rise in
the audience the next time he spoke, and raise an unk
brella as a warning to slacken up I

GENERAL CUSTER'S LITERARY WORK. 149

CHAPTER XV.

GENERAL CUSTEk's LITERARY WORK.

When my husband began to write for publication, it
opened to him a world of interest, and afterwards proved
an unfailing source of occupation in the long Dakota
winters. I think he had no idea, when it was first sug-
gested to him, that he could write. When we were in
New York, several years before, he told me how per-
fectly surprised he was to have one of the magazine
editors seek him out and ask him to contribute articles
every month. And a few days after he said, " I begin
to think the editor does not imagine that I am hesitating
about accepting his offer because I doubt my ability as
a writer, but because he said nothing about payment at
first; for to-day," he added, not yet over his surprise
at what seemed to him a large sum, "he came again
and offered me a hundred dollars for each contribu-
tion." We at once seemed to ourselves bonanzas. Many
times afterwards we enjoyed intensely the little pleas-
ures and luxuries given us by what his pen added to the
family exchequer.

On the frontier, where the commanding officer keeps
open house, he has little opportunity to have more than
a passing glimpse of his pay accounts, so quickly do
they go to settle table expenses. It made very little

150 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

difference to ns, though ; onr tastes became more
simple each year that we lived so much out-of-doors.
There was little dress competition in garrison, and in
no way could we enjoy the general's salary more than
in entertaining.

At our first post after the war, the idle tediousness of
the life was in such contrast to the whirl and dash of
the years just passed that the days seemed insupporta-
ble to my husband. While there we entertained a
charming oflScer of the old school. His experience and
age made me venture to speak to him confidentially of
the sympathy I felt for the aimlessness of my husband's
life. I was in despair trying to think of some way in
which to vary the monotony ; for though he said little,
I could see how he fretted and chafed under such an
existence. The old officer appreciated what I told him,
and after thinking seriously for a time, urged me to try
and induce him to explore new territory and write de-
scriptive articles for publication. When the actual offer
came afterwards, it seemed to me heaven-sent. I used
every persuasive argument in my power to induce him
to accept. I thought only of its filling up the idle
hours. I believed that he had the gift of a ready writer,
for though naturally reticent, he could talk remarkably
well when started. I had learned to practise a little
stratagem in order to draw him out. I used to begin a
story and purposely bungle, so that, in despair, he would
take it up, and in rapid graphic sentences place the
whole scene before us. Afterwards he was commended
for writing as he talked, and making his descriptions of
plains life " pen pictures."

GENERAL CUSTER'S LITERARY WORK. 151

The general said to me that it was with diflSculty he
suppressed a smile when his publisher remarked to him
that his writing showed the result of great care and
painstaking. The truth was, he dashed off page after
page without copying or correcting. He had no dates
or journal to aid him, but trusted to his memory to take
him back over a period of sixteen yeare. I sat beside
him while he wrote, and sometimes thought him too in-
tent on his work to notice ray going away. He would
follow shortly, and declare that he would not write an-
other line unless I returned. This was an effectual
threat, for he was constantly behind, and even out there
heard the cry for " copy " which the printer's devil is
always represented as making. I never had anything
to do with his writing, except to be the prod which
drove him to begin. He used to tell me that on some
near date he had promised an article, and would ask me
solemnly to declare to him that I would give him no
peace until he had prepared the material. In vain I re-
plied that to accept the position of "nag" and "tor-
ment" was far from desirable. He exacted the promise.

When he was in the mood for writing, we used laugh-
ingly to refer to it to each other as " genius burning."
At such times we printed on a card, '^ this is my busy
day," and hung it on the door. It was my part to go
out and propitiate those who objected to the general
shutting himself up to work.

While my father lived, he used to ask me if I real-
ized what an eventful life I was leading, and never
ceased to inquire in his letters if I was keeping a jour-
nal. When the most interesting portions of our life

152 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

were passing, each day represented siicli a struggle on
my part to endnre the fatigues and hardships that I had
no energy left to write a line when the evening came.
My husband tried for years to incite me to write, and
besought me to make an attempt as I sat by him while
he worked. I greatly regret that I did not, for if I had
I would not now be entirely without notes or dates, and
obliged to trust wholly to memory for events of our life
eleven years ago.

When my husband returned from the East in the
spring of 1876 he had hardly finished his greeting be-
fore he said, " Let me get a book that I have been read-
ing, and which I have marked for you." While he
sought it in his travelling-bag I brought one to him,
telling him that I had underlined much of it for him,
and though it was a novel, and he rarely read novels,
he must make this book an exception. What was our
surprise to find that we had selected the same story, and
marked many of the same passages! One sentiment
which the general had enclosed with double brackets in
pencil, was a line spoken by the hero, who is an author.
He begs the heroine to write magazine articles, assuring
her she can do far better than he ever did.

Once, when on leave of absence, the general dined
with an old oflScer, whose high character and long ex-
perience made whatever he said of real value. He con-
gratulated my husband on his success as a writer, but
added, with a twinkle in his eye, " Custer, they say that
your wife wrote the magazine articles." " If they say
that," replied my husband, " they pay me the highest
compliment that I could possibly receive." " Ah, well,"

GENERAL CUSTER'S LITERARY WORK. 153

replied the generous friend, " whoever wrote them they
certainly reflect great credit on the family." My hus-
band wrote much, but was not a voluble talker. As I
have said, most of the entertaining devolved upon me,
and the fact that I often spoke of the scenes in his
" Life on the Plains " that we had shared together, must
have been the reason why some persons listening to the
oft-repeated stories ascribed the book to me.

As for my congratulations, the very highest meed of
praise I could give him was that he had not taken the
opportunity offered in describing his life in the book to
defend himself against the unjust charges of his ene-
mies. I had found that they expected and dreaded it,
for " the pen is mightier than the sword," and military
people are quick to realize it. My husband appreciated
my having noticed what he studied to avoid, though
while I commended, I frankly owned I could not have
been equal to the task of resisting what could not but
be a temptation to retaliate.

154 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER XVI.

INDIAN DEPKEDATI0N8.

Long after the flowers were blooming in the States,
the tardy spring began to appear in the far North.
The snow slowly melted, and the ice commenced to
thaw on the river. For a moment it would be a pleas-
ure to imagine the privilege of again walking out on the
sod without peril of freezing. The next instant the
dread of the coming campaign, which summer is almost
certain to bring to a cavalry commund, filled every
thought, and made me wish that our future life could
be spent where the thermometer not only went down to
twenty degrees below zero but remained there.

When I spied the first tiny blade of grass, I used to
find myself acting like a child and grinding the inno-
cent green with my heel, back from where it sprang.
The first bunch of flowers that the soldiers brought me,
long before the ground had begun to take on even a
faint emerald tint, were a variety of anemone, a bit of
blue set deep down in a cup of outer petals of gray.
These were so thick and fuzzy they looked like a sur-
rounding of gray blanket. And well the flowers needed
such protection on the bleak hills where they grew.
They were a great novelty, and I wanted to go and seek
them myself, but my husband gave me the strictest in-

INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 155

junction in reply not to step outside the garrison limits.
We had received warning only a short time before that
the Indians had crawled out of their winter tepees, and
we knew ourselves to be so surrounded that it became
necessary to station pickets on the high ground at the
rear of the post.

On the first mild day my husband and I rode over to
the opposite bank of the river, which was considered
the safe side. Thinking ourselves secure from danger
there, we kept on further than we realized. A magnifi-
cent black-tailed deer, startled by our voices and laugh-
ter, and yet too well hidden by the underbrush to see us,
resorted to a device habitual with deer when they wish
to see over an extent of country. He made a leap
straight into the air, his superb head turned to us
searchingly. He seemed hardly to touch the earth as
he bounded away. ^ It was too great a temptation to re-
sist. We did not follow far though, for we had neither
dogs nor gun.

Scarcely any time elapsed before an officer and a de-
tachment of men riding over the ground where we had
started the deer, but obliged to pursue their way further
up the valley as they were on duty, came to a horrible
sight. The body of a white man was staked out on the
ground and disembowelled. There yet remained the
embers of the smouldering fire that consumed him. If
the Indians are hurried for time, and cannot stay to wit-
ness the prolonged torture of their victim, it is their
custom to pinion the captive and place hot coals on hia
vitals.

The horror and fright this gave us women lasted for

156 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

a time, and rendered unnecessary the continued warn-
ings of our husbands about walking outside the line of
the pickets. Even with all the admonitions, we began
to grow desperate, and chafed under the imprisonment
that confined us to a little square of earth month in
and month out. One day temptation came suddenly
upon us as three of us were loitering on the outskirts of
the post. The soldier who drove our travelling-wagon,
the imperturbable Burkman, came near. "We cajoled liim
into letting us get in and take ever so short a turn down
the valley. Delighted to have our freedom again, we
wheedled the good-natured man to go a "little and a
little further." At last even he, amiable as he was, re-
fused to be coaxed any longer, and he turned around. We
realized then how far away we were; but we were not so
far that we could not plainly discover a group of officers
on the veranda at our quarters. They were gesticulat-
ing wildly, and beckoning to us with all their might.
As we drove nearer we could almost see by a certain
movement of the lower jaw that the word being framed
was one that seems to be used in all climates for extreme
cases of aggravation. They were all provoked, and
caught us out of the carriage and set us down, after a
little salute, for all the world like mothers I have seen
who receive their children from narrow escapes with
alternate shakings and hugs. It seemed hard to tell
whether anger or delight predominated. In vain we
made excuses, when order was restored and we could
all speak articulately. "We were then solemnly sworn,
each one separately, never to do such a foolhardy thing
again.

INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 157

The Government had made a special appropriation
for rations to be distributed, through the officers, to the
suffering farmers tliroughout Minnesota and Dakota
whose crops had been destroyed by grasslioppers. As
we were on the side of the river with the warlike Indi-
ans, we knew of but one ranch near us. It was owned
by an old man who had been several times to the gen-
eral for assistance. He was a man of extraordinary
courage, for he had located his claim too far away from
any one to be able to obtain assistance if he needed it.
He never left his home except to bring into market the
skins that he had trapped, or his crops, when the season
was profitable. He was so quaint and peculiar, and so
very grateful for the help given him, that my husband
wanted me to hear him express his thanks. The next
time he came, the door into our room was left open, in
order that I might listen to what otherwise he would
have been too shy to utter. He blessed the general in
the most touching and solemn manner. The tears were
in liis eyes, and answering ones rose in my husband's,
for no old person failed to appeal to his sympathies and
recall his own aged parents, deferring to some domes-
tic troubles that he had previously confided to the gen-
eral, he spoke of their having driven him beyond the
pale of civilization when he was old and feeble, and
compelled him to take his " dinner of herbs " in a de-
serted spot. At this point in his narrative the door
was significantly shut, and I was thus made aware that
the gratitude part was all that I was to be permitted to
hear. My husband considered his confidence sacred.
"We knew that the old man lived a hermit's life, entirely

158 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

alone the year through. In the blizzards he could not
leave his door-step without being in danger of freezing
to death. Some time after this a scout brought word that
during the spring he had passed the ranch, and nothing
was to be seen of the old man. The general suspected
something wrong, and took a company himself to go to
the place. lie found that the Indians had been there,
had dismantled and robbed the house, driven off the
cattle and horses, and strewn the road with plunder.
On the stable floor lay the body of the harmless old
man, his silvery hair lying in a pool of blood, where he
had been beaten to death. They were obliged to return
and leave his death unavenged, for by the time the first
news reached us the murderers were far away.

A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TERROR. 158

CHAPTER XVII.

A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TEEEOE.

When the air became milder it was a delight, after
our long housing, to be able to dawdle on the piazza.
The valley below us was beginning to show a tinge of
verdure. Several hundred mules belonging to the sup-
plj-wagon train dotted the turf and nibbled as best they
could the sprouting grass. Half a dozen citizens lounged
on the sod, sleepily guarding the herd, for these mules
were hired by the Government from a contractor. One
morning we were walking back and forth, looking, as
we never tired of doing, down the long, level plain,
when we were startled by shouts. We ran to the edge
of the piazza, and saw the prisoners, who had been work-
ing outside the post, and the guard who had them in
charge, coming in at a double-quick. A hatless and
breathless herder dashed up to the officer on an unsad-
dled mule. With blanched face and protruding eyeballs
he called out that the Indians were running off the herd.

The general came hastily out, just in time to see a
cloud of dust rising through a gap in the bluffs, marking
the direction taken by the stampeded mules. Instantly
he shouted with his clear voice to the bugler to sound
the call, "Boots and saddles," and keep it up until he told
him to stop. The first notes of the trumpet had hardly

160 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

sounded before the porches of the company quarters
and the parade were alive with men. Every one, with-
out stopping to question, rushed from the barracks and
officers' quarters to the stables. The men threw their
saddles on their horses and galloped out to the parade-
ground. Soldiers who were solely on garrison duty,
and to whom no horse was assigned, stole whatever
ones they could find, even those of the messengers tied
to the hitching -posts. Others vaulted on to mules
barebacked. Some were in jackets, others in their flan-
nel shirt-sleeves. Many were hatless, and occasionally
a head was tied up with a handkerchief. It was any-
thing but a military-looking crowd, but every one was
ready for action, and such spirited-looking creatures it
is rarely one's lot to see. Finding the reason for the
hasty summons when they all gathered together, they
could hardly brook even a few moments' delay.

The general did not tarry to give any but brief di-
rections. He detailed an officer to remain in charge
of the garrison, and left him some hurried instructions.
He stopped to caution me again not to go outside the
post, and with a hasty good-bye flung himself into the
saddle and was off. The command spurred their horses
towards the opening in the bluff, not a quarter of a
mile away, through which the last mules had passed.
In twenty minutes from the first alarm the garrison
was emptied, and we women stood watching the cloud
of dust that the hoofs of the regimental horses had
stirred as they hurled themselves through the cleft in
the hills.

We had hardly collected our senses before we found

A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TERROR. 161

that we were almost deserted. "As a rule, there are
enough soldiers on garrison duty, who do not go on
scouts, to protect the post, but in the mad haste of
the morning, and impelled by indignant fury at having
the herd swept away from under their very noses as
it were, all this home-guard had precipitately left with-
out permission. Fortunately for them, and liis own
peace of mind regarding our safety, the general did
not know of this until he returned. Besides, the oflS-
cers never dreamed the pursuit would last for more
than a mile or so, as they had been so quick in pre-
paring to follow.

After our gasping and wild heart- beating had sub-
sided a little, we realized that, in addition to our anxiety
for those who had just left us, we were in peril our-
selves. The women, with one instinct, gathered togeth-
er. Though Indians rarely attack a post directly, the
pickets that were stationed on the low hills at the rear
of the garrison had been fired upon previously. "We also
feared that the buildings would be set on fire by the
wily, creeping savages. It was even thought that the
running off of the herd was but a ruse to get the gar-
rison out, in order to attack the post. Of course we
knew that only a portion of the Indians had produced
the stampede, and we feared that the remainder were
waiting to continue the depredations, and were aware
of our depleted numbers.

Huddled together in an inner room, we first tried to
devise schemes for secreting ourselves. The hastily-
built quarters had then no cellars. How we regretted
that a cave had not been prepared in the hill back of

163 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

US for hiding the women in emergencies. Our means
of escape by the river were uncertain, as the ferry-boat
was in a shocking condition ; besides, the citizens in
charge would very naturally detain the boat upon some
pretext on the safe side of the river. Finally, nervous
and trembling over these conferences, we returned to
the piazza, and tried to think that it was time for the
return of the regiment. Our house being the last in
the line, and commanding an extended view of the
valley, we kept our lookout there. Each of us took
turns in mounting the porch railing, and, held there in
place by the others, fixed the field-glass on the little
spot of earth through which the command had van-
ished. With a plaintive little laugh, one of our num-
ber called out the inquiry that has symbolized all be-
leaguered women from time immemorial, " Sister Anne,
do you see any one coming?"

All of us scanned the horizon unflaggingly. "We
knew the Indian mode of taking observation. They
pile a few stones on the brow of the hill after dark ;
before dawn they creep up stealthily from the farther
side, and hiding behind the slight protection, watch all
day long with unwearying patience. These little picket
posts of theirs were scattered all along the bluffs. "We
scarcely allowed ourselves to take our eyes off them.
Once in a while one of our group on watch called out
that something was moving behind the rocks. Chairs
were brought out and placed beside her, in order that
a second pair of eyes might confirm the statement.
This threw our little shivering group into new panics.

There was a window in the servants' room at the

A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TERROR. 163

rear of the house, to and from which we ascended and
descended all day long. I do not think the actual fear
of death was thought of so much as the all-absorbing
terror of capture. Our regiment had rescued some
white women from captivity in Kansas, and we never
forgot their stories. One of our number became so
convinced that their fate awaited us, that she called a
resolute woman one side to implore her to promise that,
when the Indians came into the post, she would put a
bullet through her heart, before she carried out her de-
termination to shoot herself. We sincerely discussed
whether, in extreme danger, we could be counted upon
to load and fire a carbine.

It would be expected that army women would know
a great deal about fire-arms ; I knew but few who did.
I never even went into the corner of my husband's
library, where he kept his stand of unloaded arms, if
I could help it. I am compelled to confess that the
holster of a pistol gave me a shiver. One of our ladies,
however, had a little of the MoUle Pitcher spirit. She
had shot at a mark, and she promised to teach us to put
in the cartridges and discharge the piece. We were
filled with envy because she produced a tiny Eemington
pistol that heretofore she had carried in her pocket when
travelling in the States. It was not much larger than
a lead-pencil, and we could not help doubting its power
to damage. She did not insist that it would kill, but
even at such a time we had to laugh at the vehement
manner in which she declared that she could disable the
leg of an enemy. She seemed to think that suflScient
pluck would be left to finish him afterwards. The

164 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

officer who had remained in command was obliged to
see that the few troopers left were armed, and after-
wards he visited the pickets. Then he came to us and
tried to quiet our fears, and from that time his life be-
came a burden.

We questioned twenty times his idea as to where
lie thought the command had gone, when it would
come back, and such other aimless queries as only the
ingenuity of frightened women can devise. He was
driven almost desperate. In assuring us that he hoped
there was no immediate danger, he asked us to remem-
ber that the infantry post was near enough to give as-
sistance if we needed it. Alas, that post seemed miles
away, and we believed the guUeys that intervened be-
tween the two garrisons would be filled with Indians.
After a prolonged season of this experience, the officer
tried to escape and go to his quarters. We were really
80 anxious and alarmed that he had not the heart to
resist our appeals to him to remain near.

And so tliat long day dragged away. About five
o'clock in the afternoon a faint haze arose on the ho-
rizon. We could hardly restrain our uneasy feet. We
wanted to run up over the bluff to discover what it
meant. We regretted that we had given our word of
honor that we would not leave the limits of the post.
Soon after the mules appeared, travelling wearily back
through the same opening in the bluSs through which
so many hours before they had rushed headlong. We
were bitterly disappointed to find only a few soldiers
driving them, and they gave but little news. When
the regiment overtook the stock these men had been

A DAY OF ANXIETY AND TERROR. 165

detailed to return with the recaptured animals to the
garrison ; the command had pushed on in pursuit of
the Indians.

The night set in, and still we were in suspense. We
made a poor attempt to eat dinner; we knew that none
of the regiment had taken rations with them, and sev-
eral of the officers had not even breakfasted. There
was nothing for us to do but to remain together for the
night.

From this miserable frame of mind we were thrown
into a new excitement, but fortunately not of fear : we
heard the sound of the band ringing out on the still
evening air. Every woman was instantly on the piazza.
From an entirely different direction from that in which
they had left, the regiment appeared, marching to the
familiar notes of " Garryowen."

Such a welcome as met them I The relief from the
anxiety of that unending day was inexpressible. When
the regiment was nearing the post, the general had sent
in an orderly to bring the band out to meet them. He
cautioned him to secrecy, because he wished us to have
a joyous release from the suspense he knew we had en-
dured.

The regiment had ridden twenty miles out, as hard
as the speed of the horses would allow. The general,
and one other officer mounted like himself on a Ken-
tucky thorough-bred, found themselves far in advance,
and almost up to some of the Indians. They seeing
themselves so closely pressed, resorted to the cunning
of their race to escape. They threw themselves from
their ponies, and plunged into the underbrush of a deep

166 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

ravine where no horse could follow. The ponies were
captured, but it was useless to try any further pursuit.
All the horses were fagged, and the oflScers and men
suffering from the want of food and water.

When tlie herders were questioned next day, it waa
found that the Indians had started the stampede by
riding suddenly up from the river where they had been
concealed. Uttering the wildest yells, they each swung
a buffalo robe about the ears of the easily excited mules.

An astonishing collection of maimed and halt ap-
peared the next morning ; neither men nor oflScers had
been in the saddle during the winter. This sudden ride
of so many miles, without preparation, had so bruised
and stiffened their joints and flesh that they could
scarcely move naturally. When they sat down it was
with the groans of old men. When they rose they
declared they would stand perpetually until they were
again limber and their injuries healed.

As to the officer who had been left behind, he in-
sisted that their fate was infinitely preferable to his.
We heard that he said to the others in confidence, that
should he ever be detailed to command a garrison where
agitated women were left, he would protest and beg for
active duty, no matter if his life itself were in jeopardy.

IMPROVEMENTS AT THE POST, AND GARDENmG. 107

CHAPTER XVin.

IMPROVEMENTS AT TUE POST, AND GARDENING.

The general began, as soon as the snow was off the
ground, to improve the post. Young cotton-wood trees —
the only variety that would grow in that soil — were trans-
planted from the river bank. They are so full of sap
that I have seen the leaves come out on the logs that
had been cut some time and were in use as the frame-
work of our camp-huts. This vitality, even when the
roots were dying, deceived us into building hopes that
all the trees we planted would live. "We soon found by
experience, however, that it was not safe to regard a
few new leaves as a sure augury of the long life of these
trees. It would have been diflBcult to estimate how
many barrels of water were poured around their roots
during the summer. A few of them survived, even
during the dry season, and we watched them with great
interest.

One day my liusband called me to the door, with a
warning finger to come softly. He whispered to me to
observe a bird perched on a branch, and trying to get
under the shade of two or three tiny leaflets that were
struggling to live. Such a harbinger of hope made us
full of bright anticipations of the day when our trees
would cast a broad shadow.

168 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

No one who lias not experienced it can dream what
it is to live so many years in a glare as we did. Many
of the officers were almost blind from time to time,
owing to the reflection of the sand over which they
marched, and with which they w^ere surrounded in
camp and garrison. I once asked a friend who had
crossed the plains several times, what she would prefer
above everything else on the march. When she replied,
"a tree," I agreed with her that nothing else could
have been such a blessing.

My husband felt that any amount of care spent on
the poor little saplings would be labor well bestowed.
If we were ordered away, he knew that others coming
after us, stationed in that dreary waste, would derive
the benefit. Several years afterwards I was assured
that some one was reaping his sowing, for a large leaf
was enclosed to me in an envelope, and a word added
to explain that it was from the tree in front of our
quarters.

On the opposite side of the Missouri River, except
for the scattered underbrush along the banks, there was
a stretch of country for eighty miles eastward without
a tree, and with hardly a bush. The only one I knew
of, on our side of the river, I could not help calling a
genuine ancestral tree. It was a burying-place for the
Indians. We counted seventeen of them that were
lashed to boards and laid across the main branches,
and there securely fastened, so that a tornado could
not dislodge them. Much as we longed to enjoy what
had become by its rarity a novelty, the sitting under
the shade of green trees, and hearing the sound of the

IMPROVEMENTS AT THE POST, AND GARDENING. 169

wind through the foliage, not one of us could be in-
duced to tarry under those sepulcJiral boughs.

The struggles to make the grass grow on the sandy
parade-ground were unceasing. Not only would it have
been an improvement to the post, in its general appear-
ance, but it would certainly have added materially to
our comfort. How we longed to escape from the clouds
of dust that the unceasing wind took up in straight
whirling eddies and then wafted in great sheets of
murky yellow into our doors and windows, making our
eyes smart and throats raw and parched, as alkali sand
can do so effectually.

The general sent East for grass-seed, which, with oats,
were sown over and over again. Our referee on all
agricultural questions assured us that the oats sprouted
so soon, the oncoming blades of grass would be pro-
tected. He was so enthusiastically in earnest that he
seemed to be studying the soil at all hours of the day
to detect a verdant tinge.

One moonlight night we were attracted to the gal-
lery by seeing him stalking slowly back and forth, wav-
ing his arms' in apparent gesticulation of speech as he
traversed the length of the parade-ground. Some said,
in explanation, that the moon was at that stage when
reason totters on her throne most readily ; another de-
clared that, having become tired of the career of a
Mars, he had resumed his old role as a statesman, and
was practising, addressing his imaginary constituents.
All were wrong. The faithful promoter of the general
good was sowing oats again, doubtless hoping that the
witchery of the moonlight would be a potent spell to

170 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

induce their growth. Even after such indefatigable
efforts, the soil refused to encourage the sprouting of
more than occasional patches of pallid green.

A portion of ground near the river was assigned the
companies for their gardens, and there were enough
soldiers looking forward to the result who counted it
no hardship to plant, dig, and weed. All this tilling
of the soil inspired our energies, and a corner of our
own yard was prepared. A high fence was put up so
that the stag-hounds, which make such incredible leaps,
could not scale the enclosure. The household even
gathered about the general to see hira drop the seed, so
full of interest were we all. Long before it was time
to look for sprouting, we made daily pilgrimages to the
corner and peered through the fence.

The general, Colonel Tom, and I watered, weeded,
and watched the little bit of earth ; the cook and
house -maid took our places and resumed our work
when we ceased. Never was a patch of terra firma
80 guarded and cared for ! At last Mary became im-
patient, and even turned tlie tiny sprouts upside down,
putting the plants back after examining the roots. Her
watch was more vigilant than ours, and she actually
surprised the general one morning by putting beside
him a glass of radishes. It was really a sensation in
our lives to have raised them ourselves, and we could
not help recalling the pitiful statement of a dear friend,
who also belonged to a mounted regiment, that she
had planted gardens for twelve successive springs, but
had never been stationed long enough in one place to
reap the benefit of a single attempt. Of course, be-

IMPROVEMENTS AT THE POST, AND GARDENING. 171

ing naturally so sanguine as a family, we began in im-
agination almost to taste the oncoming beets, turnips,
etc. We reckoned too hastily, however, for a perfect
army of grasshoppers appeared one day. They came in
swarms, and when we looked up at the sun we seemed
to be gazing through clouded air. Absorbed in this
fiurious sight we forgot our precious garden ; but Colo-
nel Tom remembered, and insisted upon trying an ex-
periment recommended in print by a Minnesota farmer.
Seizing some tins from the kitchen, and followed by
the servants and their mistress, all armed in the same
manner, we adopted the advice of the newspaper par«
agraph, and beat the metal with perfectly deafening
noise around the small enclosure. Had grasshoppers
been sensitive to sound, it would have ended in our
triumph. As it was, they went on peacefully and stub-
bornly, eating every twig in our sight. Having fin-
ished everything, they soared away, carrying on their
departing wings our dreams of radishes and young
beets! The company gardens were demolished in the
same manner, and every one returned for another year
to the tiresome diet of canned vegetables.

I remember the look of amazement that came into
the face of a luxurious citizen when I told him thao
we gave a dinner at once if we had tlie good-fortune
to get anything rare. " And, pray, what did you call
a rarity?" he responded. I was obliged to own that
over a plebeian cabbage we have had a real feast.
Once in a great while one was reluctantly sold us in
Bismarck for a dollar and a half.

We used condensed milk, and as for eggs, they were

172 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

the greatest of luxuries. In the autumn we brought
from St. Paul several cases, but five hundred miles of
jostling made great havoc with them.

The receipt-books were exasperating. They invari-
ably called for cream and fresh eggs, and made the
cook furious. It seemed to me that some officer's ser-
vant on the frontier must have given the receipt for
wafiies, for it bears the indefinite tone of the darky :
" Eggs just as you haz 'em, honey ; a sprinklin' of flour
as you can hold in your hand ; milk ! well, 'cordin' to
what you has."

The crystallized eggs, put up in cans and being air-
tight, kept a long time, and were of more use to us
than any invention of the day. In drying the egg,
the yolks and whites were mixed together, and nothing
could be made of this preparation when the two parts
were required to be used separately. It made very good
batter - cakes, however, and at first it seemed that we
could never get enough.

In the spring, when it was no longer "safe to hunt,
we had to return to beef, as we had no other kind of
meat. My husband never seemed to tire of it, how-
ever, and suggested to one of our friends who had the
hackneyed motto in his dining-room, that she change
it to " Give us this day our daily beef."

Once only, in all those years of frontier life, I had
strawberries. They were brought to me as a present
from St. Paul. The day they came there were, as usu-
al, a number of our friends on the piazza. I carefully
counted noses first, and hastily went in before any one
else should come, to divide the small supply into in-

IMPROVEMENTS AT THE POST, AND GARDENING. 173

jfinitesimal portions. I sent the tray out by the maid,
and was delayed a moment before following her. My
husband stepped inside, his face as pleased as a child
over the surprise, but at the same time his eyes hastily
scanning the buttery shelves for more berries. When
I found that in that brief delay another officer had
come upon the porch, and that the general had given
him his dish, I was greatly disappointed. In vain my
husband assured me, in response to my unanswerable
appeal, asking him why he had not kept them himself,
that it was hardly his idea of hospitality. I was only
conscious of the fact that having been denied them all
these years, he had, after all, lost his only strawberry
feast.

This doubtless seems like a very trifling circumstance
to chronicle, and much less to have grieved over, but
there are those who, having ventured " eight miles from
a lemon," have gained some faint idea what temporary
deprivations are.

When such a life goes on year after year, and one
forgets even the taste of fruit and fresh vegetables,
it becomes an event when they do appear.

174 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER XIX.

GENEEAL CUSTEr's LIBRART.

The order came early in the season to rebuild our
burned quarters, and the suggestion was made that the
general should plan the interior. He was wholly taken
up with the arrangement of the rooms, in order that they
might be suitable for the entertainment of the garrison.
Though he did not enter into all the post gayety, he re-
alized that ours would be the only house large enough
for the accommodation of all the garrison, and that it
should belong to every one. It was a pleasure to watch
the progress of the building, and when the quartermaster
gave the order for a bay-window, to please me, I was
really grateful. Tlie window not only broke the long
line of the parlor wall, but varied the severe outlines of
the usual type of army quarters.

On one side of the hall was the general's library, our
room and dressing-room. The parlor was opposite, and
was thirty-two feet in length. It opened with sliding-
doors into the dining-room, and still beyond was the
kitchen. Up-stairs there was a long room for the billiard-
table, and we had sleeping-rooms and servant-rooms be-
sides. To our delight, we could find a place for every-
body. Space was about all we had, however; there
was not a modern improvement. The walls were un-

GENERAL CUSTER'S LIBRAEY. 175

papered, and not even tinted; the windows went up
with a struggle, and were held open bj wooden props.
Each room had an old-fashioned box-stove, such as our
grandfathers gathered round in country school-houses.
We had no well or cistern, and not even a drain, while
the sun poured in, unchecked by a blind of even primi-
tive shape. It was a palace, however, compared with
what we had been accustomed to in other stations, and
I know we were too contented to give much thought
to what the house lacked.

My husband was enchanted to have a room entirely
for his own use. Our quarters had heretofore been too
small for him to have any privacy in his work. He was
like a rook, in the sly manner in which he made raids on
the furniture scattered through the rooms, and carried off
the best of everything to enrich his corner of the house.
He filled it with the trophies of the chase. Over the
mantel a buffalo's head plunged, seemingly, out of the
wall. (Buffaloes were rare in Dakota, but this was one
the general had killed from the only herd he had seen
on the campaign.) The head of the first grisly that he
had shot, with its open jaws and great fang-like teeth,
looked fiercely down on the pretty, meek -faced jack-
rabbits on the mantel. (My husband greatly valued the
bear's head, and in writing to me of his hunting had said
of it : "I have reached the lieight of a hunter's fame —
I have killed a grisly.") Several antelope heads were
also on the walls. One had a mark in the throat where
the general had shot him at a distance of six hundred
yards. Tlie head of a beautiful black -tailed deer was
another souvenir of a hunt the general had made with

176 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

Bloody Knife, the favorite Indian scout When they
sighted the deer they agreed to fire together, the Indian
selecting the head, the general taking the heart. They
fired simultaneously, and the deer fell, the bullets en-
tering head and heart. The scout could not repress a
grunt of approval, as the Indian considers the white
man greatly his inferior as a hunter or a marksman.
A sand-hill crane, which is very hard to bring down,
stood on a pedestal by itself. A mountain eagle, a yel-
low fox, and a tiny fox with a brush — called out there
a swift — were disposed of in different corners. Over
his desk, claiming a percli by itself on a pair of deer-
antlers, was a great white owl. On the floor before
the fireplace, where he carried his love for building fires
so far as to put on the logs himself, was spread the
immense skin of a grisly bear. On a wide lounge at
one side of the room my husband used to throw himself
down on the cover of a Mexican blanket, often with a
dog for his pillow. The camp-chairs had the skins of
beavers and American lions thrown over them. A stand
for arms in one corner held a collection of pistols, hunt-
ing-knives, Winchester and Springfield rifles, shot-guns
and carbines, and even an old flint-lock musket as a
variety. From antlers above hung sabres, spurs, riding-
whips, gloves and caps, field-glasses, the map-case, and the
great compass used on marches. One of tlie sabres was
remarkably large, and when it was given to the general
during the war it was accompanied by the remark that
there was doubtless no other arm in the service that
could wield it. (My husband was next to the strongest
man while at West Point, and his life after that had

GENERAL CUSTER'S LIBRARY. 177

only increased his power.) The sabre was a Damascus
blade, and made of such finely -tempered steel that it
could be bent nearly double. It had been captured dur-
ing the war, and looked as if it might have been handed
down from some Spanish ancestor. On the blade was
engraved a motto in that high-flown language, which
ran:

" Do not draw me without cause ;
Do not sheathe me without honor."

Large photographs of the men my husband loved kept
him company on the walls ; they were of General
McClellan, General Sheridan, and Mr. Lawrence Bar-
rett. Over his desk was a picture of his wife in bridal
dress. Comparatively modern art was represented by
two of the Rogers statuettes that we had carried about
with us for years. Transportation for necessary house-
hold articles was often so limited it was sometimes
a question whether anything that was not absolutely
needed for the preservation of life should be taken with
us ; but our attachment for those little figures, and the
associations connected with them, made us study out a
way always to carry them . At the end of each jou rney we
unboxed them ourselves, and sifted the sawdust through
our fingers carefully, for the figures were invariably
dismembered. My husband's first occupation was to
hang the few pictures and mend the statuettes. He
glued on the broken portions and moulded putty in the
crevices where the biscuit had crumbled. Sometimes
he had to replace a bit that was lost, and, as he was very
fond of modelling, I rather imagined that he was glad of
an opportunity to practise on our broken statuettes.

178 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

My husband, like many otlier men wlio achieve suc-
cess in the graver walks of life, could go on and accom-
plish his ends without being dependent on the immediate
voice of approval. In all the smaller, more trifling acts
of daily life he asked for a prompt acknowledgment.
It amused me greatly, it was so like a woman, who can
scarcely exist without encouragement. When he had
reset an arm or modelled a cap I could quite honestly
praise his work.

On one occasion we found the head of a figure en-
tirely severed from the trunk. Nothing daunted, he
fell to patching it up again. I had not the conscience
to promise him the future of a Tliorwaldsen this time.
The distorted throat, made of unwieldy putty, gave
the formerly erect, soldierly neck a decided appear-
ance of goitre. My laughter discouraged the impromp-
tu artist, who for one moment felt that a " restora-
tion " is not quite equal to the original. He declared
that he would put a coat of gray paint over all, so that
in a dim corner they might pass for new. I insisted
that it should be a very dark corner! Both of the statu-
ettes represented scenes from the war. One was called
" Wounded to the Rear," the other, " Letter Day." The
latter was the figure of a soldier sitting in a cramped,
bent position, holding an inkstand in one hand and
scratching his head for thoughts, with the pen. The in-
ane poise of his chin as he looked up into the uninspir-
ing air, and the hopeless expression of his eyes as he
searched for ideas, showed how unusual to him were all
efforts at composition.

We had a witty friend who had served with my hua-

GENERAL CUSTER'S LIBRARY. 179

band during the war. Many an evening in front of our
open fire they fought over their old battles together.
He used to look at the statuette quizzically, as he seated
himself near the hearth, and once told us that he never
saw it without being reminded of his own struggles
during the war to write to his wife. She was Southern
in sympathies as well as in birth, but too absolutely
devoted to her husband to remain at her Southern
home. "When he wrote to her at the North, where she
was staying, it was quite to be understood that there
was a limit to topics between them, as they kept strict-
ly to subjects that were foreign to the vexed question.
To the army in the field, the all-absorbing thought was
of the actual occurrences of the day. The past was for
the time blotted out ; the future had no personal plans
in the hearts of men who fought as our heroes did.
And so it came to pass that the letters between the two,
with such diversity of sentiment regarding the contest,
were apt to be short and solely personal. How the
eyes of that bright man twinkled when he said, " I used
to look just like that man in the Rogers statuette, when
I was racking my brains to fill up the sheet of paper.
My orders carried me constantly through the country
where my wife's kin lived. Why, Custer, old man, I
could not write to her and say, ' I have cut the canal in
the Shenandoah Yalley and ruined your mother's plan-
tation;' or, 'Yesterday I drove off all your brother's
stock to feed our army.' Of course one can't talk
sentiment on every line, and so I sometimes sent off a
mighty short epistle."
We often lounged about my husband's room at dusk

180 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

without a lamp. The firelight reflected the large glit-
tering eyes of the animals' heads, and except that we
were such a jolly family, the surroundings would have
suggested arenas and martyrs. I used to think that a
man on the brink of mania apotu, thrust suddenly into
such a place in the dim flickering light, would be hur-
ried to his doom by fright. We loved the place dearly.
The great difliculty was that the general would bury
himself too much, in the delight of having a castle as
securely barred as if the entrance were by a portcullis.
When he had worked too long and steadily I opened
the doors, determined that his room should not resem-
ble that of Walter Scott. An old engraving repre-
sents a room in which but one chair is significantly
placed. In our plans for a home in our old age we in-
cluded a den for my husband at the top of the house.
We had read somewhere of one like that ascribed to
Victor Hugo. The room was said not even to have a
staircase, but was entered by a ladder which the owner
could draw up the aperture after him.

THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION. 181

CHAPTER XX.

THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION.

I USED to be thankful that ours was a mounted regi-
ment on one account : if we had belonged to the infan-
try, the regiment would have been sent out much sooner.
The horses were too valuable to have their lives endan-
gered by encountering a blizzard, while it was believed
that an enlisted man had enough pluck and endurance
to bring him out of a storm in one way or another.
Tardy as the spring was up there, the grass began at
last to be suitable for grazing, and preparations for an
expedition to the Black Hills were being carried on. I
had found accidentally that my husband was fitting up
an ambulance for travelling, and as he never rode in
one himself, nor arranged to take one for his own com-
fort, I decided at once that he was planning to take me
with him. Mary and I had lived in such close quarters
that she counted on going also, and went to the general
to petition. To keep her from knowing that he in-
tended to take us, he argued that we could not get along
with so little room ; that there was only to be allowed
half a wagon for the camp outfit of the head-quarters
mess. " You dun' know better'n that, giniral ?" she re-
plied ; " me and Miss Libbie cowld keep house in a flour-
barr'l."

183 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

At the very last, news came through Indian scouts
that the summer might be fall of danger, and my heart
was almost broken at finding that the general did not
dare to take me with him. Whatever peril might be
awaiting me on the expedition, nothing could be equal
to the suffering of suspense at home.

The black hour came again, and with it the terrible
parting which seemed a foreshadowing of the most in-
tense anguish that our Heavenly Father can send to his
children. When I resumed my life, and tried to portion
off the day with occupations, in order that the time should
fly faster, I found that the one silver thread running
through the dark woof of the dragging hours was the
hope of the letters we were promised. Scouts were to be
sent back four times during the absence of the regiment.

The infantry came to garrison our post. In the event
of attack, my husband left a Gatling gun on the hills at
the rear of the camp. It is a small cannon, which is dis-
charged by turning a crank that scatters the shot in all
directions, and is especially serviceable at short range.
A detachment of soldiers was stationed on the bluff back
of us, that commanded the most extended view of the
country. The voice of the sentinel calling, at regular
intervals during the night, "All's well," often closed our
anxious eyes. Out there one slept lightly, and any un-
usual noise was attributed to an attack on our pickets,
and caused us many a wakeful hour. With what relief
we looked up daily to the little group of tents, when
we finally realized that we were alone.

The officer who commanded this little station was an
old bachelor who did not believe in marriage in the

THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION. 183

army. Not knowing this, we told bim, with some en-
thusiasm, how safe and thankful we felt in having him
for our defender. He quite checked our enthusiasm
by replying, briefly, "that in case of attack, his duty
was to protect Government property ; the defence of
women came last.^^ This was the first instance I had
ever known of an ojQficer who did not believe a woman
was God's best gift to man.

We were not effectually suppressed, for the only
safe place in which we could walk was along the beat
of the sentry, on the brow of the hill, near the tent
of this zoological specimen. Here we resorted every
evening at twilight to try and get cool, for the sun
burns fiercely during the short Northern summer. With
the hot weather the mosquito war began — Fort Lincoln
was celebrated as the worst place in the United States
for these pests. The inundations recurring each spring
opposite us, brought later in the year myriads of the
insects; those I had known on the Ked River of the
South were nothing in comparison. If the wind was in
a certain direction, they tormented us all day long, I
can see now how we women looked, taking our evening
stroll : a little procession of fluttering females, with
scarfs and over-dresses drawn over our heads, whisking
handkerchiefs and beating the air with fans. It re-
quired constant activity to keep off the swarms of those
wretched little insects that annoyed us every moment
during our airing. In the evening we became almost
desperate. It seemed very hard, after our long winter's
imprisonment, to miss a single hour out-of-doors during
the short summer.

184 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

We had petitioned that iu the rebuilding of our
house the piazza around it should be made wide, like
those we enjoyed iu the South. On this delightful gal-
lery we assembled every evening. We were obliged to
make special toilets for onr protection, and they were
far from picturesque or becoming. Some one discovered
that wrapping newspapers around our ankles and feet,
and drawing the stocking over, would protect down to
the slipper; then, after tucking our skirts closely around
us, we fixed ourselves in a chair, not daring to move.

One night a strange officer came to see us, and taking
his place among the group of huddled-up women, he
tried not to smile. I discovered him taking in my tout
ensemhle^ however, and realized myself what an incongru-
ity I was on that lovely gallery and in the broad moon-
light. I had adopted a head-net : they are little tarlatan
bags, gathered at one end and just large enough to slip
over the head ; rattans are run round these to prevent
their touching the face — they look like dolls' crinolines,
and would make a seraph seem ugly. In desperation I
had added a waterproof cloak, buckskin gauntlets, and
forgot to hide under my gown the tips of the general's
riding-boots! Tucked up like a mummy, I was some-
thing at which no one could resist laughing. The stran-
ger beat off the mosquitoes until there lay on the floor
before him a black semi-circle of those he had slain. He
acknowledged later that all vanity regarding personal
appearance would be apt to disappear before the attacks
to which we were subjected. We fought in succession
five varieties of mosquitoes; the last that came were
the most vicious. They were so small they slid easily

THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION. 185

through the ordinary bar, and we had to put an inside
layer of tarlatan on doors and windows. We did not
venture to liglit a lamp in the evening, and at five
o'clock the netting was let down over the beds, and doors
and windows closed. When it came time to retire we
removed our garments in another room, and grew skil-
ful in making sudden sallies into the sleeping-room and
quick plunges under the bar.

The cattle and horses suffered pitiably during the
reign of the mosquitoes. The}'- used to push their way
into the underbrush to try if a thicket would afford
them protection; if a fire were lighted for their relief,
they huddled together on the side towards which the
wind blew the smoke. As it was down by the river,
they were worse off than ever. The cattle grew thin,
for there were days when it was impossible for them to
graze. We knew of their being driven mad and dying
of exhaustion after a long season of torment. The poor
dogs dug deep holes in the side of the hills, where they
half smothered in their attempt to escape.

The Missouri River at the poilit where we had to
cross sometimes represented a lifetime of terror to me.
We were occasionally compelled to go to the town of
Bismarck, four miles back on the other side. I could
not escape the journey, for it was the termination of the
railroad, and officers and their families coming from
the East were often detained there ; while waiting for
the steamer to take them to their posts they were com-
pelled to stay in the untidy, uncomfortable little hotel.
If I sent for them they declined to come to us, fearing
they might make extra trouble ; if I went for them in

186 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

the post ambulance, I rarely made a fruitless errand.
Even when elated with the prospect of a little outing at
St. Paul, I so dreaded that terrible river that we must
cross going and coming, it almost destroyed my pleasure
for a time. Tlie current was so swift that it was almost
impossible for the strongest swimmer to save himself
if once he fell in: the mud settled on him instantly,
clogged his inovements, and bore liim under. Some of
the soldiers had been drowned in attempting to cross,
in frail, insecure skiffs, to the drinking -huts opposite.
As I looked into this roaring torrent, whose current
rushes on at the rate of six miles an hour, I rarely failed
to picture to myself the upturned faces of these lost
men.

The river is very crooked, and full of sand-bars,
the channel changing every year. The banks are so
honeycombed by the force of the water that great por-
tions are constantly caving in. They used to fall with
a loud thud into the river, seeming to unsettle the very
foundations of the earth. In consequence, it was hard
work for the ferry-boat to make a landing,, and more
difficult to keep tied up, when once there.

The boat we were obliged to use was owned by some
citizens who liad contracted with the Government to
do the work at that point. In honor of its new duty
they renamed it The Union. The Western word " ram-
shackly " described it. It was too large and unwieldy
for the purpose, and it had been condemned as unsafe
farther down the river, where citizens value life more
highly. The wheezing and groaning of the old ma-
chinery told plainly how great an effort it was to propel

THE SUMMER OP THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION. 187

the boat at all. The road down to the plank was so
steep, cut deep into the bauk as it was, that even with
the brakes on, the ambulance seemed to be turning a
somersault over the four mules. They kicked and
struggled, and opposed going on the boat at all. We
struck suddenly at the foot of the incline, with a thump
that threw us off the seat of the ambulance. The " hi-
yis" of the driver, the creak of the iron brake, and the
expressive remarks of the boatman in malediction upon
the mules, made it all seem like a descent into Hades,
and the river Styx an enviable river in contrast. The
ambulance was placed on deck, where we could see the
patched boiler, and through the chinks and seams of the
furnaces we watched the fire, expecting an explosion
momentarily.

After we were once out in the channel the real trou-
ble began. I never knew, when I started for Bismarck,
whether we would not land at Yankton, five hundred
miles below. The wheel often refused to revolve more
than half-way, the boat would turn about, and we would
shoot down the river at a mad rate. I used to receive
elaborate nautical explanations from the confused old
captain why that happened. My intellect was slow to
take in any other thought than the terrifying one — that
he had lost control of the boat. I never felt tranquil,
even when the difficulty was righted, until I set my
foot on the shore, though the ground itself was insecure
from being honeycombed by the current. The captain
doubtless heard my poean of thanks when I turned my
back on his old craft, for once afterwards I received from
him a crumpled, soiled letter, with curious spelling and

188 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

cramped hand, in which he addressed me as " highly
honored lady," and in lofty-sounding terms proceeded
to praise his boat, assuring me that if I would deign to
confer on him the honor of ray presence, he would
prove it to be quite safe, and as " peert " a steamer as
sailed. With a great flourish, he ended, " for The Union
must and shall be preserved," and signed himself my
most humble admirer.

We were told, when the expedition started, that we
might expect our first letters in two weeks. The mail
was delayed, unfortunately, and each day after the fort-
night had expired seemed a month. In spite of all my
efforts to be busy, there was little heart in any occupa-
tion. The women met together every day and read
aloud in turn. Every one set to work to make a pres-
ent for the absent ones with which to surprise them
on their return. We played croquet. This was tame
sport, however, for no one dared to vary the hum-drum
diversion by a brisk little quarrel, which is the usual
accompaniment of that game. We feared to disagree
even over trifles, for if we did it might end in our
losing our only companionship.

We knew that we could not expect, in that climate,
that the freshness of summer would last for more than
a short time after the sun had come to its supremest
in the way of heat. The drouth was unbroken ; the
dews were hardly perceptible. That year even our
brief enjoyment of the verdure was cut short. A si-
rocco came up suddenly. The sky became copper-col-
ored, and the air murky and stifling ; the slightest touch
of metal, or even the door-handles, almost blistered the

THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION. I8»

fingers. The strong wind that blew seemed to shrivel
the skin as it touched us. The grass was burned down
into the roots, and we had no more of it that season.
This wind lasted for two hours, and we could not keep
back apprehensions at the strange occurrence. After
that, during the summer, as we walked over the lit-
tle space allowed us, our shoes were cut by the crisp
brown stubble, and the sod was dry and unyielding
under our feet. As far as we could see, the scorched
earth sent up over its surface floating waves of heat-
ed atmosphere. 'No green thing was left. The only
flowers that had not been scorched out of existence
were the soap plants, which have a sword-like stalk,
out of which grow the thick, creamy petals of its flower.
The roots that extend for many feet in all directions
near the surface of the soil, enable it to secure moisture
sufficient to keep it alive. The only otlier flower was
the blue -bell J which dotted a hill where we were ac-
customed to climb in order to command a better view
of the country in our efforts to discover the scouts with
the mail. One can scarcely imagine how hungrily we
gazed at those little blossoms. They swung lightly on
their cunningly fashioned stems, that swayed and tossed
the tiny azure cups, but withstood the strongest wind.
I cannot see even a sketch of that flower now without
thinking how grateful we were for them out there in
that stripped and almost " God-forgotten " land. When
we threw ourselves on the turf among them, the little
bells almost seemed to us to ring out a tiny sound, as
if they were saying, in flowery cadence, "The hand
that made us is divine."

190 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

Some of onr eyes seemed to be perpetually strained,
watching the horizon for the longed-for scouts. At dawn
one morning — which is at three o'clock in summer in
Dakota — I was awakened by strange sounds at the door.
When I drew the curtain, there were the Kee scouts,
and on their ponies the mail-bag, marked by some face-
tious hand, " Black Hills Express." It took but a sec-
ond to fling on a wrapper and fairly tumble down the
steps. The Indians made the sign of long hair and
called " Ouches," which is the word denoting that in
their language. (The general had borne this name with
them for some time.) I was too impatient to wait their
tardy movements, and tried to loosen the mail- bag.
The Indian, always pompous and important if he car-
ries despatches, wafted me away. I understood enough,
to be sure, that no one would receive the mail but the
officer in command. As the scouts slowly moved down
the line towards his quarters, other impatient female
figures with flying hair came dancing restlessly out on
the porches. Every woman soon knew that news had
come. Even the cooks, scantily attired, ran out to
stand beside their mistresses and wave their fat arms
to the Indians to hurry them on. Our faithful soldier,
Keevan, whom my husband had left to care for us,
hearing the commotion, came to ask what he could do.
I sent him to bring back the letters. He, in his turn,
thinking only to serve me, made an effort to open the
mail-bag, but the watchful Indian suppressed him quick-
ly. The old fellow's face beamed with delight when
he placed the great official envelope, crowded with
closely -written pages, in my hand. How soon they

THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION. 191

were devoured, though, and what a blank there seemed
in the day when we knew that we had nothing more
to expect !

Three times after that we had letters. They were
most interesting, with descriptions of the charm of
travelling over ground no white feet had ever before
touched. My family could not avoid, even at that
distance, studying up little plans to tease me. After
describing their discovery and entrance into a large
and almost hidden cave, my husband said that Colonel
Tom and he had come upon the bones of a white man,
doubtless the only one who had ever set foot in that
portion of the world. Beside him lay a tin cup, some
buttons from his coat, and a rusty, ancient flint-lock
musket. All were marked with his initials. They
were the same as those of one of the friends whom I
had known when a little romping girl of seventeen.
" This," they said, in the language of a dime novel,
"explains the mysterious disappearance of your old
love. Rather than meet such a fate as awaited him
in marrying you, old lady, he has chosen to seek out
solitude in a cavern, and there die." Of course I
thought even the story of the finding of the cave a
fabrication for ray benefit;. I enjoyed it hugely, and
thought what ingenuity they had employed to invent
such a tale. When they came back at the end of the
summer, and brought the musket and other mementos,
with the very initials rusting in the metal, and declared
on honor that they had found the skeleton, I was com-
pelled to believe them. Not that the remains of the
unfortunate man were those of my early friend, who

192 BOOTS AND SADDLEa

was soon afterwards accounted for, but that some un-
happy man had actually wandered into that dismal
place and died a tragic death alone.

When the day of their return came, I was simply wild
with joy. I hid behind the door as the command rode
into garrison, ashamed to be seen crying and laughing
and dancing up and down with excitement. I tried to
remain there and receive the general, screened from the
eyes of outsiders. It was impossible. I was down the
steps and beside my husband without being conscious of
how I got there. I was recalled to my senses and over-
whelmed with confusion by a great cheer from the sol-
diers, who, I had forgotten, were lookers-on. Regular
soldiers rarely cheer, and the unusual sound, together
with the embarrassment into which I had unconsciously
plunged myself, made the few steps back to the house
seem a mile.

When we could take time to look every one over,
they were all amusing enough. Some wives did not
know their husbands, and looked indignant enough when
caught in an embrace by an apparent stranger. Many,
like the general, had grown heavy beards. All were
sun-burnt, their hair faded, and their clothes so patched
that the original blue of the uniform was scarcely visi-
ble. Of course there had been nothing' on the expedi-
tion save pieces of white canvas with which to rein-
force the riding-breeches, put new elbows on sleeves,
and replace the worn knees.

The boots were out at the toes, and the clothing of
some were so beyond repairing that the officers wanted
to escape observation by slipping, with their tattered

THE SUMMER OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION. 103

rags, into the kitchen - door. The instruments of the
band were jammed and tarnished, but they still pro-
duced enough music for us to recognize the old tune of
" Garrjowen," to which the regiment always returned.

By-and-by the long wagon-train appeared. Many of
the covers had elk horns strapped to them, until they
looked like strange bristling animals as they drew near.
Some of the antlers were brought to us as presents.
Besides them we had skins, specimens of gold and
mica, and petrified shells of iridescent colors, snake rat-
tles, pressed flowers, and petrified wood. My husband
brought me a keg of the most delicious water from a
mountain-stream. It was almost my only look at clear
water for years, as most of the streams west of the Mis-
souri are muddy.

As soon as the column appeared in sight, the old sol-
dier who had served me with such fidelity all summer
went to Mary to tell her the news. He also said that as
long as the general had put Mrs. Custer in his charge
he knew how to behave. Now, being no longer on
honor, he added, " I intend to celebrate their return by
going on a tremendous ' bum.' " How any one could
get drunk in so short a time was a mystery. The gen-
eral had hardly removed his buckskin-coat before the
old fellow stumbled up the steps and nearly fell in
the door, with his arms full of puppies that had arrived
during the summer. The rejoicing was too general for
misdemeanors to be noticed. The man was thanked for
his watchful care over me during the months past, and
advised to find a place to go to sleep in as soon as pos-
sible.

194 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER XXI.

DOMESTIC TRIALS.

From the clouds and gloom of those summer days, I
walked again into the broad blaze of sunshine which my
husband's blithe spirit made. I did everything I could
to put out of my mind the long, anxious, lonely months.
It was still pleasant enough to ride, and occasionally we
went out in parties large enough to be safe, and had a
jack-rabbit or wolf chase. In the autumn we went into
the States on a short leave of absence. • Much to our re-
gret we had to take our prized girl-friend home. Her
family begged for her return. The last good-bye to us
was an appeal from the young officers to bring back
another; and we did so, for while we were East we had
the good-fortune to persuade another father and mother
to part with their daughter.

An incident of our journey was an amusing illustra-
tion of the vicissitudes of Western life. In passing
through Fargo, on the Nortliern Pacific Eailroad, an
old townsman of ours always came to see us, but invari-
ably after dark. He had taken a claim in the very heart
of the town, which was disputed by an energetic widow.
If he left his place in the daytime for a few hours, he
invariably returned to find his cabin occupied by the
goods and chattels of the widow, and his own effects re-

DOMESTIC TRIALS. 195

posing on the snow outside his door. Then ensued the
ejection of the interloper by one of the town authori-
ties, and our friend would re-establish himself. After
these raids were repeated a few times, he learned to keep
guard during the day and steal out after dark. In vain
outsiders advised him to settle the difficulty by asking a
clergyman to unite the claims. His eyes turned from
the widow to a young girl in his native State, who now
presides unmolested over the disputed domicile, while
the widow has forsaken war for the peace of another
hearthstone.

The question of servants was a very serious one to
those living on the borders of civilization as we did.
There was never a station equal to those frozen-up re-
gions. Should servants go out there in the fall, they
were almost certain to become engaged to the soldiers
and marry after the trains were taken off and no new
ones could reach us. It often happened that delicate
ladies had to do all kinds of menial service for a time.
Except for a kind-hearted soldier now and then, who
was too devoted to the wife of his company officer to
see her do everything, I hardly know how army ladies
would have endured their occasional domestic trials.
The soldiers were especially fond of children, and knew
how to amuse them ; indeed, a willing heart made them
quick to learn all kinds of domestic work. I think they
even regretted that they could not sew, when they saw
an overtaxed lady wearily moving her needle. We had
no trouble, fortunately. Our colored cook not only com-
manded us, and as much of the post as she could, but
she tyrannized over her two sisters whom she had brought

196 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

from Kentucky for us. These were thought excellent
servants, but Mary, invested with a " little brief author-
ity," ruled like a despot. The youngest having been
born after the emancipation proclamation, was looked
down upon by her elder sister, who had been a slave.
In her moments of rage the most deadly insult was to
call the younger one " you worthless free nigger, you I"
I think with deep gratitude of their devotion to us. As
they were colored people they had not even the excite-
ment of beaux among the enlisted men. Sometimes
they sighed and longed for home. At such times Mary
used to say to me, "Miss Libbie, you has the giniral,
and you don' mind whar you is so long as you has him,
but you can't tell what it is for us to live in a country
wha' there's no festibuls, meetin'-houses, or dances."

"When we reached St. Paul, on our return from leave
of absence, we were generally met witli telegrams from
our friends at Fort Lincoln, imploring us to bring them
cooks. The railroad officials were good enough to give
us passes, so we could always take them without much
trouble. The first time after advertising, only the young
and pretty ones were selected from those who came to
us at the hotel. Their almost instantaneous capitula-
tion to the devotion of the soldiers taught us a lesson.
After that we only took the middle-aged and plain.
When we were fairly started on our journey, the gen-
eral would look them over, chuckle to himself, and jog
my elbow for me to see the ancients as tourists. He
would add, under his breath, that evidently we had set-
tled the question that time, for no soldier would look
at such antediluvians. He reckoned too soon. He hard-

DOMESTIC TRIALS. 197

ly took into consideration that after hundreds of sol»
diers had lived for months witliout seeing so much as
the distant flutter of a woman's drapery, they ceased to
be fastidious or critical. Without an exception these
antique, parchment-faced women, in a few weeks after
we had delivered them over to their mistresses, began
to metamorphose. They bought tawdry ornaments at
the sutler's store, and hurried after dinner to adorn
themselves to meet the enlisted men, who even under
adverse circumstances will " a- wooing go."

I remember well the disheartened eyes of one of our
pretty young friends when she told me it was of no
manner of use to try and keep a white servant. Even
the ugly old female that we had brought her, and that
cooked so well, was already beginning to primp and
powder. By this time our dearly loved neighbor had
become exhausted by the almost constant care of her
two children, and with only inefficient servants to help
her. Through our sympathy for the hard life she led
out in that wilderness we had fallen into the way of
calling her "poor Miss Annie," having known her as a
girl. In the States she would have been " rich Miss
Annie." With a brave, handsome husband, a distin-
guished father, an abundant income, and bright, health-
ful children, she was rich. It would not have been
strange if the clouds had obscured these blessings, liv-
ing the taxing, wearying life she did on the frontier.
In vain the devoted husband sought to share her cares.
The very climax of her troubles seemed to have arrived
when she confided to me that she would soon need an
experienced nurse to care for her through her coming

198 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

peril. The trains bad ceased running, so that one could
not be sent on from St. Paul. There was no neighborly
help to be expected even, for all of our ladies were
young and inexperienced. Tl^ere seemed to be no one
to whom we could look for aid. Instead of rejoicing,
as we would have done in the States over the sweet
privilege of coming maternity, we cried and were al-
most disconsolate. There were no soft, dainty clothes
to receive the little stranger, no one to take care of it
when it did come ; the young surgeon was wholly inex-
perienced in such duty, and the future looked gloomy
enough. Fortunately, I remembered at last one of the
camp women, who had long followed the regiment as
laundress, and had led a quiet, orderly life. "Poor
Miss Annie" shuddered when I spoke of her, for the
woman was a Mexican, and like the rest of that hairy
tribe she had so coarse and stubborn a beard that
her chin had a blue look after shaving, in marked
contrast to her swarthy face. She was tall, angular,
awkward, and seemingly coarse, but I knew her to be
tender-hearted. In days gone by I had found, when
she told me her troubles, that they had softened her
nature.

When she first came to our regiment she was married
to a trooper, who, to all appearances, was good to her.
My first knowledge of her was in Kentucky. She was
our laundress, and when she brought the linen home, it
was fluted and frilled so daintily that I considered her a
treasure. She always came at night, and when I went
out to pay her she was very shy, and kept a veil pinned
about the lower part of her face. The cook told me one

DOMESTIC TRIALS. 199

day that she was sick and in trouble, and I went to see
her. It seemed the poor thing had accumulated several
hundred dollars by washing, baking pies for the soldiers,
and sewing the clothes for them that had been refitted
by the tailor. Iler husband had obtained possession of
the money and had deserted. She told me that she
had lived a rough life before coming to the 7th, even
dressing as a man in order to support herself by driving
the ox-teams over the plains to New Mexico. The rail-
roads had replaced that mode of transporting freight,
and she was thrown out of employment. Finding the
life as a laundress easier, she had resumed her woman's
dress and entered the army, and thinking to make her
place more secure, had accepted the hand of the man
whose desertion she was now mourning. It was not
long after this, however, before " Old Nash" (for through
everything she kept her first husband's name) consoled
herself. Without going through the ceremony or ex-
pense of a divorce, she married another soldier, and had
come with us out to Dakota. Of course her husband
was obliged to march with his company. It was a hard
life for her, camping out with the other laundresses, as
they are limited for room, and several are obliged to
share a tent together. In the daytime they ride in an
army wagon, huddled in with children and baggage.
After all the rough summer out-of-doors, it was a great
boon to her to get a little cabin in Laundress Row,
at our post. Another trouble came to her, however :
her new husband succeeded in stealing her savings and
deserting like the first. "Old Nash" mourned her
money a short time, but soon found solace in going to

200 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

the soldiers' balls dressed in gauzy, low-necked gowns.
Notwithstanding her architectural build and massive
features, she had no sooner accumulated another bank
account than her hand was solicited for the third time.
Again ignoring the law, and thinking divorce a super-
fluous luxury, she captured tlie handsomest soldier in his
company. He was Colonel Tom's own man, and when
we were riding we often admired the admirably fitting
uniform his wife had made over, and which displayed
to advantage his well-proportioned figure. It was cer-
tainly a mariage de convenance. Fortunes are compar-
ative ; a few hundred dollars out there was quite equal
to many thousands in New York. The trooper thought
he had done a very good thing for himself, for notwith-
standing his wife was no longer young, and was unde-
niably homely, she could cook well and spared liim from
eating with his company, and she was a good invest-
ment, for she earned so much by her industry. In ad-
dition to all these traits, she was already that itaost
desirable creature in all walks of life — "a woman of
means."

The bride and groom returned from the ceremony
performed by the Bismarck clergyman, and began house-
keeping in the little quarters "Old Nash" had refur-
bished for the occasion. "When "Miss Annie" and I
went down to see her and make our petitions, we found
the little place shining. The bed was hung with pink
cambric, and on some shelves she showed us silk and
woollen stuffs for gowns; bits of carpet were on the
floor, and the dresser, improvised out of a packing-box,
shone with polished tins. Outside we were presented

DOMESTIC TRIALS. 201

to some chickens, which were riches indeed out there
in that !Nova Zemblian climate. She was very gentle
with our friend when we told our errand, and gave her
needful advice in her broken Mexican tongue. After
listening to her tribute to the goodness of her husband,
we made such pitiful entreaties that we at last prevailed
on her to leave him. She insisted upon the promise
that she might come home every evening and cook her
" manny manny's supper." We learned from her that
her own two children had died in Mexico, and that she
had learned midwifery from her mother, and confirmed,
what I had previously heard, that she had constant prac-
tice among the camp women. " Old Nash " appeared at
the required hour, and was as skilful a physician as she
was a nurse. My friend used to whisper to me that
when she watched her moving about in the dim light
of the sick-room, she thought with a shiver sometimes
how like a man she seemed. Occasionally she came to
the bed, and in her harsh voice asked, " Are you comph ?"
— meaning comfortable. The gentle, dexterous man-
ner in which she lifted and cared for the little woman
quieted her dread of this great giraffe. By degrees I
was promoted to the duty of bathing and dressing the
little new-comer, the young mother giving directions
from the pillow. When " Old Nash " was no longer
absolutely necessary she went back to her husband — a
richer woman by much gratitude and a great deal of
money.

Her past life of hardship and exposure told on her in
time, and she became ailing and rheumatic. Finally,
after we had left Dakota, we heard that when death

203 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

approached, she made an appeal to the camp women
who surrounded her and had nursed her through her
illness ; she implored them to put her in her coffin just
as she was when she died and bury her at once. They,
thinking such a course would not be paying proper at-
tention to the dead, broke their promise. The mystery
which the old creature had guarded for so many years,
through a life always public and conspicuous, was re-.
vealed : " Old Nash," years before, becoming weary of
the laborious life of a man, had assumed the disguise of
a woman, and hoped to carry the secret into the grave.
The surgeon's certificate, stating the sex of " Old Nash,"
together with the simple record of a laundress in the regi-
ment for ten years, was all the brief history ever known.
After enduring the gibes and scoffs of his comrades for
a few days, life became unbearable to the handsome sol-
dier who had played the part of husband in order to gain
possession of his wife's savings and vary the plain fare
of the soldier with good suppers ; he went into one of
the company's stables when no one was there and shot
himself. When our friend, whom the old creature had
so carefully nursed, read the newspaper paragraph de-
scribing the death, her only comment was a reference
to the Mexican's oft-repeated question to her, "Poor
old thing, I hope she is ' comph ' at last."

CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 203

CHAPTER XXn.

CAPTUEE AND ESCAPE OF KAIN-rN-THE-FACE.

As the second winter progressed it bade fair to be a
repetition of the first, until an event happened that ex-
cited us all very much.

I must preface my account of the occurrence by going
back to the summer of the Yellowstone campaign. Two
of the citizens attached to the expedition, one as the
sutler, the other as the veterinary surgeon, were in the
habit of riding by themselves a great deal. Not being
enlisted men, much more liberty than soldiers have was
allowed them. Many warnings were given, however,
and an instance, fresh in the minds of the oflBcers, of the
killing by Indians of two of their comrades the year
before was repeatedly told to them. One day their last
hour of lingering came. "While they stopped to water
their horses, some Indians concealed in a gully shot
them within sight of our regiment, who were then
fighting on the hill, and did not find the bodies for some
time afterwards. Both of the murdered men were favor-
ites ; both left families, and regret and sympathy were
general throughout the command.

A year and a half afterwards information came to
our post. Fort Lincoln, tliat an Indian was then at the
Agency at Standing Rock, drawing his rations, blankets,

204 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

and ammunition from the Government, and at the same
time boasting of the murder of these two men. This
intelligence created intense indignation in our garrison.
A detachment was quickly prepared, and started out
with sealed orders. The day was bitter, and not a still
cold, for the wind blew, and cut like needle-points into
the faces of the troopers. 'No one was aware even what
direction they were to take. General Custer knew that
it was absolutely necessary that caution and secrecy
should be observed. At the next post, twenty miles
below, there were scouts employed. They would not
fail to send out a runner and warn the Standing Rock
Indians of the coming of the command and its object,
if they could learn what it was. "When the runner car-
ries important news he starts with an even gait in the
morning and keeps it up all day, hardly stopping to
drink at the streams he crosses. Such a courier would
outstrip a command of cavalry in the ordinary time it
makes on a march.

Accordingly, Fort Rice was left behind many miles
before the orders were opened. They contained direc-
tions to capture and bring back an Uncapapa Indian,
-sailed Rain -in -the -face, the avowed murderer of the
sutler and the veterinary surgeon. The command con-
sisted of two officers and a hundred men. The general
had selected his brother to assist in this delicate transac-
tion, as he had been wont to do ever since they began
their life of adventure together during the war. They
arrived on the day that the Indians were drawing their
rations of beef. There were five hundred at the Agency,
armed with the latest long-range rifles. It was more

CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 205

and more clear that too much care could not be taken
to prevent the object of the visit being known to the
warriors. An expedition had been sent down once be-
fore, but news of its intentions had reached the Agency
in time for the culprit to escape. He could not refrain,
even after this warning, from openly vaunting his
crime.

In order then to deceive as to the purport of their
appearance at the Agency, the captain in command re-
sorted to a ruse. He sent fifty men to the camp ten
miles away to make inquiries for three Indians who had
murdered citizens on the Red River the year before.
Colonel Custer was ordered to take five picked men and
go to the trader's store, where the Indians resort con-
stantly. This required great coolness and extreme pa-
tience, for they had to lounge about, seemingly indiffer-
ent, until they could be certain the right man was dis-
covered. The cold made the Indians draw their blankets
around them and over their heads. There is never any
individuality about their dress unless when arrayed for
a council or a dance ; it was therefore almost impossible
to tell one from the other.

Colonel Tom had to wait for hours, only looking fur-
tively when the sharp eyes of these wary creatures were
o£E guard. At last one of them loosened his blanket,
and with the meagre description that had been given
him, Colonel Tom identified him as Rain -in -the -face.
Coming suddenly from behind, he threw his arms about
him, and seized the Winchester rifle that the savage
attempted to cock. He was taken entirely by surprise.
No fear showed itself, but from the characteristically

206 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

stolid face hate and revenge flashed out for an instant.
He drew himself np in an independent manner, to show
his brother warriors that he did not dread death.

Among them he had been considered brave beyond
precedent, because he had dared to enter the Agency
store at all, and so encounter the risk of arrest. The
soldiers tied his hands and mounted guard over him.
About thirty Indians surrounded them instantly, and
one old orator commenced an harangue to the others, in«
citing them to recapture their brother. Breathless ex-
citement prevailed. At that moment the captain in
command appeared in their midst. With the same cool-
ness he had shown in the war and during the six years
of his Indian campaigns, he spoke to them, through an
interpreter. "With prudence and tact he explained that
they intended to give the prisoner exactly the treatment
a white man would receive under like circumstances;
that nothing would induce them to give him up ; and
the better plan, to save bloodshed, would be for the
chiefs to withdraw and take with them their followers.
Seeing that they could accomplish nothing by intimi-
dation or by superior numbers, they had recourse to
parley and proposed to compromise. They offered as a
sacrifice two Indians of the tribe in exchange for Rain-
in-the-face.

It was generosity like that of Artemus Ward, wlio
offered his wife's relatives on the altar of his country,
for they took care not to offer for sacrifice any but
Indians of low rank. Rain-in-the-face was a very dis-
tinguished warrior among them, and belonged to a
family of six brothers, one of whom, Iron Horse, was

CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 307

very influential. The oflBcers prevailed in tlie end, and
the prisoner was taken to the cavalry camp. During
the time that the Indians were opposing his removal,
the troopers had assembled around the entrance, ready
for any emergency, and prepared to escort the mur-
derer away. The Indians instantly vanished ; all went
quickly and quietly to their camp, ten miles distant.
Later in the day a party of fifty mounted warriors
dashed through the Agency to the road beyond, which
had to be taken by our troopers on the way home. Of
course our officers expected an attack from tliat party
when they began their homeward march ; to their sur-
prise, they were unmolested. We learned afterwards
that the mounted Indians went to the camp of Two
Bears to urge the young braves there to combine with
them in the recapture of Eain-in-the-face. Two Bears
had long been friendly to the white man ; he was too
old to fight, and prevented his young men from joining
in the contemplated rescue.

After the command had returned and the officers
had reported. General Custer sent for Rain-in-the-face.
He was tall, straight, and young. His face was quite
imperturbable. In a subsequent interview the general
locked himself in his room with him. Through an in-
terpreter, and with every clever question and infinite
patience he spent hours trying to induce the Indian
to acknowledge his crime. The culprit's face finally
lost its impervious look, and he showed some agitation.
He gave a brief account of the murder, and the next
day made a full confession before all the officers. He
said neither of the white men was armed when at-

208 BOOTS AND SADDLER

tacked. He had shot the old man, but he did not die
instantly, riding a short distance before falling from
his horse. He then went to him and with his stone
mallet beat out the last breath left. Before leaving him
lie shot his body full of arrows. The younger man
signalled to them from among the bushes, and they
knew that the manner in which he held up his hand
was an overture of peace. When he reached him the
white man gave him his hat as another and further
petition for mercy, but he shot him at once, first with
his gun and then with arrows. One of the latter en-
tering his back, the dying man struggled to pull it
through. Neither man was scalped, as the elder was
bald and the younger had closely cropped hair.

This cruel story set the blood of the officers flow-
ing hotly. They had already heard from one of the
white scouts a description of Rain-in-the-face at a sun-
dance, when he had betrayed himself as the murderer
of the veterinary surgeon, by describing in triumph his
beating out the brains of the old man with his mallet.
After all this, it is not to be wondered at that each
officer strode out of the room with blazing eyes.

Two Indians, one of them Iron Horse, had followed
the cavalry up from the Agency and asked to see their
comrade. The general sent again for Rain-in-the-face.
He came into the room with clanking chains and with
the guard at his heels. He was dressed in mourning.
His leggings were black, and his sable blanket was belt-
ed by a band of white beads. One black feather stood
erect on his head. Iron Horse supposed that he was
to be hung at once, and that this would be the final

CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 209

interview. The elder brother, believing there was no
hope, was very solemn. He removed his heavilj-beaded
and embroidered buffalo robe, and replaced it with the
plain one that Kain-in-the-face wore. He exchanged
pipes also, giving him his highly-ornamented one that
he might afterwards present it to the general. These
pipes are valuable, as the material of which the bowls
are made has to be brought from Kansas. Then find-
ing that there was a prospect of E.ain-in-the-face having
his trial in Washington, he took off the medal that had
been given to his father by a former president, whose
likeness was in the medallion, and placed it over the
neck of his brother, that it might be a silent argument
in his favor when he confronted the " Great Father."

It was an impressive and melancholy scene. Iron
Horse charged his brother not to attempt to escape,
saying, that if he did get back to the reservation he
would surely be recaptured. He believed that he would
be kindly treated while a captive, and perhaps the white
chief would intercede for him to obtain his pardon.
After asking hira not to lose courage, they smoked
again, and silently withdrew. In about ten days Iron
Horse returned, bringing a portion of his tribe with
him.

The valley of the Missouri is wide, and slopes grad-
ually back to the bluffs. Beyond are the plains, rolling
away for hundreds of miles to another river. There
was a level stretch of three miles below our post down
the river. From this direction we were accustomed to
watch the approach of the bands of Indians coming
from the reservation. We could see their arms glisten-

210 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

ing far down the valley long before we could dis-
tinguish who thej were, except with a powerful field-
glass. As they came nearer, the sun caught a bit of
gaudy scarlet, or touched for a moment one of the
feathers in a war-bonnet.

A New York Charity Ball could bring out no more
antique heirlooms, nor take more time in preparations
than the costumes of Indians prepared for council.
The war-bonnets, shields, and necklaces of bear's claws
are all handed down from far-away grandfathers, and
only aired on grand occasions. Every available bit of
metal that could catch the light reflected and shone in
the morning sun. The belts were covered with brass
nails, shining with many an hour's polishing. They
had many weapons, all kept in a brilliant and glisten-
ing state. The tomahawk is one of the heirlooms of the
collection of arms. It is not like the ones I used to
see at Mackinac as a child. It looks more like a large
ice-pick. The knife, pistol, and Henry rifle are very
modern, and are always kept in the most perfect con-
dition. Mrs. " Lo " is the Yenus who prepares Mars
for war, and many a long weary hour she spends in
polishing the weapon and adorning the warrior.

The Indians with Iron Horse came directly to head-
quarters and asked for a council. As many as could get
into the general's room entered. There was time, while
they were preparing, to send for the ladies, and a few
of us were tucked away on the lounge, with injunctions
not to move or whisper, for ray husband treated these
Indians with as much consideration as if they had been
crowned heads. The Indians turned a surprised, rather

CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 211

scornful glance into the "ladies' gallery," for their
women are always kept in the background. In return
for this we did not hesitate to criticise their toilets.
They were gorgeous in full dress. Iron Horse wore an
ehiborately beaded and painted buckskin shirt, with
masses of solid embroidery of porcupine quills. The
sleeves and shoulders were ornamented with a fringe
of scalp-locks ; some of the hair, we saw with a shudder,
was light and waving. I could not but picture the lit-
tle head, " sunning over with curls," from which it had
been taken, for all the Indian locks I have ever seen
were straight and black. The chief wore on his shoulders
a sort of cape, trimmed with a fringe of snowy ermine ;
his leggings and moccasins were a mass of bead-work.
He wore a cap of otter, without a crown, though, for it
is their custom to leave the top of the head uncovered.
His hair was wound round and round with strips of
otter that hung down his back ; the scalp-lock was also
tightly wound. Three eagle feathers, that denote the
number of warriors killed, were so fastened to the lock
that they stood erect. There were several perforations
in each ear from which depended bead ear-rings. He
had armlets of burnished brass; thrown around him
was a beaded blanket. The red clay pipe had the
wooden stem inlaid with silver, and was embellished
with the breast feathers of brilliantly plumaged birds.
The tobacco-bag, about two feet long, had not an inch
that was not decorated. The costume was simply
superb.

The next in rank had an immense buffalo robe as the
distinguishing feature of his dress. The inside was

213 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

tanned almost white, and bis history was painted on the
surface. Wlioever ran might read, for it represented
only two scenes, oft repeated — the killing and scalping
of warriors and the capture of ponies.

The general's patience with Indians always surprised
me. He was of such an active temperament and de-
spatched his own work so rapidly that I have often
wondered how he contained himself waiting an hour or
more for them to get at the object of their visit. They
took their places according to rank in a semicircle about
the general. The pipe was filled and a match lighted by
one of their number of inferior grade, and then handed
to Iron Horse, who took a few leisurely wliiffs. Though
we were so shut in, the smoke was not oppressive.
Their tobacco is killikinick, prepared by drying the
bark of the ozier and mixing it with sumach. They
inhale the smoke and exhale it from their nostrils.
After all in the first circle had smoked a little, the gen-
eral included, they observed the Indian etiquette and
passed the pipe back through each warrior's hand to
the chief. It was then relighted, and he began again.
It seemed to us that it went back and forth an endless
number of times. No matter how pressing the emer-
gency, every council begins in this manner.

Iron Horse tired us out, but he was collecting himself
and rehearsing his speech. We found afterwards that
it was prepared in advance, for daring its recital he
forgot, and was prompted by one of the Indians in the
outer circle.

When the pipe was finally put away, they asked to
have Rain-in-the-face present. He came into the room,

CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 213

trying to hide liis pleasure at seeing Lis friends and liis
grief at his imprisonment. In an instant the imper-
turbable expression settled down on his face like a cur-
tain. The officers present could scarcely believe their
eyes when they saw his brother approach and kiss him.
Only once before, among all the tribes they had been
with, had they seen such an occurrence. The Indian
kiss is not demonstrative ; the lips are laid softly on the
cheek, and no sound is heard or motion made. It was
only this grave occasion that induced the chief to show
such feeling. Several of the ranking Indians followed
his example ; then an old man among them stepped in
front of Kain-in-the-face, lifted his hands^ and raising his
eyes reverentially said a few words of prayer to the
Great Spirit in behalf of their unfortunate brother. The
prisoner dropped his head to hide the look in his eyes
that be thought ill became a warrior as brave as he
really was. The bitter, revengeful thoughts with which
I had entered the room were for a moment forgotten,
and I almost wished that he might be pardoned. The
vision of the hearth-stones he had desolated came back
to me dirtctly, and I could not forget.

Iron Ilorse began his speech in the usual high-pitched,
unchangeable key. He thanked the general for his care
of his brother, and the whole tenor of the rest was re-
peated petitions to ask the Great Father in Washington
to spare his life. He then slowly took off his elaborate
buckskin shirt and presented it to my husband. He
ended by making a singular request, which was worthy
of Damon and Pythias : two shy young braves in the
outer circle of the untitled asked permission through

214 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

their cliief to share the captivity of Rain-in-the-face. I
could not help recalling what some one had told me in
the East, that women sometimes go to the State prison
at Sing Sing and importune to be allowed to share the
imprisonment of their husbands or brothers ; but no in-
stance is found in the history of that great institution
where a man has asked to divide with a friend or rela-
tive the sufferings of his sentence.

Consent was given to the comrades to return to the
guard-house, but they were required to remain in con-
finement as he did until they were ready to return to
the reservation. After all the ranking Indians had fol-
lowed Iron Horse in speeches, with long, maundering,
slowly-delivered sentences, each like the other, the pipe
was again produced. When it was smoked, the whole
band filed out to eat the presents of food the general
had given them, and soon afterwards disappeared down
the valley on their way home.

After his two friends had left him, Rain-in-the-face
occupied a part of the guard-house with a citizen who
had been caught stealing grain from the storehouse.
For several months they had been chained together, and
used to walk in front of the little prison for exercise
and air. The guard-house was a poorly-built, insecure
wooden building. After a time the sentinels became
less vigilant, and the citizen, with help from his friends
outside, who were working in the same way, cut a hole
in the wall at night and escaped. He broke the chain
attaching him to the Indian, who was left free to follow.
We found afterwards that Rain-in-the-face did not dare
to return to the reservation, but made his way to the

CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF RADf-IN-THE-FACE. 215

hostile camp. In the spring of 1874 he sent word from
there by an Agency Indian that he had joined Sitting
Bull, and was awaiting his revenge for his imprison^
ment.

As will be seen further on, the stained waters of the
Little Big Horn, on June 25, 1876, told how deadly and
fatal that was. The vengeance of that incarnate fiend
was concentrated on the man who had effected his capt-
ure. It was found on the battle-field that he had cut
out the brave heart of that gallant, loyal, and lovable
man, our brother Tom.

216 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER XXm.

GAEKISON AMUSEMENTS.

The second winter at Fort Lincoln was very much
the same as the first. We had rented a piano at St.
Paul in the autumn. It hardly had a respite from
morning until late at night. Every day and evening
the sound of happy voices went through the house.
Old war- songs, college choruses, and negro melodies,
that every one knew, were sang, and on Sunday our
only church-service most of the time was to meet to-
gether and sing hymns. In our little circle of forty,
many denominations were represented, but all knew the
old-time hymns. The Moody and Sankey book had soon
found its way out there, and incited every one that
could raise a note to make the attempt. We had for-
gotten to bring a tuner for the piano, but the black-
smith made a very good one. One of the band, who
had been in a piano-house before enlisting, kept the in-
strument in order. We had hard work to keep it in
tune, for not only did the extreme cold affect the sound,
but it had to endure the constant drumming of untaught
fingers. Even my husband, who was not nervous, used
sometimes to beg Colonel Tom to stop "feeling about
for that tune !"

The general loved music, and had so correct an ear

GARRISON AMUSEMENTS. 217

that lie often sang or whistled the airs of an opera after
hearing them once. Music so charmed him that when
we have been in the States, listening to an oratorio, the
Thomas orchestra, or a recital of any kind, he has begged
me not to be hurt if he did not speak during the render-
ing. There was a Swiss soldier in our regiment who
had contrived to bring his zither with him. My hus-
band would lie on the bear-skin rug in front of the fire
and listen with delight as long as he ventured to tax the
man. He played the native Tyrolese airs, which seemed
to have caught in them the sound of the Alpine horn,
the melody of the cascade, and the echo of the moun-
tain passes. The general often regretted that he had
not had the opportunity to learn music. It seemed to
me that it was a great solace and diversion to officers if
they knew some musical instrument well enough to en-
joy practice. They certainly gave great pleasure to those
around them.

If the ladies had any accomplishment that gave grati-
fication to others, it was never allowed to grow rusty.
Of course, where there was so little to interest, whatever
they did was overrated. Some times we heard of one
of the officers of the 7th matching the perfections of
our ladies against those of another regiment which he
might happen to be visiting. His esprit de corps carried
him so far that he would insist that no women sang,
played, danced, painted, or rode as we did ! "We could
only hope that we would never see the people to whom
he had boasted, and so awaken them from his overdrawn
story to the reality.

I used to pity the officers from the bottom of my

218 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

lieart because of the tameness and dead calm of their
lives in winter. Each year's service with them made me
wonder more and more how they could come through
the test of so much unemployed time, the really fine
men they were. Watts spoke lines that will do for all
time, when he told us who it was that found mischief
for idle hands. We had no good company libraries,
like the infantry, because we had so long been without
a place to call our own. Every officer coming from
leave, brought what books he could, and they went the
rounds until the worn leaves would hardly hold to-
gether. We women had many a simple occupation that
interested us, but the men could not content themselves
with trifles. If the young ladies and I stole away to try
to take a nap or change our dress, we were almost in-
variably called back by the lonely men, who wished to
be amused. They were certainly so grateful for the
slightest kindness it was no tax. Besides, people can-
not go up and down the face of the earth together for
nine years of hardships, trials, and deprivation without
being as nearly like one family as is possible.

I used to dread the arrival of the young officers who
came to the regiment from West Point, fearing that the
sameness and inactivity of the garrison life would be a
test to which their character would succumb. When
they came to pay the first ceremonious call in full uni-
form, we spoke of commonplace topics. I kept up a
running line of comments to myself, usually on one sub-
ject : " I wonder if you are likely to go to the bad under
temptation ; I am sorry for your mother, having to give
you up and be anxious for your habits at the same time ;

GARRISON AMUSEMENTS. 219

I hope you don't drink ; I pray that you may have
etamina enough to resist evil." Our sister knew that I
believed so in matrimony as a savior of young oflScers
that she used to teasingly accuse me of greeting all of
them when they arrived with the same welcome : " I am
very glad to see you ; I hope that you are engaged." I
hardly remember being quite so abrupt as that in speak-
ing, but I never failed to wish it to myself. Their fre-
quent difficulty was that they desired to do everything
that the old officers did. I have known them rub and
try to mar their shining new uniforms to have them look
as if they had seen service. One, especially youthful in
appearance, wondered how I came to divine that the
reason he wore his grandfather's fob and seal, and carried
the gold-headed cane when off duty, was that he wished
to look old and experienced. I could not help praising
them when they went through the first few telling years
of service and came off conquerors. I was sure that had
I had the misfortune to be a man I could not have borne
the tests to which I knew they were subjected.

I am sure that we could not have been so contented
as we were under such circumstances had there not been
such perfect health among us all. It was a pleasure to
live among so many hundred people and scarcely see
any one who was not perfectly well. Another relief in
that life was that we never saw crippled or maimed peo-
ple, and there were no suffering poor.

We found our new quarters admirable for the garri-
son gayety. On Friday nights we all gathered together
to dance, or liave private theatricals or games. During
the early part of the winter, while the supply of eggs

220 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

we had brought from St. Paul lasted, Mary used to give
us cake, frozen custard, or some luxury of which these
formed a part. This, in addition to the usual ham-
sandwiches, coffee, and venison, made our refreshments.
As winter advanced, and the supplies began to give
out, we had to be content with crullers, coffee, and
sandwiches. There was very little spirit of criticism,
and in that climate one is always hungry.

Of course every one relied on cards as the unfailing
amusement. Almost without exception they played
well and with great entliusiasm. Every one struggled
over me, and I really worked faithfully to become an
adept. For though I did not enjoy it ever, it seemed
very ungracious in me not to be able to take a hand
when I was needed. There must have been something
lacking in my mental organization, for I could not learn.
I had one friend who was equally stupid. He certainly
was a comfort to me. We became perfectly hardened
to the gibes of our friends when they called to him,
" Come, Smith, and try this new game ; it is easy. Why,
even Mrs. Custer learned it !" I labored on, until at
the end of twelve years of effort I trumped my part-
ner's ace, and was formally excused from ever trying
again.

A fancy-dress party was always amusing out there,
for it was necessary to exercise great ingenuity in get-
ting up costumes. We were masked carefully, and often
the dress was such a complete disguise that a husband
and wife were kept in ignorance of each other until the
signal for unmasking was given at supper.

It was impossible to conceal our eccentricities living

GARRISON AMUSEMENTS. 221

in such close daily association. As there was continual
chaffing and innumerable practical jokes, it was difficult
to know at what moment one's peculiarities were to be
served up for the amusement of others. At all events,
when one's personal traits and singularities were openly
joked about, it was something of a consolation to know
that the worst to be said was directed to the face and
not behind the back, as is the general rule. There was
one of our number towards whom we could not fire the
shot and shell of ridicule. He was far older than any
one at the post, and there was too much reverence for
his hoary head to permit extreme raillery. I confess to
laughing over some of his strange aberrations when his
young lieutenant gave us an imitation of their company
drill. The old officer, mounted on a horse as toned
down as himself, stood in front of his troops and ad-
dressed them as he would have done his supporters in
the old political days. They appreciated the stump elo-
quence, but more keenly the fact that while he talked
they would escape the tedious evolutions of their work.
Sometimes while going through the directions of the
tactics, the captain lost his suavity and called a halt.
Then, with all the inflections and emphasis placed as
carefully as if he were flinging the Constitution at a
crowd of citizens on the 4th of July, he harangued
in slightly heated tones, " Men, do you suppose you are
men ? If so, act like men. If you are geese, act like
geese." This would finish the self-control of even the
oldest soldier, and a great gufEaw would burst out. For
nothing can be more ridiculous than a regular officer
pausing to address his men in such a place. The drill

222 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

is conducted usually without another word than a repe-
tition of the exact language of the book of tactics. The
young lieutenant in his position at the rear would near-
ly choke with laughter. He told us how be rode along
the line, and prodded the soldiers in the back, without
the captain seeing him, to try and make them more
deferential. His short burlesque repetitions of the
aphorisms, philosophy, and theories on all subjects, that
the old captain delivered daily on the drill-ground, were
convulsing. If the speeches themselves were half as
funny as the imitations, the men would have been sto-
lidity itself if they had not forgotten their discipline
and laughed. My husband was truly attached to this
officer, and spared him from hardships and trying cam-
paigns when he could. In a measure he felt himself
responsible for the incongruous position the elderly man
occupied in a cavalry regiment full of young, active
men. After the war, when the old officer was mustered
out of the Volunteer service, he found that in his native
State the waves had closed over him, and his place was
lost in public life. The general went personally to the
"War Department, and solicited an appointment for him
in the Eegular Army. Some time after, he was sur-
prised to find him assigned to his own regiment, doubt-
less because a personal application gave the impression
that it would be a special favor to place him there. Had
he only asked for an infantry appointment for the al-
ready tired out man, it would have been a far easier life
for him, but it had not occurred to the general.

Many of us had been laughingly rechristened, and
called a name that was in some way suggested by tri-

GARRISON AMUSEMENTS. 233

fling incidents in our history. The names were absurd.
One of the most delicate and refined of our women was
a superb rider and had shot buffalo, so her intimates
spoke of her, when trying to provoke repartee, as " Buf-
falo Ann." My sobriquet of " the old lady " dated back
to the first days of my married life. When the gen-
eral and his merry young staff returned from a raid in
the Shenandoah Yalley, they descried an old Dutchman,
who did not care which side in the war succeeded, so
long as he and his property were left alone. His house
had been their head-quarters in a former raid, and they
all rode up there to halt again. The old Hans stood on
his steps as they approached and wafted them away, at
the same time reiterating, by way of emphasis, " Gentle-
mens, I have no objections to your coming in, but the
old lady she kicks agin it." After that I could not raise
the mildest protest against any plan but that those mis-
chievous brothers would exclaim pathetically, and in a
most tormenting tone, " What a good time we might
have if the old lady didn't kick agin it." Sometimes
the mildest and quietest one of us all would be called
by some appellation so suggestive of ruffianism and
bloodshed that it was the extreme of the ridiculous to
associate the person and the name together. For in-
stance, the best regulated and least sensational one
would find himself addressed as " Shacknasty Bill, or the
Sinewy Slayer of the Ghostly Gulch." Another, always
inclined to gloom, was given a rousing slap on the back
as his good-morning, and a hearty " How are you. Old
Skull and Cross-bones?" IsTo one escaped. 1 used to
think the joking was carried too far sometimes, but it

234 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

was easy to go to extremes when the resources were so
limited, for a variety in our life. My own blood rose to
lava heat when I found people twitting one another on
unpleasant facts, and a smile of ridicule circulating. It
was too great a triumph for the teaser to stir up wrath
though, and the life was a lesson of constant self-con-
trol. Certainly it was excellent discipline, and calcu-
lated to keep one's self-confidence within bounds. It
was the same sort of training that members of a large
family have, and they profit by the friction, for they
are rarely so selfish and exacting as only children usu-
ally are.

AN INDIAN COUNCIL. 225

CHAPTER XXIV.

AN INDIAN COUNCIL.

The Indians came several times from the reservations
for counsel, but the occasion that made the greatest im-
pression upon me was towards the spring. They came
to implore the general for food. In the fall the steamer
bringing them supplies was detained in starting. It had
hardly accomplished half the required distance before
the ice impeded its progress, and it lay out in the chan-
nel, frozen in, all winter. The suffering among the In-
dians was very great. They were compelled to eat their
dogs and ponies to keep from starving. Believing a
personal appeal would be effectual, they asked to come
to our post for a council.

The Indian band brought their great orator Running
Antelope. He was intensely dignified and fine-looking.
His face when he spoke was expressive and animated,
contrary to all the precedents of Indian oratory we had
become familiar with. As he stood among them all in
the general's room, he made an indelible impression on
my memory. The Indians' feet are usually small; some-
times their vanity induces them to put on women's shoes.
The hands are slender and marvellously soft consider-
ing their life of exposure. Their speech is full of gest-
ure, and the fiexible wrist makes their movements ex-

10*

226 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

pressive. A distinguished scholar, speaking of the aid
the hand is to an orator, calls it the " second face." It
certainly was so with Running Antelope. He described
the distressing condition of the tribe with real eloquence.
While he spoke, lifting his graceful hands towards
Heaven in appeal, one of rny husband's birds that was
uncaged floated down and alighted on the venerable
warrior's head. It had been so petted, no ordinary move-
ment startled the little thing. It maintained its poise,
i^preading its wings to keep its balance, as the Indian
moved his head in gesture. The orator saw that the
faces of the Indians sliowed signs of humor, but he was
ignorant of what amused tliem. His inquiring eyes saw
no solution in the general's, for, fearing to disconcert
him, General Custer controlled every muscle in his face.
Finally the bird whirled up to his favorite resting-place
on the horn of the buffalo head, and the warrior imder-
stood the unusual sight of a smile from his people.

His whole appeal was most impressive, and touched
the quick sympathies of my husband. He was a sincere
friend of the reservation Indian. The storehouses at
our post were filled with supplies, and he promised to
telegraph to the Great Father for permission to give
them rations until spring. Meantime, he promised them
all they could eat while they awaited at the post the an-
swer to the despatch. Not content with a complaint of
their present wrongs, Running Antelope went off into
an earnest denunciation of the agents, calling them dis-
honest.

One of the Indians, during the previous summer, with
fox-like cunning had lain out on the dock all day ap'

AN INDIAN COUNCIL. 227

parentlj sleeping, while he watched the steamer unload-
ing supplies intended for them. A mental estimate was
carefully made of what came off the boat, and compared
as carefully afterwards with what was distributed. There
was an undeniable deficit. A portion that should have
been theirs was detained, and they accused the agent of
keeping it. The general interrupted, and asked the in-
terpreter to say that the Great Father selected the agents
from among good men before sending them out from
Washington. Kunning Antelope quickly responded,
" They may be good men when they leave the Great
Father, but they get to be desperate cheats by the time
they reach us." I shall have to ask whoever reads, to
substitute another more forcible adjective, such as an
angry man would use, in place of "desperate." The
Indian language is not deficient in abusive terms and
epithets.

When the council was ended and the Indians were
preparing to leave, my husband asked me to have Mary
put everything we had ready to eat on the dining-room
table. The manner in which Running Antelope folded
his robe around him and strode in a stately way down
the long parlor was worthy of a Roman emperor.

I had been so impressed by his oratory and lordly
mien that I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw
him at table, and descend from the lofty state of mind
into which he had taken me to realize what he was do-
ing. After gorging himself, he emptied the plates and
swept all the remains from before the places of the other
chiefs into the capacious folds of his robe. This he re-
belted at the waist, so that it formed a very good tern-

228 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

porary haversack. "With an air signifying to "the vic-
tor belong the spoils," he swept majestically out of the
house.

The answer came next day from the Secretary of "War
that the Department of the Interior which had the In-
dians in charge refused to allow any army supplies to
be distributed. They gave as a reason that it would in-
volve complexities in their relations with other depart-
ments. It was a very difficult thing for the general to
explain to the Indians. They knew that both army and
Indians were fed from the same source, and they could
not comprehend what difference it could make when a
question of starvation was pending. They could not be
told, what we all knew, that had the War Department
made good the deficiencies it would have reflected dis-
credit on the management of the Department of the In-
terior. The chiefs were compelled to return to their
reservations, where long ago all the game had been shot
and their famishing tribe were many of them driven to
join the hostiles. We were not surprised that the war-
riors were discouraged and desperate, and that the dep-
redations of Sitting Bull on the settlements increased
with the new accessions to his numbers.

BREAKING UP OF THE MISSOURI. 229

CHAPTER XXV.

BEEAKING TIP OF THE MISSOURI.

The day of the final breaking up of the ice in the
Missouri was one of great excitement to us. The roar
and crash of the ice-fields could be heard a great dis-
tance. The sound of the tremendous report was the
signal for the whole garrison to go out on the hill near
the infantry post and watch the grand sight. Just
above us was a bend in the river, and around this curve
great fioes of ice rushed, heaping up in huge masses as
they swept down the furious current. All the low-
lands that lay between Bismarck and the river were
inundated, and the shore far in covered with blocks of
ice that the force of the water had thrown there. Just
across the river from us was a wretched little collection
of huts, occupied by outlaws, into which the soldiers
were decoyed to drink and gamble. The law forbid-
ding liquor to be sold on the reservation was so strict
that whiskey venders did not dare set foot on the Gov-
ernment land. The reservation was too large to per-
mit them to place themselves on its other boundaries ;
they would have been at such a distance from the post
that it would not have been worth while. Just on the
water's edge opposite, these human fiends had perched
to watch and entice the enlisted men. Over their rude

230 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

cabins they had painted elaborate and romantically ex-
pressed signs. In the midst of bleak surroundings rose
an untidy canvas -covered cabin, called "My Lady's
Bower," or over the door of a rongh log-hut was a sign
of the " Dew Drop Inn " (Do drop in).

These shanties were placed on a little rise of ground,
with a precautionary thought of the usual spring floods.
The day of the first ice-breaking we saw the water rise
to such a height that cabin after cabin was abandoned.
The occupants dragged their property as best they could
to the little rise where one or two, more cautious than
the rest, had built. On this narrow neck of land hud-
dled together the whole of the group, in desperate peril.
No one on our side of the river could help them, for
the water was the maddest of whirlpools, while on the
other side the overflow had made a great lake, cutting
them off from Bismarck. As we watched them scram-
bling on the little knoll, like drowning men clinging
to the upturned keel of a boat, we suffered real dis-
tress at our powerlessness to help them. The company
commanders, remembering how they had been the cause
of the demoralization of some of their best soldiers,
openly avowed at first their relief that the whole
wretched lot were about to drown ; but as the peril in-
creased, not one of the officers' hearts remained unsoft.
ened. They forgot what an utterly abandoned, lawless
company it was, and wished that some means might
be found by which they could be saved.

We women had discovered through the field-glasses
a few of our own sex among them, and were alarmed
at their danger; for no matter what they were, the

BREAKING UP OF THE MISSOURI. 231

helplessness of •women at such a time makes one forget
everything, save that their lives hang in the balance.
At last one of them stepped into the only small boat
they had been able to retain, and standing bravely at
the side of the one man at the bow, they were swept
down the river out of sight among the gorge of ice-
blocks, and never again heard from. It was too ex'
hausting watching these imperilled beings, knowing
how incapable we were of helping them, and we went
back to our quarters to spend hours of suspense. "We
could not set ourselves about doing anything while the
lives of human beings so near us were in jeopardy.
As day began to close, word came for our relief that
the water was subsiding; not, alas, until some of them
had been borne to their last home. Those that were
left waded back to their huts, and, unheeding the warn-
ing of that fearful day, began again their same miserable
existence.

Of all our happy days, the happiest had now come to
us at Fort Lincoln. I never knew more united married
people than those of our regiment. It will be easily
understood that in the close companionship involved
in the intimate relationships of that life, either uncon-
trollable hatred or increasing affection must ensue. If
a desperate attack of incompatibility set in out there,
the climate, fine as it was, simply had to disagree with
the wife, for it was next to madness for both of them
if they did not escape from a life where almost every
hour is spent with each other. The wife had the priv-
ilege of becoming the comrade of her husband in that
isolated existence, and the officers seemed to feel that

332 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

every amusement was heightened if shared by the other
sex. That perpetual intimacy was a crucial test of the
genuineness of the affection. My husband used to quote
a line or two from one of Mrs. Stowe's books that we
had read together. The new husband is asked why he
knows that he loves his wife : " Because she never tires
me ; she never makes me nervous." He believed that
if husbands and wives bore that proof successfully as
time advanced, they might count on a happy future.

Life grew more enjoyable every day as we realized
the blessings of our home. When the winter was finally
gone there was not an hour that we would not have
recalled. I have seen my husband with all the abandon
of a boy throw himself on a rug in front of the fire
and enumerate his blessings with real gratitude. Speak-
ing of his regiment first, his district (for he then had
five posts under his command), the hunting, his dogs
and horses, and his own room, which was an unceasing
delight, he used to declare to me that he would not
exchange places with any one — not even a friend in
civil life who stood at the head of his profession as a
journalist, who had wealth and youth, and who lived
in almost princely luxury. My husband used to tell
me that he believed he was the happiest man on earth,
and I cannot help thinking that he was. For -with all
the vicissitudes of those twelve eventful years, I never
knew him to have an hour's depression. The presence
of so many of his family about him was an unceasing
pleasure. There was an abiding fondness between his
brother, Colonel Tom, and himself. This brother was
scarcely more than a lad when he joiu^d us. The gen-

BREAKING UP OF THE MISSOURI. 233

eral said to some Eastern friends when he was in the
States the last time, " To prove to you how I value and
admire mj brother as a soldier, I think that he should
be the general and I the captain."

Colonel Tom always lived with us, and the brothers
played incessant jokes on each other. Both of them
honored and liked women extremely. Colonel Tom
used to pay visits of an unconscionable length to ladies
of the garrison, and no amount of teasing on his broth-
er's part would induce him to shorten them. He never
knew, when he started to go home from these visits, but
that he would find on the young lady's door-mat his
trunk, portmanteau, and satchel — this as a little hint
from the general that he was overtaxing the lady's pa-
tience. I used to think my husband too severe with
his brother, for in his anxiety not to show favoritism
he noticed the smallest misdemeanor. If, in visiting
with the young ladies in our parlor, he overstayed the
hour he was due at the stables or drill, the general's
eye noticed it, and perhaps overlooked others in the
room who were erring in the same manner. I knew
that a reprimand would be sent from the adjutant's
ofiice in the morning if I did not invent some way to
warn the offender, so I learned the bugle-call for stables,
and hovering around Colonel Tom, hummed it in his
ear, which the voice of the charmer had dulled to the
trumpet-call. "When the sound penetrated, he would
make a plunge for his hat and belt, and tear out of the
house, thus escaping reproof.

When spring came again, it is impossible to express
the joy I felt that there was to be no summer campaign ;

234 BOOTS AND SADDLES,

and for the first time in many years I saw the grass
grow without a shudder. The general began the im-
provement of tlie post with fresh energy, and from
the drill-ground came the click of the horses' hoofs and
the note of the bugles repeating the commands of the
officers. As soon as it was warm enough, several charm-
ing girls came out from the States to our garrison to
visit us. They gave every one pleasure, and effectually
turned the heads of the young officers.

We liad supposed that when travelling from the Gulf
of Mexico almost to the border of the British posses-
sions, we could safely call ourselves "West;" but we
found that there was a post fifteen hundred miles beyond'
us, on the Missouri River. The steamers were constant-
ly taking officers and their families from Bismarck into
Montana. Sometimes the delay of the boats in starting
gave us the privilege of entertaining them. I remem-
ber going down to bid good-bye to a family who had
gone on board a steamer at our landing. The officer
was returning from an infantry recruiting detail in the
States. He had eight children and a dog. These, with
a lieutenant's pay, constituted his riches. He disap-
peared into a state-room and brought out the new baby,
exhibiting it with as much pride as if it had been the
first-born! They told me afterwards that during all
that slow, wearisome journey of fifteen hundred miles, on
a boat that needs be seen to be appreciated, the mother
was placid and happy. There were no guards around
the deck, so she tied the children separately to the dif-
ferent articles of stationary furniture, and let them play
out to the limits of their tethers.

BREAKING UP OF THE MISSOURI. 235

Almost our only exercise on summer evenings was
walking on the outskirts of the garrison surrounded by
the dogs. It was dangerous to go far, but we could walk
with safety in the direction of the huts of the Indian
scouts. Their life always interested us, and by degrees
they became so accustomed to our presence that they
went on with all their occupations without heeding us.

There was a variety of articles among the litter tossed
down in front of these Indian quarters ; lariates, saddles,
and worn-out robes were heaped about an arrangement
for conveying their property from place to place. The
construction was simple, and rendered wheels unneces-
sary. About midway on two long saplings, placed a
short distance apart, is a foundation of leather thongs.
Upon this the effects belonging to an Indian family are
lashed. Two pole ends are attached to either side of a
rude harness on the pony, while the other two 'drag on
the ground. In following an Indian trail, the indenta-
tion made by the poles, as they are pulled over the
ground, traces the course of travel unmistakably.

Some of their boats lay upturned about the door. They
were perfectly round, like a great bowl, and composed
of a wicker frvame over which buffalo hide was tightly
drawn. The primitive shape and construction dates
back to the ancient Egyptians, and these boats were
called coracles in olden times. They seemed barely
large enough to hold two Indians, who were obliged to
crouch down as they paddled their way with short, awk-
ward oars through the rapid current of the Missouri.

Bloody Knife was naturally mournful ; his face still
looked sad when he put on the presents given him. He

236 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

was a perfect child about gifts, and the general studied
to bring him something from the East that no other
Indian had.

He had proved himself such an invaluable scout
to the general that they often had long interviews.
Seated on the grass, the dogs lying about them, they
talked over portions of the country that the general
had never seen, the scout drawing excellent maps in
the sand with a pointed stick. He was sometimes
petulant, often moody, and it required the utmost pa-
tience on my husband's part to submit to his humors ;
but his fidelity and cleverness made it worth while to
yield to his tempers.

I was always interested in the one pretty squaw
among them, called Et-nah-wah-ruchta, which means
Medicine Mother. Her husband was young, and she
was devoted to him. I have seen him lounging on the
floor of the hut while she made his toilet, combing and
plaiting his hair, cutting and oiling the bangs which
were trimmed to cover his forehead, and plucking the
few scattered hairs from his chin — for they do not con-
sider it an honor to have a suspicion of a beard. She
strapped on his leggings, buckled his belt, and finally
lighted his pipe. Once the war bonnet of her lord had
to be rearranged. He deigned to put it on her head,
readjusted the eagle feathers, and then gave it to her to
fasten them in securely. The faithful slave even used
to accompany him to his bath. Indians do bathe — at
long intervals. I was not ambitious to know if she
actually performed the ablutions. However, I have
seen him, at a distance, running along the river bank on

BREAKING UP OF THE MISSOURI. 237

his return, his wife waving a blanket behind him to
keep off the mosquitoes !

If the Indians kill any game, they return home, or-
der tlie squaws to take the ponies and bring back what
they have killed, and tlien throw themselves down to
sleep among the sprawling Indian babies, tailless dogs,
and general filth. The squaws do all the labor, and
every skin is tanned by their busy fingers. I never
knew but one Indian who worked. He was an object
of interest to me, though he kept himself within the
gloom of the cabin, and skulked around the fire when
he cooked. This was the occupation forced upon him
by the others. He had lacked the courage to endure
the torture of the sun-dance ; for when strips of flexible
wood had been drawn through the gashes in his back,
and he was hung up by these, the poor creature had
fainted. On reviving he begged to be cut down,
and ever after was an object of scorn. He was con-
demned to wear squaw's clothing from that time on.
They mocked and taunted him, and he led as separate an
existence as if he were in a desert alone. The squaws
disdained to notice him, except to heap work upon his
already burdened shoulders.

Once my husband and I, in walking, came suddenly
upon a queer little mound, that we concluded we would
observe at a distance. An Indian was seen carrying buck-
ets and creeping with difficulty into the small aperture.
It was about six feet in diameter, and proved to be a
kind of steam-bath, which they consider great medicine.
A hole is first dug in the ground and filled with stones ;
a fire is kindled upon them long before, and they are

238 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

heated red-hot. The round framework of saplings over
these is covered with layer upon layer of blankets and
robes, so that no air can penetrate. The Indians, al-
most stripped of their clothing, crouch round them,
while the one acting as servant brings water to pour on
the heated rocks. The steam has no escape, and the In-
dians are thoroughly roasted. While we were looking
at this curious bath-house a small Indian boy crept out
from under the edges of the blankets, and ashamed to
have given in before the rest, drew his almost parboiled
little body into a hiding-place. Ever ambitious, like
small boys of all nationalities, he had at first believed
experience better than hearsay.

We went one day into a tepee that was placed by it-
self to see an Indian who was only slightly ill. His
father and friends were talking to him of his death as a
certainty, and making all the plans in advance. They
even took his measure for a coffin, assuring him that
they would honor him by putting him in a box in imita-
tion of the wliite man. The general used to listen won-
deringly when they referred to their dead in the speeches
in council. It was always in some roundabout way, never
directly.

The Indians all seemed a melancholy people. They
sometimes ask embarrassing questions. Perhaps, when
some young girl accompanied us, they spoke to my hus-
band in the sign language, in which he was versed.
Once they inquired if the young lady was his other
wife. The blush of the girl so amused us that our laugh
rang out among them, and seemed to be a sound they
knew nothing of. They sat on the ground for hours,

BREAKING UP OF THE MISSOURI. 239

gambling for iron, brass and silver rings, but always
glum and taciturn. The tallest Indian of them all, Long
Soldier, grew to be very cunning when he learned what
a curiosity he was. He would crouch down at our ap-
proach, and only at the sight of a coin as a " tip " would
he draw up his seven feet of height.

The Eee scouts entertained their chief, Star - of -the -
North, during the summer. We were all asked to the
feast, and all formally presented to the distinguished
stranger, who could not comprehend why he was ex-
pected to shake hands with women. After going through
what he found was courtesy among the whites, he offered
us a place around the circle. Taking a bone from the
meat broiling before the fire he offered it to the general.
My husband, after getting some salt, had the courage to
eat it. It was want of tact on my part to decline, but
my heart failed me when I recognized the master of
ceremonies for the evening. As he proffered me some
meat, I found him to be the ferocious-looking savage
who had killed his enemy from another tribe and eaten
bis heart warm.

240 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

CHAPTER XXVI.

OUEIOUS 0HAKACTEE8 AND EXCURSIONISTS AMONG TJS.

I WISH that I could recall more about the curious
characters among us. Most of them had some strange
history in the States that had been the cause of their
seeking the wild life of the frontier. The one whose
past we would have liked best to know was a man most
valued by my husband. All the important scoutinga
and most difficult missions where secrecy was required
were intrusted to him. We had no certain knowledge
whether or not he had any family or friends elsewhere,
for he never spoke of them. He acknowledged once, in
a brief moment of confidence, that he was a gentleman
by birth. Startled, perhaps, by the look of curiosity
that even a friend's face showed, he turned the conver-
sation, and said, " Oh, but what's the use to refer to it
riow ?" We did not even know whether Charley Reyn-
olds was his real name or one that he had assumed.
Soon after we reached Dakota the general began to em-
ploy him as a scout. He remained with him much of
the time, until be fell in the battle of the Little Big
Horn. My husband had such genuine admiration for
him that I soon learned to listen to everything pertain-
ing to his life with marked interest. He was so shy that
he hardly raised his eyes when I extended my hand at

CTTRIOUS CHARACTERS AND EXCURSIONISTS. 241

the general's introduction. He did not assume the pict-
uresque dress, long hair, and belt full of weapons that
are characteristic of the scout. His manner was perfect-
ly simple and straightforward, and he could not be in-
duced to talk of himself. He had large, dark-blue eyes,
and a frank face. Year after year he braved the awful
winters of Dakota alone. I have known him start out
from Fort Lincoln when even our officers, accustomed as
they were to hardships, were forbidden to go. He had
been the best shot and most successful hunter in the ter-
ritory for fifteen years. When I watched the scouts
starting ofE on their missions, I invariably thanked Heav-
en that I was born a woman, and consequently no deed
of valor would ever be expected from me. I felt,
though, that were I compelled to be brave, I would far
rather go into battle with the inspiration of the trumpet-
call and the clash of arms, than go off alone and take
my life in my hands as did the scouts.

The year that tlie regiment explored the Black Hills,
Charley Reynolds undertook to carry despatches through
to Fort Laramie, over one hundred and fifty miles distant.
He had only his compass to guide him, for there was not
even a trail. The country was infested with Indians,
and he could only travel at night. During the day he
hid his horse as well as he could in the underbrush, and
lay down in the long grass. In spite of these precautions
he was sometimes so exposed that he could hear the
voices of Indians passing near. He often crossed Indi-
an trails on his journey. The last nights of his march
he was compelled to walk, as his horse was exhausted,
and he found no water for hours. The frontiersmen

242 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

frequently dig in the beds of dried-up streams and find
water, but this resource failed. His lips became so
parched and his throat so swollen that he could not close
his mouth. In this condition he reached Fort Laramie
and delivered his despatches. It was from the people of
that post that the general heard of his narrow escape.
He came quietly back to his post at Fort Lincoln, and
only confessed to his dangers when closely questioned
by the general long afterwards. When I think how
gloriously he fell, fighting for his country, with all the
valor and fidelity of one of her officers, my eyes fill with
tears ; for he lies there on that battle-field, unwept, un-
honored, and unsung. Had he worn all the insignia of
the high rank and the decorations of an adoring coun-
try, he could not have led a braver life or died a more
heroic death ; and yet he is chronicled as " onlj^ a scout.''

We were inundated with excursionists during the
summer. In order to induce immigration the railroads
had reduced the rates. One of the incidents of the trip
was to cross from Bismarck to Fort Lincoln. Some-
times I had assistance in entertaining, but of tener I was
left to perform this duty alone. I have been sitting
with the general and four of his family, when we would
see the post -ambulance unloading at the door. In an
instant I would find myself standing alone in the room,
the vanishing forms of all the family disappearing
through the doors, and even out of the windows open-
ing upon the piazza. In vain I entreated them to re-
turn ; a smothered laugh at my indignation was all the
response.

It was sometimes tiresome to receive large groups of

CURIOUS CHARACTERS AND EXCURSIONISTS. 243

people, who wanted to know impossible things about the
country, and if it was a good soil for wheat I only
remember one party who taxed my patience to the ut-
termost. They cared nothing about Dakota as an agri-
cultural territory, but had come on purpose to see the
general. To satisfy them, I sent the servants and order-
ly CO find him, but all returned with the same answer —
he was nowhere to be seen. I walked about the garri-
son with them, explaining our post as best I could ; the
band came to play for them ; and finally, as a last resort,
I opened the general's room to show them his hunting
mementos. It was all of no avail. One very decided
woman said, " This is all very interesting, but we came
to see General Custer, and we do not intend to leave-
until we do." Finally I said, in desperation, he is much
interested in improvements for the post, and spends
much time out-of-doors. " Yery well," said the chief
spokesman, " we will go all around the garrison and try
to find him." As soon as I had bowed them away, I ran
out to Mary to ask where the general really was. I had
known from the first, by a twinkle in her eye, that she
was helping him to escape. "Law, Miss Libbie, the
giniral most got sunstroke hidin' in the chicken-coop."
The coop was still unroofed, and my husband had been
superintending the building of a double wall to keep
out the cold in winter ; and there I found him, really ill,
, having beaten his hasty retreat without a hat, and re-
mained in the broiling sun rather than submit to the
odious ordeal of being on exhibition.

Our house was so full of company, and we had so
little time for each other, that in order to visit together

244 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

we were obliged to take our horses, and ride up and
down the valley as far as it was safe to go. Even then
my husband's eyes scanned the horizou so searchingly,
hardly turning his face away from where the Indians
were wont to dash, that it intimidated me to see such
watchfulness. If we went even a few paces beyond our
usual beat, which was bounded by the grazing stock and
the guard, and the busy chatter at his side ceased, my
husband would look quickly to see the cause of the un-
usual silence. My lip quivered with fear, and I was
wont to wink busily and swallow to keep back a tear of
terror, of which I was always ashamed, and against which
I made constant battle. The moment our horses' heads
were turned towards home the endless flow of laughter
and talk began again. When we conld not ride, we
went out on the blufEs, just on the edge of the garrison,
for an uninterrupted hour. We were often out for
hours, my husband shooting at a mark, while I was
equally busy taking accurate aim at the ever-present
mosquito, our constant companion in all our good times.
As the soldiers and citizens all knew the general's
love of pets, we had constant presents. Many of them
I would have gladly declined, but notwithstanding a
badger, porcupine, raccoon, prairie-dog, and wild-turkey,
all served their brief time as members of our family.
They were comparatively harmless, and I had only the
inconvenience to encounter. When a ferocious wild-
cat was brought in, with a triumphant air, by the donor,
and presented with a great flourish, I was inclined to
mutiny. My husband made allowance for my dread of
the untamed creature, and decided to send him into the

CURIOUS CHARACTERS AND EXCURSIONISTS. 246

States, as a present to one of the zoological gardens; for
in its way it was a treasure. While it remained with us
it was kept in the cellar. Mary used to make many re-
treats, tumbling up the stairs, when the cat flew at her
the length of its chain. She was startled so often that
at last she joined with me in requesting its removal as
soon as convenient. The general regretted giving it up>
but Keevan was called to chloroform and box it for the
journey. Colonel Tom printed some facetious words
on the slats of the cover — something like " Do not fon-
dle." They were somewhat superfluous, for no one
could approach the box, after the effects of the chloro-
form had passed away, without encountering the fiery-
red eyes, and such scratchings and spittings and mad
plunges as suggested the propriety of keeping one's
distance. Some detention kept the freight -train at a
station over Sunday ; the box with the wild-cat was put
in the baggage-room. The violence of the animal as it
leaped and tore at the cover loosened the slats, and
it escaped into the room. The freight agent spent
a wretched day ! Chloroform was again resorted to,
and it was deemed a good riddance when the animal
was sent off. When we received a letter of thanks
from the Scientific Board for so splendid a specimen, I
was relieved to know that the wild -cat was at last
where it could no longer create a reign of terror.

At one time the general tamed a tiny field-mouse, and
kept it in a large, empty inkstand on his desk. It grew
very fond of him, and ran over his head and shoulders,
and even through his hair. Women are not responsible
for their fear of mice ; they are born so. I had fortu-

246 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

nately only to keep away from the desk when the little
creature was free, for it was contented to consider that
its domain. The general, thinking at last that it was
cruel to detain tlie little thing in-doors when it belonged
by nature to the fields, took it out and left it on the
plain. The kindness was of no earthly use ; like the
oft-quoted prisoner of the Bastile, it was back again at
the steps in no time, and preferred captivity to freedom.

RELIGIOUS EXERCISES, 247

CHAPTER XXVII.

EELIGI0U8 SEEVICE8. — LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

We had clergymen and missionaries of different de-
nominations as our guests during the summer months.
Among them was a man from the East, who was full of
zeal and indifferent to the opinion of others as long as
he felt that he was right. He began to brave public
opinion on his way to Fort Lincoln. The cars had
stopped for some time at a station where there was a
town ; the missionary, wishing to improve every oppor-
tunity for doing good, went out on the platform and
began a sermon. Before long he had a crowd of people
around him, listening with curiosity. There were laugh-
ter and sneers when the quavering voice of the old man
started a hymn that was familiar throughout the length
and breadth of the land. No one joined. Our brother
Tom and a friend, sitting in the car, but knowing noth-
ing of the mission of the man, realized his unsupported
position, and quickly went to him. Standing on either
side of him, they joined their fresh young voices in the
hymn. Before long one after the other of the crowd
joined in the music, inspired by the independence of
the example. The missionary returned then with the
officers, and came to our house, where ray husband asked
him to remain indefinitely. We found him almost a

248 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

monomaniac on the subject of converting the Indians,
and had not the general prevented him from risking
his life, he would have gone out alone among the war-
like tribes.

While he w^as waiting for an opportunity to go far-
ther west, he begged to begin meetings among the
soldiers, and said tiiat in order to do more good and
get at the hearts of those he would help, he must live
among them. For this purpose he left us, and went
down to sliare the rations of the enlisted men. The
general had a room in a vacant barrack put in order, and
there the old man began his work. Every night the
garrison echoed with the voices of hundreds of soldiers
singing hymns. The simple, unaffected goodness of
the missionary caused them to believe in him, and he
found his way to many a heart that beat under the
army blue. My husband felt thankful to have some
work go on among the enlisted men. We often talked
of their condition, and he felt that some of the ener-
gies of good people in behalf of foreign missions might
well be expended upon our army on the frontier.
Among his plans was the building of an assembly room
at the post, especially for the soldiers : a place where
they could have their own entertainments, and where
the papers, magazines, and general library might be
kept. He regretted constantly that there was no reg-
ular place where there could be services for the men
when the itinerant clergyman came. The service was
usually held in our parlor, but it was only large enough
for the officers and their families. In the following
letter he touches upon the subject of bettering the con-

LEAVE OF ABSENCE. 249

dition of the enlisted men, and bears tribute to the
good man who forgot himself in his love for mankind.

"Fort LmcoiiN, Dakota, September 17, 1875.
"Dr. Newman:

"Dear Sir, — I take the liberty of addressing you a few lines in
regard to tlie Christian work in which Mr. Matchett has been en-
gaged at this post. He came here under the auspices of the Indian
Bureau, intending to labor among the tribes of the Upper Missouri
River, but owing to some obstacles encountered at points above this
on the river, he returned here some weeks ago to await further in-
structions from those under whom he is acting.

"lu the mean time he has devoted himself to missionary work
among the soldiers — a class, by the- way, whose moral welfare, at
least on the frontier, is as sadly neglected as that of any of our
aboriginal tribes. Mr. Matchett enters into his work with great
earnestness and zeal. He has impressed all with whom he has been
associated with his unselfishness, his honesty of purpose, and his
great desire to do good.

"It is but due to him and the holy cause he represents, and a
pleasure to me, to testify to the success which has crowned his
labors, particularly among the soldiers of this command. If our
large posts on the remote frontier, which are situated far from
church and Church influences, had chaplains who were as faithful
Christians as I believe Mr. Matchett to be, and who, like him, are
willing to labor faithfully among the enlisted men, the moral stand-
ard, now necessarily so low among that neglected class, would be
elevated far above its present level, and great results would follow.

" Hoping you will receive these lines in the spirit which prompts
me to send them, I am truly yours,

" G. A. Custer, Brevet Major-General U. S. A."

In the autnran we went into the States, and spent
most of the winter delightfully in New York. We
went out a great deal. Of course we were compelled
to dress very plainly, and my husband made great sport
of his only citizen overcoat — an ulster. He declared that

11*

250 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

it belonged so to the past that he was the only man be-
side the car-drivers that wore one. It did not disturb
him in the least; neither did going in the horse -cars
to receptions and dinners. He nsed laughingly to say,
" Our coachman wears our livery, Libbie," when the car-
driver had on an army overcoat. No one so perfectly
independent as he was could fail to enjoy everything.

Colonel Tom and one of the oldest friends we had in
tlie 7th were with us part of the time, and we had
many enjoyable honrs together. The theatre was our
unfailing delight. They were all desirous that I should
see the military play of " Ours," which was then so ad-
mirably put on the stage at Wallack's, but dreaded the
effect it would have on me. At last one of them said
that it was too finely represented for me to miss, and
I heard them say to each other, " "We must take ' the
old lady,' though it will break her heart and she will
cry." It ended in my going. When we reached the
part in the play where the farewell comes, and the
sword is buckled on the warrior by the trembling hands
of the wife, I could not endure it. Too often had the
reality of such suffering been my own. The three men
were crying like children, and only too willing to take
me out into the fresh air.

My husband spent many hours with Mr. Barrett in
his dressing-room at the theatre, during the long wait
of Cassius in the play of " Julius Caesar." There were
forty nights that these friends sat side by side, until
the call-boy summoned the actor to the footlights. The
general listened every evening with unflagging interest
to the acting of his friend.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE. 251

Every one seemed to vie with every one else in show-
ing appreciation of my husband during that winter.
He dined often with men who learned to draw him
out in talk of his Plains life. While in the midst of
some story, the butler would pass him a dish that he
especially liked. The host at once directed the man
to pass on, and told my husband that he could not
spare time for him to take a second helping while they
were impatient for the rest of the tale. After going
hungry once or twice, the general learned to dine with
me before he left the hotel, so that he might be free
to give himself up to others.

He repeated a story to me about Ole Bull, who was
asked to dinner and requested to bring his violin. He
accepted for himself, but sent word that his violin did
not dine. My husband made a personal application of
the story, and threatened, playfully, to send word that
his Indian stories did not dine, hoping thereby to secure
to himself the privilege of satisfying his hunger unmo-
lested. At the Century Club he received from distin-
guished men the most cordial congratulations on his
essay into the literary field. They urged him with many
an encouraging word to continue the work. Some of
the authors he met there were double his age, and he
received each word they said with deep gratitude. My
husband knew how I valued every expression of appre-
ciation of him, and he used to awaken me, when he re-
turned, to tell me what was said. He never failed to
preface every such hesitating and reluctant repetition
by exacting promises of secrecy. He feared that in my
wifely pride I might repeat what he told me, and it

253 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

would look like conceit on his part. I knew that he
did not tell me the half, for when the tears of delight
dropped from my eyes at the acknowledgment and
commendation of others his voice ceased. I felt that
nine years was a long time out of a young life to live
in the wilderness, away from the sound of approving
voices, and the association of men whose very presence
incites to new effort. In February we had to say good-
bye to all this pleasurable life. Our friends asked us
why we went so soon. In army life it is perfectly nat-
ural to speak of one's financial condition, and it did not
occur to us that civilians do not do the same. I do not
wonder now that they opened their eyes with well-bred
astonishment when we said we were obliged to go be-
cause we had used all the money we had saved f'^r
leave of absence.

A WINTER'S JOURNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS. 253

CHAPTER XXVIII.

A WINTEk's JOUKNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS.

"When we reached St. Paul the prospect before us
was dismal, as. the trains were not to begin running un-
til April, at the soonest. The raih'oad officials, mind-
ful of what the general had done for them in protect-
ing their advance workers in the building of the road,
came and offered to open the route. Sending us through
on a special train was a great undertaking, and we had
to wait some time for the preparations to be completed.
One of the officers of the road took an engine out
some distance to investigate, and it looked discouraging
enough when he sprang down from the cab on his re-
turn in a complete coating of ice.

The train on which we finally started was an immense
one, and certainly a curiosity. There were two snow-
ploughs and three enormous engines; freight-cars with
coal supplies and baggage ; several cattle - cars, with
stock belonging to the Black Hills miners who filled
the passenger - coaches. There was an eating-house,
looming up above everything, built on a flat car. In
this car the forty employes of the road, who were taken
to shovel snow, etc., were fed. There were several day-
coaches, with army recruits and a few passengers, and
last of all the paymaster's car, which my husband and

254 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

I occupied. This had a kitchen and a sitting-room. At
first everything went smoothly. The cook on our car
gave us excellent things to eat, and we slept soundly.
It was intensely cold, but the little stove in the sitting-
room was kept tilled constantly. Sometimes we came
to drifts, and the train would stop with a violent jerk,
start again, and once more come to a stand-still, with
such force that the dishes would fall from the table.
The train -men were ordered out, and after energetic
work by the stalwart arms the track was again clear and
we went on. One day we seemed to be creeping ; the
engines whistled, and we shot on finely. The speed was
checked so suddenly that the little stove fairly danced,
and our belongings flew through the car from end to
end. After this there was an exodus from the cars;
every one went to inquire as to the ominous stop. Be-
fore our train there seemed to be a perfect wall of ice ;
we had come to a gully which was almost filled with
drifts. The cars were all backed down some distance
and detached; the snow-ploughs and engines having
thus full sweep, all the steam possible was put on,
and they began what they called " bucking the drifts."
This did a little good at first, and we made some prog-
ress through the gully. After one tremendous dash,
however, the ploughs and one engine were so deeply
embedded that they could not be withdrawn. The em-
ployes dug and shovelled until they were exhausted.
The Black Hills miners relieved them as long as they
could endure it ; then the ofiicers and recruits worked
until they could do no more. The impenetrable bank
of snow was the accumulation of the whole winter, first

A WINTER'S JOURNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS. 255

snowing, then freezing, until there were successive lay-
ers of ice and snow. It was the most dispiriting and
forlorn situation.

Night was descending, and my husband, after rest-
lessly going in and out to the next car, show^ed me that
he had some perplexity on his mind. He described to
me the discomfort of the officers and Bismarck citizens
in the other coach in not having any place to sleep.
His meaning penetrated at last, and I said, " You are
waiting for me to invite them all to room with us?"
His " exactly " assured me it was precisely what he in-
tended me to do. So he hurried out to give them my
compliments and the invitation. The officers are gen-
erally prepared for emergencies, and they brought in
their blankets ; the citizens left themselves to the gen-
eral's planning. In order to make the car-blankets go
further, he made two of the folding-beds into one
broad one. Two little berths on each side, and rolls
of bedding on the floor, left only room for the stove,
always heated to the last degree. I was invited to
take the farthest place towards the wall, in the large
bed ; then came my husband. After that I burrowed
ray head in my pillow, and the servant blew out some
of the candles and brought in our guests. It is un-
necessary for me to say that I did not see the order
in which they appeared. The audible sleeping in our
bed, however, through the long nights that followed,
convinced me that the general had assigned those places
to the oldest, fattest, and ranking civilians. Every
morning I awoke to find the room empty and all the
beds folded away. The general brought me a tin basin

256 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

with ice-water, and helped me to make a quick toilet ;
our eleven visitors waited in the other coach, to return
to breakfast with us in the same room. Every one made
the best of the situation, and my husband was as rollick-
ing as ever. Though I tried to conceal it, I soon lost
heart entirely, and it cost me great effort to join with
the rest in conversation.

The days seemed to stretch on endlessly ; the snow
was heaped up about us and falling steadily. All we
could see was the trackless waste of white on every side.
The wind whistled and moaned around the cars, and
great gusts rocked our frail little refuge from side to
side. The snow that had begun to fall with a few
scattered flakes now came down more thickly. I made
the best effort I could to be brave, and deceived them as
to my real terrors — I had no other idea than that we must
die there. We tried to be merry at our meals, and made
light of the deficiencies that occurred each time we sat
down. The increase at the table quickly diminished our
stores, and I knew by the careful manner in which the
wood was husbanded that it was nearly exhausted. The
general, always cool and never daunted by anything,
was even more blithe, to keep me from knowing that
there was anything alarming in the situation. If I could
have worked as the men did, even though it was at the
hopeless snow-drifts, the time would not have seemed so
long. Of course I had needle-work, but at such a time
any industry that admits of thinking is of little use as a
distraction. During those anxious days it used to seem
strange to hear a dinner-bell through the air, muffled
with snow. For an instant I was deluded into the

A WINTER'S JOURNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS. 257

thought that by some strange necromancy we had been
spirited on to a station, and that this was the clang of
the eating-house bell. It was only the call from the car
where the employes were fed. The lowing of the cat-
tle and howling of our dogs in the forward cars were
the only other sounds we heard. Finally the situation
became desperate, and with all their efforts the oflScers
could no longer conceal from me their concern for our
safety.

Search was made throughout all the train to find if
there was a man who understood anything about teleg-
raphy, far among the fittings stowed away in the car a
tiny battery had been found, with a pocket-relay. A
man was finally discovered who knew something of oper-
ating, and it was decided to cut the main wire. Then
the wires of the pocket-relay were carried out of our
car and fastened to either end of the cut wire outside,
so making an unbroken circuit between us and our Lin-
coln friends, besides uniting us with Fargo station. In
a little while the general had an answer from Colonel
Tom, most characteristic : " Shall I come out for you ?
You say nothing about the old lady ; is she with you?"
The "old lady" begged the privilege of framing the
reply. I regretted that the telegram could not be un-
derscored— a woman's only way of emphasizing — for I
emphatically forbade him to come. On this occasion I
dared to assume a show of authority. The stories of
the risk and suffering of our mail-carriers during the
two previous winters were too fresh in my memory for
me to consent that Colonel Tom should encounter so
much for our sake.

258 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

After that we kept the wires busy, talking with our
friends and devising plans for our relief. "We only suc-
ceeded in suppressing our headlong brother temporarily.
Against our direct refusal he made all his preparations,
and only telegraphed, when it was too late to receive an
answer, that he was leaving garrison. Then our situa-
tion was forgotten in our solicitude about him. The
time seemed to move on leaden wings, and yet it was in
reality not long. He went to Bismarck, and looked up
the best stage-driver in all the territory, and hired him.
This driver was cool, intrepid, and inured to every peril.
At an old stage-station along the route he found relays
of mules that belonged to the mail-sleigh.

At last a great whoop and yell, such as was peculiar
to the Cnsters, was answered by the general, and made
rae aware for the first time that Colonel Tom was out-
side. I scolded him for coming before I thanked him,
but he made light of the danger and hurried us to get
ready, fearing a coming blizzard. His arms were full
of wraps, and his pockets crowded with mufflers and
wraps the ladies had sent out to me. We did ourselves
up in everything we had, while the three hounds were
being placed in the sleigh. The drifts were too deep to
drive near the cars, so my husband carried me over the
snow and deposited me in the straw with the dogs.
They were such strangers they growled at being crowd-
ed. Then the two brothers followed, and thus packed in
we began that terrible ride, amid the cheers of those
we were leaving. It was understood that we were to
send back help to those we left.

The suspense and alarm in the car had been great,

A WINTER'S JOURNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS. 259

but that journey through the drifts was simply terrible.
I tried to be courageous, and did manage to keep still ;
but every time we plunged into what appeared to be a
bottomless white abyss, I believed that we were to be
buried there. And so we would have been, I firmly be-
lieve, had it not been for the experience and tenacity
of will shown by the old driver. He had a peculiar yell
that he reserved for supreme moments, and that always
incited the floundering mules to new efforts. The sleigh
was covered, but I could look out in front and see the
plucky creatures scrambling up a bank after they had
extricated us from the great drift at the bottom of the
gully. If there had been a tree to guide us, or had it
been daytime, it would not have seemed so hopeless a
journey. The moon was waning, and the clouds ob-
scured it entirely from time to time. There was noth-
ing to serve as guide-posts except the telegraph-poles.
Sometimes we had to leave them to find a road where
the sleigh could be pulled through, and I believed we
never would reach them again. Divide after divide
stretched before us, like the illimitable waves of a great
white sea The snow never ceased falling, and I knew
too much of the Dakota blizzard not to fear hourly that
it would settle into that driving, blinding, whirling at-
mosphere through which no eyes can penetrate and no
foot progress. It is fortunate that such hours of sus-
pense come to an end before one is driven distracted.

"When at last I saw the light shining out of our door
at Fort Lincoln I could not speak for joy and gratitude
at our release from such peril. Our friends gathered
about us around the great log-fire in the general's room.

260 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

No light ever seemed so bright, no haven ever so blessed,
as onr own fireside. The train remained in the spot
where we had left it until the sun of the next spring
melted down the great ice banks and set free the buried
engines. All the help that Bismarck could give was
sent out at once, and even the few cattle that survived
were at last driven over that long distance, and shelter
found for them in tlie town.

Hardly had we arrived before a despatch came recall-
ing the general to the East. I had no thought but that
I would be allowed to accompany him, and went at once
to repack my things. My husband found me tlius em-
ployed, and took my breath away by telling me he could'
not endure the anxiety of having me go through such
peril again. In vain I pleaded, and asked him to remem-
ber that I had summoned suflScient self-control not to
utter a word about my fears; I promised more courage
the next time. It was of no avail, I had to subpit.

Not the shadow of an anxiety, nor the faintest sign
of dread of the coming journey over the snow again
came into his face. He left me with the same words
with which he always comforted me : " Be sure, Libbie,
it's all for the best; you know we always find it so in
the end." With these farewell words he stepped into
the sleigh — which he knew well might be his tomb.

It is not possible for me to speak in detail of the days
that followed. Life seemed insupportable until I re-
ceived a despatch saying that my husband had again
passed safely over that two hundred and fifty miles of
country where every hour life is in jeopardy.

OUR LIFE'S LAST CHAPTER. 261

CHAPTER XXIX.

ouK life's last chapter.

Our women's hearts fell when the fiat went forth
tliat there was to be a summer campaign, with probably
actual fighting with Indians.

Sitting Bull refn=;ed to make a treaty with the Gov-
ernment, and would not come in to live on a reserva-
tion. Besides his constant attacks on the white set-
tlers, driving back even the most adventurous, he was
incessantly invading and stealing from the land assigned
to the peaceable Crows. They appealed for help to the
Government that had promised to shield them.

The preparations for the expedition were completed
before my husband returned from the East, whither he
had been ordered. The troops had been sent out of
barracks into a camp tliat was established a short dis-
tance down the valley. As soon as the general returned
we left home and went into camp.

The morning for the start came only too soon. My
husband was to take Sister Margaret and me out for the
first day's marcli, go I rode beside him out of camp. The
column that followed seemed unending. The grass was
not then suitable for grazing, and as the route of travel
was through a barren country, immense quantities of
forage had to be transported. The wagons themselves
seemed to stretch out Interminably. There were pack-

262 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

mules, the ponies already laden, and cavalry, artillery,
and infantry followed, tlie cavalry being in advance of
all. The number of men, citizens, employes, Indian
scouts, and soldiers was about twelve hundred. There
were nearly seventeen hundred animals in all.

As we rode at the head of the column, we were the
first to enter the confines of the garrison. About the
Indian quarters, which we were obliged to pass, stood
the squaws, the old men, and the children singing, or
rather moaning, a minor tune that has been uttered on
the going out of Indian warriors since time immemo-
rial. Some of the squaws crouched on the ground, too
burdened with their trouble to hold up their heads;
others restrained the restless children who, discerning
their fathers, sought to follow them.

The Indian scouts themselves beat their drums and
kept up their peculiar monotonous tune, which is weird
and melancholy beyond description. Their war-song is
misnamed when called music. It is more of a lament
or a dirge than an inspiration to activity. This inton-
ing they kept up for miles along the road. After we
had passed the Indian quarters we came near Laundress
Kow, and there my heart entirely failed me. The wives
and children of the soldiers lined the road. Mothers,
with streaming eyes, held their little ones out at arm's-
length for one last look at the departing father. The
toddlers among the children, unnoticed by their elders,
had made a mimic column of their own. With their
handkerchiefs tied to sticks in lieu of flags, and beating
old tin pans for drums, they strode lustily back and forth
in imitation of the advancing soldiers. They were fort-

OUR LIFE'S LAST CHAPTER. 263

unately too young to realize why the mothers wailed
out their farewells.

Unfettered by conventional restrictions, and indiffer-
ent to the opinion of others, the grief of these women
was audible, and was accompanied by desponding gest-
ures, dictated by their bursting hearts and expressions
of their abandoned grief.

It was a relief to escape from them and enter the
garrison, and yet, when our band struck up " The Girl
I Left Behind Me," the most despairing hour seemed to
have come. All the sad-faced wives of the officers who
had forced themselves to their doors to try and wave a
courageous farewell, and smile bravely to keep the ones
they loved from knowing the anguish of their breaking
hearts, gave up the struggle at the sound of the music.
The first notes made them disappear to fight out alone
their trouble, and seek to place their hands in that of
their Heavenly Father, who, at such supreme hours, was
their never-failing solace.

From the hour of breaking camp, before the sun was
up, a mist had enveloped everything. Soon the bright
sun began, to penetrate this veil and dispel the haze, and
a scene of wonder and beauty appeared. The cavalry
and infantry in the order named, the scouts, pack-mules,
and artillery, and behind all the long line of white-cov-
ered wagons, made a column altogether some two miles
in length. As the sun broke through the mist a mirage
appeared, which took up about half of the line of cav-
alry, and thenceforth for a little distance it marched,
equally plain to the sight on the earth and in the sky.

The future of the heroic band, whose days were even

264 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

then numbered, seemed to be revealed, and already there
seemed a premonition in the supernatural translation as
their forms were reflected from the opaque mist of the
early dawn.

The sun, mounting higher and higher as we advanced,
took every little bit of burnished ^teel on tlie arms and
equipments along the line of horsemen, and turned them
into glittering flashes of radiating light. The yellow,
indicative of cavalry, outlined the accoutrements, the
trappings of the saddle, and sometimes a narrow thread
of that effective tint followed the outlines even up to
the head-stall of the bridle. At every bend of the road,
as the column wound its way round and round the low
hills, my husband glanced back to admire his men, and
could not refrain from constantly calling my attention to
their grand appearance.

The soldiers, inured to many years of hardship, were
the perfection of physical manhood. Their brawny
limbs and lithe, well- poised bodies gave proof of the
training their out-door life had given. Their resolute
faces, brave and confident, inspired one with a feeling
that they were going out aware of the momentous hours
awaiting them, but inwardly assured of their capability
to meet them.

The general could scarcely restrain his recurring joy
at being again with his regiment, from which he had
feared he might be separated by being detained on other
duty. His buoyant spirits at the prospect of the activity
and field -life that he so loved made him like a boy.
He had made every plan to have rae join him later on,
when they should have reached the Yellowstone.

OUR LIFE'S LAST CHAPTER. 365

The steamers with supplies would be obliged to leave
onr post and follow the Missouri up to the mouth of the
Yellowstone, and from thence on to the point on that
river where the regiment was to make its first halt to
renew the rations and forage. He was sanguine that
but a few weeks would elapse before we would be re-
united, and used this argument to animate me with
courage to meet our separation.

As usual we rode a little in advance and selected
camp, and watched the approach of the regiment with
real pride. They were so accustomed to the march the
line hardly diverged from the trail. There was a unity
of movement about them that made the column at a dis-
tance seem like a broad dark ribbon stretched smoothly
over the plains.

We made our camp the first night on a small river a
few miles beyond the post. There the paymaster made
his disbursements, in order that the debts of the soldiers
might be liquidated with the sutler.

In the morning the farewell was said, and the pay-
master took sister and me back to the post.

With my husband's departure my last happy days in
garrison were ended, as a premonition of disaster that I
had never known before weighed me down. I could
not shake off the baleful influence of depressing thoughts.
This presentiment and suspense, such as I had never
known, made me selfish, and I shut into my heart the
most uncontrollable anxiety, and could lighten no one
else's burden. The occupations of other summers could
not evien give temporary interest.

We heard constantly at the Fort of the disaffection of

206 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

the young Indians of the reservation, and of their join-
ing the hostiles. We knew, for we had seen for our-
selves, how admirably they were equipped. We even
saw on a steamer touching at our Landing its freight of
Springfield rifles piled up on the docks en route for the
Indians up the river. There was unquestionable proof
that they came into the trading-posts far above us and
bought them, while our own brave 7th Cavalry troopers
were sent out with only the short-range carbines that
grew foul after the second firing.

While we waited in untold suspense for some hopeful
»ews, the garrison was suddenly thrown into a state of
excitement by important despatches that were sent from
Division Headquarters in the East. We women knew
that eventful news had come, and could hardly restrain
our curiosity, for it was of vital import to us. Indian
scouts were fitted out at the Fort with the greatest de-
spatch, and given instructions to make the utmost speed
they could in reaching the expedition on the Yellow-
stone. After their departure, when there was no longer
any. need for secrecy, we were told that the expedition
which had started from the Department of the Platte,
and encountered the hostile Indians on the head- waters
of the Rosebud, had been compelled to retreat.

All those victorious Indians had gone to join Sitting
Bull, and it was to warn our regiment that this news
was sent to our post, which was the extreme telegraphic
communication in the North-west, and the orders given
to transmit the information, that precautions might be
taken against encountering so large a number of the
enemy. The news of the failure of the campaign in the

' OUR LIFE'S LAST CHAPTER. 267

other department was a death-knell to our hopes. We
felt that we had nothing to expect but that our troops
would be overwhelmed with numbers, for it seemed to
us an impossibility, as it really proved to be, that our
Indian scouts should cross that vast extent of country in
time to make the warning of use.

The first steamer that returned from the Yellowstone
brought letters from my husband, with the permission,
for which I had longed unutterably, to join him by the
next boat. The Indians had fired into the steamer when
it liad passed under the high bluffs ih the gorges of the
river. I counted the hours until the second steamer
was ready. They were obliged, after loading, to cover
the pilot-house and other vulnerable portions of the
upper deck with sheet-iron to repel attacks. Then sand-
bags were placed around the guards as protection, and
other precautions taken for the safety of those on board.
All these delays and preparations made me inexpressibly
impatient, and it seemed as if the time would never come
for the steamer to depart.

Meanwhile our own post was constantly surrounded
by hostilcs, and the outer pickets were continually sub-
jected to attacks. It was no unusual sound to hear the
long-roll calling out the infantry before dawn to defend
the garrison. We saw the faces of the oflScers blanch,
brave as tliey were, when the savages grew so bold as to
make a day-time sortie upon our outer guards.

A picture of one day of our life in those disconsolate
times is fixed indelibly in my memory.

On Sunday afternoon, the 25th of June, our little
group of saddened women, borne down with one com-

268 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

mon weight of anxiety, sought solace in gathering to-
gether in our house. We tried to find some slight sur-
cease from trouble in the old hymns: some of them
dated back to our childhood's days, when our mothers
rocked us to sleep to their soothing strains. I remember
the grief with which one fair young wife threw herself
on the carpet and pillowed her head in the lap of a
tender friend. Another sat dejected at the piano, and
struck soft chords that melted into the notes of the
voices. All were absorbed in the same thoughts, and
their eyes were filled with far-away visions and long-
ings. Indescribable yearning for the absent, and un-
told terror for their safety, engrossed each heart. The
words of the hymn,

"E'en though a cross it be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,"

came forth with almost a sob from every throat.

At that very hour the fears that our tortured minds
had portrayed in imagination were realities, and the souls
of those we thought upon were ascending to meet their
Maker.

On the 5th of July — for it took that time for the
news to come — the sun rose on a beautiful world, but
with its earliest beams came the first knell of disaster.
A steamer came down the river bearing the wounded
from the battle of the Little Big Horn, of Sunday, June
25th. This battle wrecked the lives of twenty -six women
at Fort Lincoln, and orphaned children of ofiicers and
soldiers joined their cry to that of their bereaved
mothers.

OUR LIFE'S LAST CHAPTER. 269

From that time the life went out of the hearts of tlie
" women who weep," and God asked them to walk on
alone and in the shadow.

Mrs. Custer very naturally ends her work with the
coming of the news that put so many women's lives in
shadow. She has attempted no account of the Little
Big Horn expedition, and none seems necessary here ;
but it is deemed best to add the following very brief
outline by way of explanation to any reader whose
memory may need refreshing :

The expedition during the summer of 1876, which ended so fatally
with the battle of the Little Big Horn, was under General Terry,
the ranking officer. General Custer commanded under him the 7th
Cavalry. As it marched, the force struck a fresh Indian trail, and
scouts were sent to follow it up and ascertain the number of war-
riors in the band. This can be done with great accuracy. The
number of Indians can be estimated by following the trail far enough
to get its average width and the size of the circle grazed over at
night by the ponies on which the warriors ride. In this case the
scouts followed the trail far enough to ascertain that twelve hun-
dred Indians were in the band, but did not learn the location of the
village where they were encamped. Upon their return General
Terry and General Custer consulted together. It was well known
to them that the vigilance of the Indian keeps outposts and signal-
fires on every hill-top, thus making it an impossibility to approach
one of their villages unobserved. Neither could it be kept from
their quick eyes what the strength of the approaching force was.
To await an attack or to advance with superior numbers was to
give the Indians a chance to escape, and their wariness was known
to all. Accordingly it was determined that General Custer should
take such force as he thought the Indians, seeing him approach,
would stand against awaiting its attack. He was convinced that
the 7th Cavalry was as large a body as could be taken with safety,
and was a match for twelve hundred Indians. He knew his men.

270 BOOTS AND SADDLES.

and knew what lie was doing. It was suggested that he should take
a piece of artillery, but the scouts had described the bad lands over
which they must march, and General Custer knew that artillery
would hamper his movements besides increasing the apparent size
of the command. He started with only his regiment, and the rest
of the expedition halted to await the result. The officers and men
went out feeling certain that a fight awaited them. If there had
been but twelve hundred warriors, as there was every reason to sup-
pose, the affair would have ended well ; but Indian reinforcements,
covering a trail half a mile wide (as was learned after the battle),
had come from the North, and in an opposite direction to that in
which the Indians were going. Instead, therefore, of a thousand,
the gallant 7th Cavalry encountered about five thousand Indians,
who were emboldened by success in their battle in another depart-
ment, and made even more venturesome by their increase of num-
bers.

General Custer called a halt as he approached the village, and
summoning his officers, explained to them his plan of attack, which
was the same that had proved so successful in, the battle of the
Washita, in the previous history of the regiment. He offered the
lead to that officer who should first report his company ready for
battle. In a few seconds one of the highest in rank received this
desired honor. Dividing the command into three detachments.
General Custer led the body of his regiment in that final charge, in
which afterwards the line of battle of a portion could be traced by
the dead men and horses as they fell at the post of duty, and from
which no man escaped.

APPENDIX.

THE YELLOWSTONE EXPEDITION OF 1873.

Extracts from Letters written by General Custer to Jiis Wife during the EX"

pediiio7i to the Yellowstone in 1873.

[Many of the letters fiom which the following extracts are taken are very
long, but so much of them is of a personal nature that I have sought here to give
only those portions that convey an idea of the camp-life and daily experiences
of a campaign on the frontier.

I regret that I have not the letters giving an account of the Indian fights.
I have substituted a copy of General Custer's official report to complete the
story of the summer of 1S73.— E. B. C]

Camp on Heart River, D. T., June 26, 1873.

When I may have an opportunity to send this, or when it may
reach you, I cannot tell ; but I will have it ready, and when the first
courier leaves he shall carry these tidings to you.

This is our sixth day out from Fort Rice. We reached this river
yesterday about noon, and are remaining in camp to-day as it is
somewhere in this locality that we expect to find the railroad engin-
eers, and Lieut. D and four companies of infantry that left Fort

Rice before you did.

Our march has been perfectly delightful thus far. We have en-
countered no Indians, although yesterday we saw the fresh tracks
of about fifteen ponies, showing that they are in our vicinity.

I never saw such fine hunting as we have constantly had since
we left Fort Rice. I have done some of the best shooting I ever did,
and as you are always so interested I want to tell you about it. I
take twenty-five picked men with me, and generally have several

272 APPENDIX.

officers in the party besides. It is not necessary to go out of sight
of the column, as the game is so abundant we can even eclipse your
story about antelope running into the men's arms! They actually
ran through our wagon-train, and one was run over by a wagon and
caught! Tom* immediately remarked, "Well, by George, we can
beat Libbie's story now !"

The first day out the dogs caught an antelope and I shot one,
gince when I have brought in from two to four daily. Day before
yesterday the members of our mess killed eight antelope. But I
must teU you of some of my recent shots with my new Springfield
rifle.

Three days ago F and I with a party were out in sight of the

column, when an antelope started up fully two hundred yards dis-
tant, and ran rapidly parallel to us. I fired five times at it while
running, at this distance. It then stopped, and I got about twenty-
five paces nearer when I fired off-hand, aiming directly at the head.
It fell, and I measured the distance, which proved to be one hundred
and seventy yards, and the antelope was found to be shot through
the head. Of the five shots which I had fired at it while running at
a distance of two hundred yards, four had struck the antelope, one
breaking its thigh and two going through its body.

Yesterday a fine large buck came bounding over the hill across
our path. He was so far that no one seemed to think it worth while
to aim at him, but I thought I would try. Jumping off my thorough-
bred, Vic, in an instant I had my rifle at my shoulder and levelled at
the buck, which was running at full speed. I pressed the trigger,
and waiting an instant to give the bullet time to reach its mark, the
buck was seen to fall lifeless in the grass. To be accurate in the dis-
tance I requested F to measure it. He did so, and found it to

be two hundred and eighty yards. Galloping to where the antelope
had fallen, I found him shot directly through the centre of the neck,
about one foot from the head, the neck being broken by the shot.
I put him entire on the orderly trumpeter's horse and sent him to
the wagons to be carried to camp, where I butchered him. He was
the fattest antelope 1 ever saw.

I sent H and M 's messes each a quarter. I have not

• The general's brother.

APPENDIX. 273

only been fortunate enougli to keep our own mess supplied with
game every meal since we left Fort Rice, but have had quantities to
send to the infantry officers, to the band, and to many of our own
officers.

Poor Fred and Tom ! They have accompanied me frequently —
Fred always along — and yet neither of them has been able thus far
to kill a single antelope. I tease them a great deal, for they use the
Winchester rifle. It is remarkably accurate up to one hundred
yards, and not so beyond that distance.

You know when Tom takes a notion to get anything of mine
how very persistent he is. "Well, his latest dodge is to obtain pos-
session of my Springfield rifle, which I allow my orderly, Tuttle, to
carry. Night before last he carried it off to his tent without saying
anything about it; but Tuttle slipped down while Tom was at
breakfast and recaptured the rifle !

I wish you could have seen one of our hunting-parties coming
into camp a few days ago, after a hunt of not more than four hours,
in sight of the column all the time. • My orderlies and I had four

antelope strapped to our saddles ; then came Captain F , with

a fine, large buck strapped behind him and a saddle in his front,
while his orderly was similarly loaded ; then McD and his or-
derly, each with a splendid antelope on his saddle, while others of
the men who had accompanied me were well provided with game —

except poor H . He and the four men of his company who went

with us had equal chances with the rest, but they had nothing. The

officers give H no rest now on the subject of antelope ; the last

advice given him was that his only chance now is to spread his fish-
net (which the officers ridicule him for bringing into such a country
as this) and catch the antelope in that way I Tuttle killed two ante-
lope at one shot with my Springfield at pretty long range.

Yesterday Fred and I had an exciting time with an elk that swam
the river twice near us, but we only succeeded in wounding him
before he got away to the bluffs beyond sight of the command,
where we did not deem it prudent to follow him.

I am glad that I posted myself with regard to taxidermy; for
yesterday, after reaching camp, I devoted all the afternoon to pre-
paring the head of the antelope I killed for preservation. The
antlers the officers think the finest they ever saw. I have prepared

12%

274 . APPENDIX.

the entire head, and the skin of aT)Out one foot of the neck. I also
have a beautiful set of elk antlers that I hope to get through safely.
I carry them strapped on top of the ambulance of Mary, our cook.

I do not think we are going to have any serious difficulty with
the Indians — at least this is General Rosser's opinion. He thinks
this expedition is too large and unwieldy to perform the desired
work promptly, and I agree with him.

There is an officer temporarily detailed with the command who
inspires my respect because he regards the wishes of his mother so
highly. He has some fine rifles at home, but did not bring any with
him, merely to please his mother, who feared that if he brought his
guns along he would be tempted to wander off alone hunting.

It is four days since I began this letter, but we have been moving
. in the mean while, so that but little opportunity for writing has been
allowed.

With the ten companies of the 7th I started to join the engineers,
leaving the infantry and train to follow us. I marched thirty miles
over a bad country, besides building a bridge over a stream thirty
feet wide and ten feet deep. I superintended and planned it, and
about one hundred and eighty men worked to complete it. About
twenty men had to cross the stream before the bridge could be begun.

An officer must go with them, so I detailed McD and twenty of

his men. They had to strip off and swim across. You ought to

have heard the young officers on the bank hooting at McD

when he was preparing to lead the "light brigade" across the
water ! I built a bridge in about two hours, over which the whole
command and wagon-train passed.

The officers have a good joke on Lieut. H . Nearly all of

them have killed antelope, so Mr. H concluded he must kill

his. He went out yesterday near the column and soon espied an
antelope quietly lying in the grass about one hundred yards distant.
Quickly dismounting from his horse, he crawled on the ground until
near enough, as he thought, to kill it. Taking deliberate aim he
fired, but the ball fell short a few feet; yet the antelope was not dis-
turbed. This is not unusual. Again he took aim this time with
great care, fired, and to his joy he saw the fur fly from the antelope.
Never doubting but that he had given him a mortal wound, Mr.
H leaped into his saddle and galloped up to the antelope to cut

APPENDIX. • 275

its throat. Imagine his disgust to find that the antelope had been
dead several days, and had already been taken possession of by the
flies ! The ofiicers will never let him hear the last of it.

Well, I have joined the engineers, and am having such pleasant
visits with General Rosser. We talk over our West Point times
and discuss the battles of the w^ar. I stretch the buffalo-robe under
the fly of the tent, and there in the moonlight he and I, lying at full
length, listen to each other's accounts of battles in which both had
borne a part. It seemed like the time when we were cadets togeth-
er, huddled on one blanket and discussing dreams of the future.
Rosser said the worst whipping he had during the war was the one
I gave him the 9th of October, when I captured everything he had,
including the uniform now at home in Monroe. He said that on the
morning of that fight, just as the battle was commencing he was on
a hill on our front, which I well remember, watching us advance.
He was looking at us through his field-glass, and saw and recognized
me as plainly as if I had been by his side. I was at the head of my
troops — all of which I remember — and advancing to the attack.

Rosser said as soon as he recognized me he sent for his brigade
commanders and pointed me out to them, saying, " Do you see that
man in front with long hair? Well, that's Custer, and we must bust
him up to-day."

"And so," General Rosser continued, " we would have done had
you attacked us as we thought you intended to; but instead of that
you slipped another column away around us, and my men soon be-
gan calling out, ' We're flanked! we're flanked 1' then broke and ran,
and nothing could stop them."

Rosser wanted to meet you at the crossing, but failed, and wrote
to his wife to try and see you in St. Paul, but you had already gone
through.

He too asked if you did not accompany me almost everywhere;
so you see what an extended reputation for campaigning you have.
And, do you know, he tells me he thinks I am anxious to get back to
you. But I did not tell him that I was already counting the days.

I killed another antelope yesterday, two the day before, and two
the day before that. Mary made us a delicious pot-pie out of two
curlew I shot. Whenever the subject of pot-pies comes up, Mr.
Calhoun, Tom, and I at once begin talking of the place where we

276 APPENDIX.

got the best pot-pies we ever tasted. One will say, "111 tell you
where you can get the very nicest pot-pie you ever put in your
mouth," and before he can go any further the other two will call
out, "At mother's."

I saw the most beautiful red-deer yesterday I ever have seen. It
was a new species to me; of the deepest red, as red as the reddest cow
you ever saw. I was too far away to get a shot.

All the officers were up at my tent last night at twilight, sitting
under the awning in front, all jolly, all good-humored, full of their
jokes, and prouder than ever of the 7th, as they modestly compared
the regiment with the infantry.

This letter of forty -four closely - written pages would make a
Galaxy article so far as its length goes ; suppose you send me a
check for it as the Galaxy people do for theirs ?

You must read a good deal of it to mother, or tell her of its con-
tents, and say that this time this letter must do for the family. I hope
your going home will be a comfort to her and improve her health.

Tell D if she is going to come into the Custer family she

must be prepared to receive little billet-doux something the size of
this volume !

Tom says, "Tell Libbie I intended writing, but when I saw the
length of this letter I knew that there was nothing left to tell her 1"

Yellowstone River, July 19, 18T3.

"Well, here we are, encamped on the banks of the far-famed and
to you far distant Yellowstone ! How I have longed to have you
see, during our progress, what seems to me almost like another world.
Truly can this interesting region be termed the "Wonder-land !"

When the command arrived at what was supposed to be a dis-
tance of about fifteen miles from the river, it became necessary and
important to ascertain where the steamboat with supplies that had
come by river was located. I volunteered to go on a steamboat
hunt, as I had hunted almost every other species of game ; so tak-
ing two troops and leaving our tents and wagons, I started on a
search for the Key West. Several of the officers applied to go, and
General Rosser, who is always ready for a trip of this kind, accepted
my invitation to accompany us.

No artist — not even a Church or a Bierstadt — could fairly repre^

APPENDIX. 277

sent the wonderful country we passed over, while each step of our
progress was like each successive shifting of the kaleidoscope, pre-
senting to our wondering gaze views which almost appalled us by
their sublimity.

We passed over a region so full of canons and precipices. Much
of our journey was necessarily made on foot, our horses being led in
single file, except my own noble "Dandy." He seemed to realize
the difficulties of the route, and although permitted to run untethered,
he followed me as closely and carefully as a well-trained dog.

Sometimes we found ourselves on the summit of a high peak, to
ascend which we had to risk both life and limb, and particularly im-
peril the safety of our horses. Once we came to a steep declivity
which neither man nor horse could descend. It was impossible to
retrace our steps, as the sides of the peak were so steep our horses
could not turn about without great danger of tumbling hundreds
of feet. Asking the rest to wait a moment, I looked about and
discovered a possible way out to our left, provided a huge rock
which lay in the path could be removed. Bidding Tuttle "Look
out," and uttering a few words of caution to Dandy, who seemed to
comprehend our situation and say, "All right, don't mind me," I
left him clinging to the soft and yielding soil of the mountain, I
succeeded in dislodging the rock after some work, and sent it leap-
ing down the rocky side leading to the valley, sometimes taking
hundreds of feet at one plunge. The way being clear, a simple
"Come on. Dandy," and we took the advance, followed by the
rest. We were well repaid for our risk and trouble by the gran-
deur of the scenery that lay spread out beneath us.

I am making a rare collection of the fossils that the country is
rich in — vegetable and mineral specimens. I hope you will approve
of my plan of disposal of them : I intend to give them to the college
at Ann Arbor. What would you think to pass through thousands
of acres of petrified trees, some of which are twelve feet in diameter,
with trunks and branches perfect ! The fallen trunks of some as they
lie on the ground are so natural in grain iand color, the ofllcers are
sometimes deceived and sit down, thinking them but lately felled.

To return to my search for the steamboat. After struggling
through the beds of deep canons and climbing almost inaccessible
peaks, we finally emerged into the valley of the Yellowstone. We

278 APPENDIX.

were still obliged in crossing swales to struggle on by walking, lead-
ing, climbing, and stumbling, and after a ride of ten miles we came to
where the boat was moored.

Every one is congratulating F on getting the place I applied

to Rosser for, as a member of the party of engineers. He will get
$60 a month, and a prospect later of advancement and higher salary.
It is such a pleasure when I can help young men who evince a dis-
position to help themselves. I never forget those who gave me my
first encouragement in life. How I have wished that some of our
home boys, who possess talent and education, but lack means and
opportunity, would cast themselves loose from home and try their
fortunes in this great enterprising western country, where the virtues
of real manhood come quickly to the surface, and their possessor
finds himself transformed from a mere boy to a full-fledged man al-
most before he realizes his quick advancement. It is such a comfort
to me to feel independent. Much as I dote on my profession, and
earnestly as I am devoted to it, yet should accident cast me adrift
and I be thrown upon my own resources, I have not a fear but that
energy and a willingness to put my shoulder to the wheel would
carry me through and with reasonable success.

In this country, no man, particularly if moderately educated, need
fail in life if determined to succeed, so many and varied are the
avenues to honorable employment which open on all hands before
him.

The climate is perfect out here ; not five men are sick out of the
whole ten troops, and one poor fellow who was about to be dis-
charged before we left for disability, as he was thought to be in con-
sumption, is now well and does not desire his discharge. Though it
is July we sleep under blankets constantly.

Regarding the dogs, I find myself more warmly attached to Tuck
than to any other I have ever owned. Did I tell you of her catching
a full-grown antelope-buck, and pulling him down after a run of
over a mile, in which she left the other dogs far behind? She comes
to me almost every evening when I am sitting in my large camp-
chair, listening to the band or joining with the ofllcers in conversa-
tion. First she lays her head on my knee, as if to ask if I am too
much engaged to notice her. A pat of encouragement and her fore-
feet are thrown lightly across my lap ; a few moments in this post-

APPENDIX. 279

ure and she lifts her hind-feet from the ground, and, great, over-
grown dog that she is, quietly and gently disposes of herself on my
lap, and at times will cuddle down and sleep there for an hour at a
time, until I become so tired of my charge that I am compelled to
transfer her to mother earth; and even then she resembles a well-
cared for and half -spoiled child, who can never be induced to retire
until it has been fondled to sleep in its mother's arms.

Tuck wiU sleep so soundly in my lap that I can transfer her
gently to the ground and she will continue her slumber, like a little
baby carefully deposited in its crib. As I write she is lying at my
feet. She makes up with no other person.

I have just told Tom if he expects letters from you, he must write
first. He answers that he would like to know what he can find to
write " after she receives that book from you." And one might think
that the eighty pages of this letter had exhausted every subject, but
there is much I must leave untold.

I am prouder and prouder of the 7th, Libbie ; not an officer or
man of my command has been seen intoxicated since the expedition

left Fort Rice. H and I have our periodical official tussles, as

usual, but I see a great deal of him and like him better than ever.

We have just parted with a member of the expedition who is not
a loss to us, for he is a gossip but not viciously inclined — rather the
contrary. He peddles tiresome tales without meaning harm. Every-
body in the 7th Cavalry camp is content to attend to his own busi-
ness and not meddle with other people's affairs.

You wiU scarcely credit what I am about to tell you, but it is an
undeniable fact : here we have been encamped for several days with
pickets and guards surrounding our camp for its protection.

Our march here was over a stretch of wild, almost unknown
country, supposed to be infested with hostile Indians. Small parties
were not deemed safe beyond sight of our column, and yet to-day
imagine our surprise to see a plain white covered spring-wagon,
drawn by two mules and accompanied by a single individual, ap-
proach our camp from the direction we came more than one week ago.
It proved to be the travelling-conveyance of an humble priest, who,
leaving Fort Rice seven days ago, traversed alone and unguided, ex-
cept by our trail, through more than two hundred miles of hostile
and dangerous country, fording rivers winding through deep and

280 APPENDIX.

almost impassable canons, toiling over mountains, at each step liable
to be massacred by hostile Indians. The country was entirely new
to him, he never having been west of Fort Rice before. He came
believing he could be of spiritual benefit to many who would other-
wise be wholly deprived of such comfort. He carried no arms,
adopted no special precautions for his safety, but with a simple and
unpretentious cross reverently erected and borne above his travelling-
wagon, he took his life in his hand and boldly plunged into the
wilds of this almost unknown region, evidently relying upon Him
who ruleth over all, to guide and protect him in his perilous journey.
This to me is an act of Christian heroism and physical courage which
entitles this humble priest to immeasurable honor and praise.

Yellowstone Eiver, above Powder River, July 31, 1873.

. . . The JosepMTie is unloading her cargo about one mile below
here, and leaves for Bismarck within an hour. We expected to
have an opportunity to write letters to-day, but as the boat receives
five hundred dollars a day it is important to discharge her as soon
as practicable.

The command is not in camp yet. I took a squadron and started
ahead to find a road. You have no idea what diflSiculty we have,
looking out a route through this country over which it is possible to
move a train. Yesterday I took two companies and travelled about
forty miles. To-day we reached the Yellowstone at 9.30.

"We have been sleeping since (and it is now 4 p.m.) under the
large trees standing on the river bank. I have just received one
letter from you, and I think it is the first instalment only, for I hear
there are seven sacks of mail on board the boat. I am sorry I am
compelled to write under such hurried circumstances. I am lying
on the ground, using my horse-blanket for a desk.

Official Seport of the JEnga(/enienis with Indians on tJie ^th and Uth

ultimo.

Copy.

Head-quarters Battalion 7th Cavalry,

Pompey's Pillar, Yellowstone River, Montana, Aug. 15, 1873.
Acting Assistant Adjutant-general Yellowstone Expedition :

Sm, — Acting under the instructions of the Brevet-major-general
commanding, I proceeded at five o'clock, on the morning of the 4tb

APPENDIX. 281

instant, with one squadron of my command, numbering about ninety
men, to explore a route over which the main column could move.
Having reached a point on the Yellowstone River, near the mouth
of Tongue River, and several miles in advance, and while waiting
the arrival of the forces of the expedition, six mounted Sioux
dashed boldly into the skirt of timber within which my command
had halted and unsaddled, and attempted to stampede our horses.
For*;unately our vedettes discovered the approach of the Indians in
time to give the alarm. A few well-directed shots soon drove the
Indians to a safe distance, where they kept up a series of yells, occa-
sionally firing a few shots. As soon as the squadran could mount,
I directed Captain Moylan to move out in pursuit, at the same time
I moved with the troops in advance, commanded by First Lieuten-
ant T. W. Custer. Following the Indians at a brisk gait, my sus
picious became excited by the confident bearing exhibited by the six
Sioux in our front, whose course seemed to lead us near a heavy
growth of timber which stood along the river bank above us. When
almost within rifle range of this timber, I directed the squadron to
halt, while I with two orderlies, all being well mounted, continued
after the Sioux in order to develop their intentions. Proceeding a
few hundred yards in advance of the squadron, and keeping a
watchful eye on the timber to my left, I halted. The six Indians
in my front also halted, as if to tempt further pursuit. Finding all
efforts in this direction unavailing, their plans and intentions were
quickly made evident, as no sooner was it seen that we intended to
advance no farther, than with their characteristic howls and yells
over three hundred well-mounted warriors dashed in perfect line
from the edge of the timber, and charged down upon Captain Moy-
lan's squadron, at the same time endeavoring to intercept the small
party with me. As soon as the speed of the thorough-bred on which
I was mounted brought me within hailing distance of Lieutenant
Custer's troop, I directed that officer to quickly throw forward a
dismounted line of troopers, and endeavor to empty a few Indian
saddles. The order was obeyed with the greatest alacrity, and as
the Sioux came dashing forward, expecting to ride down the squad-
ron, a line of dismounted cavalrymen rose from the grass and de-
livered almost in the faces of the warriors a volley of carbine buUets
which broke and scattered their ranks in all directions, and sent

282 ArPENDIX.

more than one Sioux reeling from his saddle. This check gave us
time to make our dispositions to resist the succeeding attacks, which
we knew our enemies would soon make upon us. The great supe-
riority of our enemies in numbers, the long distance separating us
from the main command, and the belief, afterwards verified, that
the woods above us still concealed a portion of the savage forces,
induced me to confine my movements, at first, strictly to the de-
fensive. The entire squadron (except the horse-holders) was dis-
mounted and ordered to fight on foot. The Indians outnumbering
us almost five to one were enabled to envelop us completely between
their lines, formed in a semicircle, and the river which flowed at
our backs. The little belt of timber in which we had been first at-
tacked formed a very good cover for our led-horses, while the crest
of a second table-land, conveniently located from the timber, gave
us an excellent line of defence. The length of our line and the
numbers of the enemy prevented us from having any force in re-
serve ; every available officer and man was on the skirmish-line,
which was in reality our line of battle, even the number of men
holding horses had to be reduced, so that each horse-holder held
eight horses. Until the Indians were made to taste quite freely of
our lead they displayed unusual boldness, frequently charging up to
our line and firing with great deliberation and accuracy. Captain
Moylan exercised command along the entire line ; Lieutenant Cus-
ter commanded the centre ; my adjutant. Lieutenant James Calhoun,
commanded the right ; and Lieutenant Charles A. Varnum, the left.
The first Indian killed was shot from his pony by " Bloody Knife,"
the Crow who acted as my guide and scout. Soon after Private
Charles P. Miller, of " A " troop 7th Cavalry, succeeded in sending
a carbine bullet directly through the body of a chief who had been
conspicuous throughout the engagement. At the same time it was
known that our firing had disabled many of their ponies, while ow-
ing to our sheltered position the only damage thus far inflicted upon
us was one man and two horses wounded, one of the latter shot in
three places.

Finding their efforts to force back our line unavailing, the Indians
now resorted to another expedient. By an evidently preconcerted
plan they set fire in several places to the tall grass which covered
the ground in our front, hoping by this means to force us back to

APPENDIX. 288

the rear, and thus finish us at their pleasure. Fortunately for us
there was no wind prevailing at the time, while the grass was scarce-
ly dry enough to burn rapidly. Taking advantage of the dense cur-
tain of smoke which rose from the burning grass, the Indians, by
following the course of the flame, could often contrive to obtain a
shot at us at comparatively close range; but my men, observing
that there was no danger to be apprehended from the slowly ad-
vancing flames, could frequently catch an opportunity to send a
shot through a break in the curtain of smoke, and in this way sur-
prised the Indian by the adoption of his own device.

The fight began at 1 1 . 30 A. m. , and was waged without cessation un-
til near three o'clock, all efforts of the Indians to dislodge us proving
unsuccessful. The Indians had become extremely weary, and had
almost discontinued their offensive movements, when my ammuni-
tion ran low. I decided to mount the squadron and charge the In-
dians, with the intention of driving them from the field.

Captain Moylan promptly had his men in the saddle, and throw-
ing forward twenty mounted skirmishers, under Lieutenant Var-
num, the entire squadron moved forward at a trot. No sooner did
the Indians discern our intentions than, despite their superiority iu
numbers, they cowardly prepared for flight, in which preparation
they were greatly hastened when Captain Moylan's squadron charged
them and drove them ' ' pell-mell " for three miles.

Five ponies killed or badly wounded were left on the battle-
ground or along the line of their flight. So rapidly were they forced
to flee that they abandoned and threw away breech-loading arms,
saddle equipments, clothing, robes, lariats, and other articles com-
prised in an Indian outfit.

Among the Indians who fought us on this occasion were some of
the identical warriors who committed the massacre at Fort Phil.
Kearney, and they no doubt intended a similar programme when
they sent the six warriors to dash up and attempt to decoy us into a
pursuit past the timber in which the savages hoped to ambush us.
Had we pursued the six warriors half a mile farther, instead of
halting, the entire band of warriors would have been in our rear,
and all the advantage of position and numbers would have been
with them.

So far as the troops attacked were concerned, the Indians, to off-

284 APPENDIX.

set their own heavy losses, had been able to do us no damage except
to wound one man and two horses ; but unfortunately two non-com-
batants, Veterinary Surgeon John Honsinger, 7th Cavalry, and Mr.
Baliran, of Memphis, Tenn. , in endeavoring to come from the main
column to join the squadron in advance, were discovered by the In-
dians during the attack, and being unarmed were overtaken and
killed almost within view of the battle-ground. Fortunately the In-
dians were so pressed as not to be able to scalp or otherwise muti-
late the remains.

On the 8th instant we discovered the trail of a large village, evi-
dently that to which the party that attacked us on the 4th belonged.
The course of the trail led up the Yellowstone, and apparently was
not more than two days old. Acting under the authority of the
Brevet-major-general commanding, I ordered my command, consist-
ing of four squadrons of the 7th Cavalry, in readiness to begin the
pursuit that night. The Brevet-major-general also directed the de-
tachment of guides and Indian scouts under Lieutenant Daniel H.
Brush, 17th Infantry, to report to me for temporary service. Leav-
ing all tents and wagons behind, and taking with us rations for
seven days, we started in pursuit at ten o'clock on the night of the 8th
instant, having waited until that hour until the moon should enable
us to follow the trail. Following the trail as rapidly as the rough
character of the country would permit, daylight next morning found
us nearly thirty miles -from our starting-point. Concealing horses
and men in a ravine, a halt of three hours was ordered to enable the
horses to graze and the men to obtain refreshments. Renewing the
march at eight o'clock, the pursuit was continued without halting until
noon, when, to avoid discovery, as well as to obtain needed rest for
men and animals, it was decided to conceal ourselves in the timber,
and await the cover of night to continue the pursuit.

Starting out at 6.30 p.m., the trail was followed rapidly for six
miles, when, to our disappointment, we discovered that the Indians
had taken to the river, and crossed to the east side. In following
their trail to this point it was evident that the movement of the In-
dians was one of precipitate flight, the result of the engagement on
the 4th. All along their trail and in their camping-places were to
be found large quantities of what constitutes an Indian's equip-
ments, Buch as lodge -poles, robes, saddle equipments, arms, and

APPENDIX. 285

cooking utensils. In a hastily abandoned camp-ground nearly two
hundred axes, besides a great many camp-kettles and cups, were
found.

My entire command was disappointed when the trail showed that
the Indians had crossed to the other side, particularly as our rapid
marching had carried us to the point of crossing, the evening of the
day on which the last of the Indians had crossed over, so that one
more march would have enabled us to overhaul them. Bivouacking
in a belt of timber on the river bank, we waited until daylight to
begin an attempt to cross the command over the river, which at this
point is about six hundred yards wide. At early dawn the entire
command forded the river to an island located about the middle of
the channel ; but our difficulties in the way of crossing here began,
as the volume of water and the entire force of the current were to
be encountered between the island and the opposite bank — the cur-
rent here rushes by at a velocity of about seven miles an hour, while
the depth of the water was such that a horse attempting to cross
would be forced to swim several hundred yards. Still, as we knew
the Indians had not discovered our pursuit, and were probably lo-
cated within easy striking distance of the river, it was most desira-
ble that a crossing should be effected. To accomplish this, Lieuten-
ant Weston, 7th Cavalry, with three accomplished swimmers from
the command, attempted to cross on a log-raft, carrying with them
a cable made of lariats. The current was so strong that Lieutenant
Weston's party were unable to effect a landing, but were swept
down the river nearly two miles, and then forced to abandon the
raft and swim to shore.

Lieutenant Weston, with characteristic perseverance and energy,
made repeated attempts afterwards to carry the cable over, but al-
though succeeding in reaching the opposite bank in person was un-
able to connect the cable with the shore. Almost the entire day was
spent in these unsuccessful efforts, until finally a crossing in this
manner had to be abandoned. I then caused some cattle to be killed,
and by stretching the hides over a kind of basket-frame prepared
by the Crow guide, made what are known among the Indians as
bull-boats; with these I hoped to be able to connect a cable with the
opposite bank at daylight next morning, but just at sunset a small
party of Indians were seen to ride down to the bank opposite us and

288 APPENDIX.

water tlieir ponies. They discovered our presence, and at onoe hast-
ened away. Of course it was useless now to attempt a surprise, and
the intention to cross the river the following morning was abandoned.

At early dawn the next day (the 11th instant), the Indians ap-
peared in strong force on the river bank opposite us, and opened a
brisk fire upon us from their rifles. No attention was paid to them
until encouraged by this they had collected at several points in full
view, and within range of our rifles, when about thirty of our best
marksmen, having posted themselves along the bank, opened a well-
directed fire upon the Indians and drove them back to cover.

In the mean time strong parties of Indians were reported by our
pickets to be crossing the river below and above us, their ponies and
themselves being so accustomed to the river as to render this opera-
tion quite practicable for them. Captain French, commanding the
right wing, was directed to watch the parties crossing below, while
Colonel Hart, commanding the left wing, posted a force to discharge
this duty with regard to parties crossing above. It would have been
possible, perhaps, for us to have prevented the Indians from eflfect-
ing a crossing, at least when they did, but I was not only willing
but anxious that as many of them should come over as were so dis-
posed. They were soon reported as moving to the bluffs immediate-
ly in rear of us from the river. Lieutenant Brush was directed to
employ his scouts in watching and reporting their movements — a
duty which they discharged in a thorough manner.

"While this was transpiring I had mounted my command and
formed it in line close under the bluffs facing from the river, where
we quietly waited the attack of the Indians in our front. The sharp-
shooting across the river still continued, the Indians having collected
some of their best shots — apparently armed with long-range rifles —
and were attempting to drive our men back from the water's edge.
It was at this time that my standing orderly. Private Tuttle, of "E"
troop, 7th Cavalry, one of the best marksmen in my command, took
a sporting Springfield rifle and posted himself, with two other men,
behind cover on the river bank, and began picking off the Indians
as they exposed themselves on the opposite bank. He had obtained
the range of the enemy's position early in the morning, and was able
to place his shots wherever desired. It was while so engaged that
he observed an Indian in full view near the river. Calling the attcn-

APPENDIX. 287

tion of his comrade to the fact, he asked him "to watch him drop
that Indian," a feat which he succeeded in performing. Several
other Indians rushed to the assistance of their fallen comrade, when
Private Tuttle, by a skilful and rapid use of his breech-loading
Springfield, succeeded in killing two other warriors. The Indians,
enraged no doubt at this rough handling, directed their aim at Pri-
vate Tuttle, who fell pierced through the head by a rifle-bullet. He
was one of the most useful and daring soldiers who ever served un-
der my command.

About this time Captain French, who was engaged with the In-
dians who were attacking us from below, succeeded in shooting a
warrior from his saddle, Avhile several ponies were known to be
wounded or disabled. The Indians now began to display a strong
force in our front on tho bluffs. Colonel Hart was ordered to push
a line of dismounted men to the crest, and prevent the further ad-
vance of the enemy towards the river. This duty was handsomely
performed by a portion of Captain Yates's squadron. Colonel Hart
had posted Lieutenant Charles Braden and twenty men on a small
knoll which commanded our left. Against this party the Indians
made their first onslaught. A mounted party of warriors, number-
ing nearly two hundred, rode boldly to within thirty yards of Lieu-
tenant Braden's position, when the latter and his command delivered
such a well-directed fire that the Indians were driven rapidly from
that part of the field, after having evidently suffered considerable loss.

Unfortunately Lieutenant Braden received a rifle-ball through the
upper part of the thigh, passing directly through the bone, but he
maintained his position with great gallantry and coolness until he
had repulsed the enemy. Hundreds of Indians were now to be seen
galloping up and down along our front, each moment becoming
bolder, owing to the smallness of our force which was then visible.

Believing the proper time had arrived to assume the offensive,
orders to this effect were accordingly sent to Colonel llart and Cap-
tain French, the two wing commanders. Lieutenant "Weston was
directed to move his troop " L " up a deep ravine on our left, which
would convey him to the enemy's position, and as soon as an oppor-
tunity occurred he was to charge them, and pursue the Indians with
all the vigor practicable. Immediately after, Captain Owen Halo
was directed to move his squadron, consisting of "E" and "K"

288 APPENDIX.

troops, in conjunction with "L" troop, and the three to charge si-
multaneously. Similar dispositions were ordered in the centre and
right. Lieutenant Custer, commanding "B " troop, was ordered to
advance and charge the Indians in front of our centre, while Cap-
tains Yates and Moylan moved rapidly forward in the same direc-
tion. Before this movement began, it became necessary to dislodge
a large party of Indians posted in a ravine and behind rocks in our
front, who were engaged in keeping up a heavy fire upon our troops
while the latter were forming. It was at this point that the horse
of Lieutenant Hiram H. Ketchum, Acting-assiStant-adjutant-general
of the expedition, was shot under him. My own horse was also
shot under me within a few paces of the latter.

The duty of driving the Indians engaged in sharp-shooting was
intrusted to Lieutenant Charles A. Varnum, 7th Cavalry, with a de-
tachment of "A" troop, 7th Cavalry, who soon forced the Indians
back from their cover.

Everything being in readiness for a general advance, the charge
was ordered, and the squadrons took the gallop to the tune of " Gar-
ryowen," the band being posted immediately in rear of the skirmish
line. The Indians had evidently come out prepared to do their best,
and with no misgivings as to their success, as the mounds and high
bluffs beyond the river were covered with groups of old men,
squaws, and children, who had collected there to witness our de-
struction. In this instance the proverbial power of music to soothe
the savage breast utterly failed, for no sooner did the band strike
up the cheery notes of "GaiTyowen," and the squadrons advance
to the charge, than the Indians exhibited unmistakable signs of
commotion, and their resistance became more feeble, until finally
satisfied of the earnestness of our attack they turned their ponies'
heads and began a disorderly flight. The cavalry put spurs to their
horses and dashed forward in pursuit, the various troop and squad-
ron commanders vying with one another as to who should head the
advance. The appearance of the main command in sight, down the
valley at this moment, enabled me to relieve Captain French's com-
mand below us, and he was ordered to join in the pursuit. Lieu-
tenant Mcintosh, commanding " G " troop, moved his command up
the valley at a gallop, and prevented many of the Indians from cross-
ing. The chase was continued with the utmost vigor untU the In-

APPENDIX. 289

dians were completely dispersed, and driven a distance of nine miles
from where the engagement took place, and they were here forced
hack across the Yellowstone, the last pony killed in the fight being
shot fully eight miles from the point of attack.

The number of Indians opposed to us has been estimated by the
various officers engaged as from eight hundred to a thousand. My
command numbered four hundred and fifty, including officers and
men. The Indians were made up of different bands of Sioux, prin-
cipally Uncpapas, the whole under command of "Sitting Bull," who
participated in the second day's fight, and who for once has been
taught a lesson he will not soon forget.

A large number of Indians who fought us were freeh from their
reservations on the Missouri River. Many of the warriors engaged
in the fight on both days were dressed in complete suits of the clothes
issued at the agencies to Indians. The arms with which they fought
us (several of which were captured in the fight) were of the latest
improved patterns of breech-loading repeating rifles, and their sup-
ply of metallic rifle-cartridges seemed unlimited, as they were any-
thing but sparing in their use. So amply have they been supplied
with breech-loading rifles and ammunition that neither bows nor
arrows were employed against us. As an evidence that these In-
dians, at least many of them, were recently from the Missouri River
agencies, we found provisions, such as coffee, in their abandoned
camps, and cooking and other domestic utensils, such as only reser-
vation Indians are supplied with. Besides, our scouts conversed with
them across the river for nearly an hour before the fight became
general, and satisfied themselves as to the identity of their foes. I
only regret that it was impossible for my command to effect a cross-
ing of the river before our presence was discovered, and while the
hostile village was located near at hand, as I am confident that we
could have largely reduced the necessity for appropriation for In-
dian supplies the coming winter. . . .

The losses of the Indians in ponies were particularly heavy, while
we know their losses in killed and wounded were beyond all propor-
tion to that which they were enabled to inflict upon us, our losses
being one officer badly wounded, four men killed, and three wound-
ed ; four horses killed and four wounded.

Careful investigation justifies the statement that including both

290 APPENDIX.

days' battles, the Indians' losses will number forty warriors, while
their wounded on the opposite bank of the river may increase this
number. Respectfully submitted.

(Signed) G. A. Custer,

Lieutenant-colonel 7th Cavalry,
Brevet-major-general, U, S. A., commanding.

"Stockade" on the Yellowstone, September 6, 187S.

... I know you will rejoice when your eyes fall upon the date
and heading of this letter, and you learn that we are thus far on our
homeward journey, all safe and well. This letter is to be a shobt
one (after having finished the letter I underscore the word), as it
has only been decided a few hours ago to despatch three of our In-
dian scouts from here to Fort Buford — one hundred and twenty miles
distant by river, only eighty by land — with mail, and to bring back
what awaits us in return. As there are many official matters for me
to attend to between now and to-morrow morning — the time of the
departure of the scouts — I do not hope to give you but the main
points of a letter, the details to be filled up by word of mouth.

I am here with six companies of cavalry, having separated from
the main expedition several days ago on the Mussel Shell River, and
marched to this point direct, a distance of about one hundred and
fifty miles. The mules of the large trains began giving out; forage
was almost exhausted, the horses being allowed only about three
pounds per day, fourteen pounds being regular allowance. The
country was entirely unknown; no guides knew anything of the

route before us. General did not think it wise to venture into

the unknown and uninviting region with his command. But I did
not feel inclined to yield to obstacles, and made an application to
take the main portion of the cavalry and strike through for the stock-
ade direct instead of turning back. I asked that the railroad engin-
eers be allowed to continue with me. Consent was given and we
started.

At head-quarters it was not believed that I would get through.
So strong was this impression, that in the official order issued for my
movement there was a clause authorizing me to burn or abandon all

APPENDIX. 291

my wagons or other public property, if, in my opinion, such steps
were necessary to preserve life. I could not help but smile to myself
as I read that portion of the order. I had no idea of burning or
abandoning a wagon. After we had separated from the main column,
the chief of the engineers remarked to the officers, " How positively
sanguine the general is that he will make this trip successfully."
And so I was. I assured him from the first, and from day to day,
that the 7th Cavalry would bring them through all right. We had
the good-luck to strike across and encounter, instead of serious ob-
stacles, the most favorable country yet met by us for marching.
Hitherto we had made about fifteen miles per day ; when we
started on this trip we marched twenty-two miles one day and thirty-
five the next, and so on, and brought in every wagon with which
we started, reaching here about seven o'clock the morning of the
sixth day from our separation.

The main command headed back towards the Yellowstone, and
expects to be twelve or thirteen days in making the trip. I am
going to send an officer with his squadron in charge of fourteen
wagons loaded with forage to the relief of the rest of the com-
mand.

Our location for next winter is settled. We shall be at Fort Lin-
coln, and the decision is satisfactory to me. I presume you wish you
were here to give the lieutenant-colonel of the battalion* a little ad-
vice as to what companies shall be designated for each station. So
far as this reason alone is concerned, I am glad that you are not here,
as I not only would not wish you to attempt to influence such a de-
cision, but that no person or persons might have just ground for
imagining that you had done so. The officers are hinting strongly
in the endeavor to ascertain " Who goes where?" but thus far none
are any the wiser, for the simple reason that I have not decided the
matter yet in the case of a single troop.

It is a delicate, and in some respects an undesirable task, as all, so
far as I know, desire to go to Fort Lincoln, If no accident occurs,
we shall reach there before October 1st — less than a month from
this date, and probably less than ten days from the time you receive
this, so that all your anxiety about me will be at an end. I do not

* TbiB reference is to himsalt

292 APPENDIX.

intend to relax my caution on the marcli between here and Lincoln,
as I do not forget that the two officers killed last year met their deaths
near the close of the expedition.

I think I told you in my letter of eighty pages about my chasing
elk four miles and killing three. Since then I have had the good-
fortune to kill a fine large buck-elk taller than "Dandy,"* weighing,
cleaned, eight hundred pounds, and with the handsomest pair of
antlers I ever saw, and such a beautiful coat. I killed him only a
mile and a half from camp, sent for a wagon, and carried him entire
back with us, when the officers and men, and even those belonging
to the scientific party, flocked to the grassy plot in front of my tent
to see him.

The photographer who accompanied the scientists hitched up his
photograph-wagon and drove over to take a picture of what they
called the "King of the Forest." All the officers and the photog-
rapher insisted that not only the game but the hunter should appear
in the picture. So I sat down, dressed as I was in my buckskins,
resting one hand on an antler, and you may judge of the immense
size of the elk when I tell you that as I sat there my head only
reached to about half the height of the antlers. The picture is to
form one of the series now being collected on the expedition under
the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute.

Since the expedition started I have become acquainted with the
gentlemen of the scientific corps, particularly with the zoologist and
the taxidermist. The latter has been kind enough to make me a
pupU of his, and I can now preserve animals for all practical pur-
poses. I have been able to supply the gentlemen referred to with
many specimens of animals, and, in return, they have not only
taught me but supplied me with all the means necessary to preserve
prepared animals.

You should see how very devoted I am to this, to me, very pleas-
ant and interesting pastime. Often, after marching all day, a light
may be seen in my tent long after the entire camp is asleep, and a
looker-on might see me, with sleeves rolled above the elbow, busily
engaged preparing the head of some animal killed in the chase. As-
sisting me might be seen the orderly and Hughes, both, from their

• His favorite hunting-horse.

APPENDIX. 298

sleepy looks, seeming to say, "How mucli longer are we to be kept
out of our beds?"

I have succeeded so well in taxidermy that I can take the head
and neck of an antelope, fresh from the body, and in two hours have
it fully ready for preservation. I have prepared a most beautiful
buck-antelope head and neck for Tom. He intends it for his sweet-
heart, and will send it by express from Bismarck.

I have just finished heads for two officers, which they intend as
presents for their wives, and one I shall give to the Audubon Club.
Then I have the heads of two black-tailed deer, of a buck and doe
antelope for us, and the head and skin with claws of a grisly-bear.
The latter is not thoroughly cured, owing to our constant marching
and the immense amount of fat contained in the neck and hide. The
neplus ultra of all is the "King of the Forest." I have succeeded
in preserving him entire — antlers, head, neck, body, legs, and hoofs —
in fine condition, so that he can be mounted and look exactly as in
life. To prevent the hair being rubbed, I have caused the head to
be well covered with grain-sacks, and this, with the entire skin, to be
sewed up securely in canvas.

The scientists informed me that there were but few specimens on
this continent of elk preserved entire, and none so fine as mine.
When I first began work on it I only intended to save the head,
neck, and antlers, but finding that I was able to save the whole, I
decided upon the latter course. Had I kept the head and neck only,
it was intended for you; but having it complete alters my intention,
as it would require a room to contain it. So I have concluded,
with your approval, to present it to the Audubon Club in Detroit.*

I have a fine buffalo head for you, beautifully haired and with
symmetrical horns. A pair of sage-chickens, a pair of curlew, and a
jack-rabbit complete my present collection. . . .

One day I shot three antelope without changing my position,
the nearest of the three being three hundred and twenty yards from
me.

Our mess continues to be successful. Nearly every day we have
something nice to send to Lieutenant Braden.f Only think of him,

* It is now in Detroit.

t Lieutenant Braden was wounded in the battle described in the official report
\rhich accompanies this letter.

294 APPENDIX.

with his shattered thigh, having to trail over a rough country for
three hundred miles! He is not transported in an ambulance, but a
long stretcher arranged on wheels about thirty feet apart, pulled and
pushed by men on foot. They carry him much more steadily than
would horses or mules. It requires a full company of men each
day to transport Mr. Braden in this way. He is with the main com-
mand, but was doing well when we left. The day the command
divided I had the band take a position near the route where the rest
of the expedition would pass, and when he and his escort approached
they struck up "Garryowen." He acknowledged the attention as
well as he could.

Upon our arrival here what was our joy to find quite a large mail
awaiting us! It had been forwarded from Rice and Lincoln to Fort
Buf ord, and from there came here by scouts. I received four letters
from you. ... Do you know, on the 4th of August— the very day
you were writing me one of the letters I received — I was fighting,
probably at the same time. . . . After I received my four letters
I threw myself down on the bed to read them. When any one
poked his head inside my large and comfortable tent, and ventured
a question, you can probably imagine the brevity and abruptness of
a certain man's replies. My communication was strictly Biblical,
being either " Yea, yea, or Nay, nay."

East Bank of the Yellowstone, September 10th.

. . . When I began my letter, a few days ago, announcing our
safe return to the stockade, I said you must only expect a few lines;
but those few lines stretched out until they covered five sheets of
letter-paper. I could now cover five times five and then only have
begun my letter, but where the time is to be found I cannot tell.

We are just taking the men across the river on the Josepliine,
which arrived yesterday. My head - quarters and about half the
troops are over, the rest will have followed by night. As Shel-
don & Co., publishers of the Oalaxy, say, I am going to "boil down"
this letter to as many brief allusions as possible.

Instead of waiting here for the rest of the command to move, to-
morrow wUl find us on our way to Lincoln. I take six troops of
the 7th, two companies of infantry, and with the engineers set out
on our return. We rely confidently on reaching Lincoln before

APPENDIX. 295

October 1st. The reports brouglit by those who came on the boat
place everything in a bright light regarding our new quarters at
Lincoln.

I think we will have a charming garrison this winter. I wish we
had some one competent to give us lessons in private theatricals. I
learn by the boat that Department Head-quarters have telegraphed
to Lincoln that it is possible I may wish to take a long leave. They
almost take it for granted I will go, but I shall not. Do you remem-
ber, on my return from the Washita campaign, I was offered a leave
in a similar manner ? I have no desire to be absent from my post
now. . . .

I have enjoyed a few very great luxuries to-day. At dinner, on
the Josiepliine, for the first time this season (September 10th) I tasted
new potatoes and cucumbers ; but these were not the greatest. What
do you imagine was a greater luxury ? RAW ONIONS ! ! ! 1*
Even at this great distance I almost tremble when I inform you
that I not only had onions for dinner, but the captain of the boat
gave me a whole bushel of fine large ones. I supped on RAW
ONIONS ; I will probably breakfast, lunch, and dine on them to-
morrow, and the next day, and the day after ad libitum ad infinitum,
until — not time, but onions — shall be no more. As one by one I dis-
pose of each goodly-sized fragment of a huge onion, I remark, sotto
«oc5, "Go it, old fellow! Make the most of your liberties! You are
on the home- stretch now, and school soon commences;" in other
words, " If you intend to eat raw onions, now is your only time, for
'missus is comin'.' "

I would be glad to have every one of the officers now with me
Btationed at my post. My relations with them, personal and official,
are extremely agreeable. They are all counting on going to Lincoln,
but I know some of them will have to be disappointed. . . .

The steamer Josephine will probably leave for Lincoln to-morrow
or next day, and should reach there in four or five days, so that you
should receive this letter in about one week. . . . The steamer
brought me two splendid letters from you, one dated the 18th, an-
other the 25th of August. I received them on the 9th, which is
pretty quick, considering. . . .

* I bave copied the words as he printed them.

296 APPENDIX.

My collection of geological specimens for the Michigan University
is growing satisfactorily. The Indian battles hindered the work of
collecting, while in that immediate region it was unsafe to go far
from the command. . . .

P. 8. — Good-morning! . , . I am sitting in my large, comfortable
tent, writing before breakfast. And now I must refer to a matter
which thrusts itself upon my attention almost daily, yes, hourly, and
that is the great degree of comfort which I have enjoyed through-
out this long and ever-changing march; and it is all due to your
thoughtf ulness and foresight, and the manner in which you fitted me
up surpasses all my comrades. No mess has compared with mine
in its appointments and outfit. I have the best cook, and certainly
no bed can equal mine. Whenever I look around me I see the evi-
dences of your handiwork and care for my welfare. . , .

You never knew people more enthusiastic over the 7th than the
engineers connected with the railroad party. . . . Well, I must ter-
minate this letter, as I see no likelihood of my being able to tell
you one-tenth of what I have to say. However, we will have all
winter in our "brand, spankin'" new house to talk it over and
over. ...

Here I have reached my thirty-second page of this large paper.
I only thought of writing three or four, and have "boiled down " as
hard as I could. . . .

Fort Lincoln, September 23, 1873.

. . . Where are the numerous bridges now which you have been
crossing and recrossing in regard to our return being delayed until
late in October, perhaps until the first of November? Well, here we
are, not only "as good as new," but, if anything, heartier, healthier,
and more robust than ever.

I have not drawn a single unhealthy breath since we started on
the expedition, and if ever a lot of hardy, strong, and athletic young
fellows were assembled in one party, it is to be seen in a group of
the oflScers of the 7th. What a history and reputation this 7th Cav-
alry has achieved for itself! Although a new and young regiment,
it has left all the older fellows in the lurch, until to-day it is the best
and most widely known of any in the service.

I am provoked to think I wrote you a long letter on the Yellow-

APPENDIX. 297

stone, also a telegram, and intrusted tliem to an officer who was to
take passage in tlie steamer Josephine, and leave about the time we
did. It should have reached here several days before we arrived,
but I took six troops of cavalry and the engineers, crossed the Yel-
lowstone to this side, and reached Fort Lincoln in eight days.

We took everybody by surprise, and beat the steamer here, so that
your letter and telegram are still on the boat somewhere between
this point and the stockade. You may rely upon it that no grass
grew under our feet on our return march. I knew that my family
— consisting of one — was in advance somewhere, and, as the saying
is, I just " lit out." * I am so comfortably fixed in my large, heavy
canvas railroad tent that was given me on the expedition, I am sure
that you and I could live comfortably in it all winter.

I am much pleased with the appearance of the citizens who have
come across the river from Bismarck to pay their respects and offer
congratulations on the summer's campaign. Some of the Yankton
gentlemen are here attending court, and they also came over to see
me.

I have just had a telegram from General Sheridan: "Welcome
home."

Fort Lincoln, September 2S, 1873.
. . . When you find that I have just sent the 7th Cavalry band

to serenade on his departure, you will say to yourself, "He has

been too forgiving again." Well, perhaps I have. I often think of
the beautiful expression uttered by President Lincoln at the conse-
cration of the Gettysburg monument, and feel how nearly it expresses
my belief, 'With malice toward none, with charity for alll" and I
hope this will ever be mine to say.f

• Here follows a description of Fort Lincoln, His sanguine temperament
made it seem little short of an earthly paradise. He did not seem to realize that
the prosaic and plain Government buildings were placed on a treeless and barren
plain. In a carefully prepared plan of our house which he had drawn, he gave
the dimensions and description of each room, and over the door of his library a
triple underlining of his words, "MY ROOM," and the motto, "Who enters here
leaves hope behind." He thus began, before we had even occupied the house,
playfully to threaten any one who disturbed his writing or studies.

t The officer to whom reference is made had been a persistent and exasperat-
ing enemy of my husband during the summer, and I could not forget or forgive,

13^

298 APPENDIX.

Adopting your wise and deserved suggestion, I liave at last written
my long delayed letter to Mr. Ford, and among other things told
him I would send him per express the skins of two young elk that I
killed, to have them tanned, and a pair of shoes made for each of us.
So, you see, I did as I generally do, obeyed my " other half," who nine
times out of ten is right, and generally the tenth time, too.

During a halt of two days, just before we started for home, I wrote
a long Qalouxy article, and shall mail it with this. Not only did I do
that instead of resting, because of the appeals of the magazine editors,
but it behooved me to get off my contributions with some regularity;
for if I stop now, those who attribute them to you would say all the
more it was because you were not along to do the work for me. If
people only knew the amusement they have afforded us by laying
the responsibility of these articles on your shoulders.

I must not forget to tell you that during the expedition I killed
with my rifle and brought into camp forty-one antelope, four buffa-
lo, four elk, seven deer (four of them black-tails), two white wolves,
and one red fox.

Geese, ducks, prairie-chickens, and sage-hens without number com-
pleted my summer's record.

No one assisted me in killing the antelope, deer, or elk, except one
of the latter.

One porcupine and a wildcat I brought in alive. Both of these
amiable creatures I intend to send to Central Park. . . .

LETTERS FROM THE BLACK HILLS, 1874.

The following Extracts are taken from Letters sent from the Expedition to
tlie Black Hills, referred to in Chapter XX.

Thirteen Miles from Fort Lincoln, July 3, 1874.

. . . Yesterday was a hard day on the trains. The recent rains

had so softened the ground that the heavily-loaded wagons sunk to

the hubs, and instead of getting in camp by noon as we expected,

one battalion did not get in until after dark. But we had a good

even after apologies were offered, especially as they were not offered in the pres-
ence of others.

APPENDIX. 299

dinner, and every one is feeling well this nfioming. I am making a
late start in order to give the mules a chance to graze,

I send you by bearer a young curlew, as a playmate to the wild-
goose. Should it live, its wings had better be clipped. Grasshoppers
are its principal diet.

Our mess is a great success. Last night, notwithstanding the late
hour at which we reached camp, Johnson, our new colored cook,
had hot biscuit, and this morning hot cakes and biscuit. We will
not be over twenty or twenty-five miles from the post to-night. The
men are standing around waiting to take down the tents, so I must
say good-bye.

Prospect Valley, Dakota,
Twelve miles from the Montana line, July 15th.

. . . We are making a halt of one day at this charming spot, in
order to rest the animals and give the men an opportunity to wash
their clothes. I will begin by saying everything is and has been
perfectly satisfactory. Every one— officers, men, and citizens — are in
the best of health and spirits.

We have marched through an exceedingly interesting country.
We are now m the most beautiful valley we have seen thus far, and
encamped on a small tributary of the Little Missouri, and about five
miles from the latter. So beautiful did this place seem to us when
we first came in sight of it, I directed the engineer-officer, who is
making a map of the country, to call it Prospect Valley.

Three days ago we reached the cave referred to, before we started,
by the Indian called " Goose." It was found to be about four hun-
dred feet long, and just as he described, the walls and top covered
with inscriptions and drawings. The prints of hands and feet are
also in the rocks. I think this was aU the work of Indians at an
early day, although I cannot satisfactorily account for the drawings
of ships found there.

"Bos,"* though this is his first expedition, takes to life on the
plains as naturally as if bred to it. One of the officers says he thinks
it must "run in the blood." He has to go through the usual expe-
rience that falls to all " plebs." Every one practises jokes on him,
but he has such a good disposition it does not even ruffle Mm. I

• Our younger brothif.

300 APPENDIX.

know that you would espouse his cause against us if you had seen
him take some bits of rocks out of his pocket every night after we
had reached camp, and put them to soak in his wash-basin. They
were given to him by Tom, who assured him that they were sponge
stone — a variety that softened by keeping them in water for a cer-
tain length of time. After a few nights of faithful practice it dawned
upon him that he was again the victim of a practical joke, and he
quietly dropped them by the way without saying a word. You need
not trouble yourself to take up arms in his defence, for he gets even
with us in the long-run.

He has been so pleased with his mule from the first, and has praised
him to me repeatedly. He is a good animal, for a mule, but endur-
ance, in his constitution, rather triumphs over speed. I could not
resist taking advantage of the country to play a trick on "Bos"
one day.

The land was undulating, and you know how it always seems as
if one could surely see for miles beyond when the top of each divide
is reached, and how one can go on all day over the constant rise and
fall of the earth, thinking the next divide will reveal a vast stretch
of country. " Bos" rode beside me, and I invented an excuse to go
in advance ; I made " Vic " gallop slowly over the divide, and when
out of sight on the other side I put spurs to him and dashed through
the low ground. When " Bos" came in sight I was slowly ambhng
up the next divide and calling to him to come on. He spurred his
mule, shouted to hhn, and waved his arms and legs to incite him to
a faster gait. When he neared me I disappeared over another divide,
and giving ' ' Vic " the rein only slackened speed when it became time
for " Bos " to appear. Then, when I had brought my horse down to a
walk I called out, "Why on earth don't you come on?" Believing
that the gait he saw me take had been unvarying, he could not under-
stand why I lengthened the distance between us so rapidly. I kept
this up until he discovered my joke, and I was obliged to ride back to
join him and suit "Vic's" steps to those of his exhausted mule. . . .

No Indians or signs of Indians were seen from the time we left
Lincoln until the day before yesterday, when about twenty were dis-
covered near the column. They scampered off as soon as observed.
Yesterday we came where they had slept. The officer on rear-guard
duty saw about twenty-five following our trail.

APPENDIX. 801

Signal smokes were sent up all around us yesterday afternoon by
the Indians, and some were seen watching us after we reached camp,
but no hostile demonstrations have been made. Our Indian guides
say the signals may be intended to let the village know where we
are, so that they may keep out of our way. . . .

We expect to reach the base of the Black Hills in about three
days. Professor WincheU and Mr. Grinnell discovered yesterday
the fossil remains of an animal belonging to some extinct race which
in life exceeded in size the largest elephant. . . .

I am gradually forming my annual menagerie. I have one live
rattlesnake — for Agnes* — two jack- rabbits, half grown, one eagle,
and four owls. I had also two fine badgers, full grown, but they
were accidentally smothered. . . .

These are the first lines I have written since my last letter to you,
nearly a fortnight since, and you cannot imagine how tired my hand
and arm have become already. I have made no attempt to write
on the march ; the short time I have after reaching camp every day
is devoted to rest and sleep. . . .

General "Sandy" is delighted with the 7th Cavalry; he says no
regiment compares with it except perhaps the 4th. There has not
been a single card-party nor a drunken officer since we left Lin-
coln. . . .

Our mess is a decided and gratifying success. Johnson is not
only an excellent cook but very prompt. "We breakfast at four
o'clock every morning. Every day I invite some officer to dine
with us.

I remember your wishes and ride at the head of the column,
keeping inside our lines all the time, although it is a great depriva-
tion to me not to go outside and hunt. I feel exactly like some
young lady extremely fond of dancing, who, having a cold, has been
forbidden by her anxious mamma to do more than look on at some
elegant party. I received my orders from my commanding officer
before starting, and I am going to try and render strict obedience, f

* This was our young visitor, whose horror of snakes General Custer well
knew.

t This reference to commanding officer meant his wife, whose authority only
extended to precautionary instructions as to his safety and health. The reitera«
ted petition was that he should never leave the column alone.

302 APPENDIX.

... In looking for a road I sometimes get a mile or perhaps
two ahead of the command, but I always have seventy or eighty
men with me, and after to-day I mean to take in addition two more
companies. I have no intention of getting beyond sight and hear-
ing of the main column. There is an advance-guard always, and
the Indian scouts at the front and on the flanks. . . .

I have killed six antelope at the head of the command. . . .
Only think ! one-fifth of the time expired day before yesterday, and
by the time this reaches you one-third of our time of separation
will have passed.

We will not be delayed in our return later than I expected when
we left Fort Lincoln. . . .

As I write, the dogs surround me : " Cardigan " is sleeping on the
edge of my bed, " Tuck " at the head, and " Bllicher " near by. . . .
I am not certain whether I will be able to send back more scouts
or not. This mail is to be carried by two Rees, Bull Bear and
Skunk's Head. Bloody Knife is doing splendidly on this trip.

There is not a single man on the sick-report in this entire com-
mand— a fact which the medical officer regards as unprecedented.
. . . We will move into the valley of the Little Missouri to-morrow,
and probably follow that stream to the Black Hills. You may judge
of the fine country we have passed over by the fact that our mules
and beef - herd have actually improved since we left Lincoln. We
have travelled two hundred and twenty-seven and a half miles, and
in a straight line we are one hundred and seventy miles from Lin-
coln. I must stop now, and write my official report.

Camp near Harney's Peak, Angnst 3, 1874.
I wish you could see me at this moment as I am prepared to write
to you. First I must tell you that I cannot send a very long letter
— not that I have not volumes to say to you, but for reasons which
I will briefly explain. In the evening, after reacliing camp, I am
too much occupied and have too much hard work to find time to
write. After dinner I usually take an escort and search out a few
miles of road for the following day. When I return I am ready to
hasten to my comfortable bed.*

* Nothing but excessive fatigue and a determination to make the best of every-
thing could have prompted him to describe it as comfortable. On the first day's

APPENDIX. 303

We have reveille regularly at a quarter before tliree, so that it be-
hooves one to get to bed as early as possible. . . . To-day has been
letter-day. Charlie Reynolds leaves in the morning with the mail
for Fort Laramie. I am going to explore some twenty-five or thir-
ty miles in that direction, and Reynolds will go with me. I take
five companies. Two others started off in another direction this
morning to be absent three days; so you see they are kept mov-
ing. I will be gone three days; the next day after that we turn
our faces northward and begin our homeward march. I must not
forget to explain the other reason why I cannot send you a letter of
thirty pages or so this time — one of those that Tom calls my "little
notes " to you. I was busy with the oflflce duties tmtil ten to-day,
and then I began my ofiicial report. I had so many interruptions
I was at last driven to print "Engaged" on a placard and pin it
on the front of my tent ; I tied up the flaps, shutting myself in
until the twenty- two pages of my report were written.

It is now a quarter to one. Breakfast is at four, and "Boots and
Saddles" will sound at five. I wish I could go more into detail in
describing the expedition, which has exceeded all previous ones, and
in success has surpassed my most sanguine expectations.

I did not hope to have my wagon-train with me, and here it has
followed me everywhere. We have discovered a rich and beautiful
country. We have had no Indian fights and will have none. We
have discovered gold without a doubt, and probably other valuable
metals. All are well, and have been the entire trip.

My report, which you will see, will contain much that I would
have sent you in a letter. . . .

August 3d.

P.S. — . . . We have marched forty-five miles to-day, in a souther-
ly direction from Harney's Peak, and are now encamped on the
south fork of the Cheyenne River, about ninety miles from Fort
Laramie. Reynolds* leaves us here. We are now all seated or lying
around a camp-fire, writing the closing words to our letters. . . .

march out from garrison a careless soldier forgot the three boards that were in-
tended to keep the bedding from absorbing the dampness in case of rain. During
the entire summer, owing to this piece of forgetfulness, the mattress was laid
down every night on ground that was always uneven and sometimes wet.

• The scout mentioned in Chapter XXVI. It was on this trip to Fort Laramie^
carrying the despatches and mail, that he suffered such hardships and peril.

304 APPENDIX.

I must say good-bye. A few days more and we shall be at home,
for we start north at five o'clock in the morning. . . .

Bear Butte, Dakota, August 15th.

Though we shall so soon be at home, I must send a few lines by
the scout who takes the official despatches. I cannot tell you how
busy I have been, and how hard and constantly I have worked to
try and make the expedition successful. I have attempted to be
several other things besides commanding-offlcer— particularly guide
— since the expedition started.

Now that we have been in and through the Black Hills, I have the
Batisfaction of knowing that the whole undertaking has proved a
success, exceeding the expectations of the most sanguine. I think
that my superior officers will be surprised and gratified at the extent
and thoroughness of our explorations. . . .

The photographer who accompanied us has obtained a complete
set of magnificent stereoscopic views of Black Hills scenery, so I
will not attempt to allude to this lovely country until I can review it
with you by aid of the photographs. I send you one that will show
you that at last I have killed a grisly after a most exciting hunt and
contest. , . . ColonelLudlow, Bloody Knife, and Private Noonan are
with me in the group, as we constituted the hunting-party. The
bear measured eight feet. I have his claws.

The scouts are on their ponies waiting for the mail, and I must
hasten. . . .

It would have been such a treat to have had you see all that we
have seen this summer, and shared the enjoyment of this beautiful
land. But, nevetmind, you shall come next summer, for we all hope
to return again. . . .

No Indians have been seen lately, but I intend to be careful until
the end of the trip. . . .

LETTERS FROM THE YELLOWSTONE, 1876.

Extracts from Letters written on the Second Expedition to the Yellowstone^
during the Summer of 1876.

Forty-six Miles from Fort Liucoln,
May 20th, 1876—9.15 p.m.

... It has just been decided to send scouts back to Lincoln.
They leave here at daylight, and will remain there thirty-six hours,

APPENDIX. 305

returning to us with despatches and mail. We are having the
"parrot's time" with the expedition.

It is raining now, and has been since we started. The roads are
fearfully bad. Here we are on the Little Muddy, after marching
four days, and only forty-six miles from home. Everybody is more
or less disgusted except me, and I feel the relief of not having to
bear the responsibility of the delays.

The elements seem against us, but a wet season and bad roads
can be looked for always in this region in the months of May and
June.

We have not seen any signs of Indians thus far, and hardly look for
any for a few days yet. I have been extremely prudent— sufficiently
so to satisfy you. I go nowhere without taking an escort with me.
I act as if Indians were near all the time. The mess prospers well.
Tom and I have fried onions at breakfast and dinner, and raw onions
for lunch!"* The scouts that were left at Lincoln joined us yester-
day about 10 A.M. with the mail. I wish that you knew how good it
was to get the letters. You must send me more by the scouts we
send out to-morrow. . . . Since beginning this letter it is decided
that they go at once, for I know it is best to get them out of camp
at night; so they have been directed to saddle-up immediately, and
I must therefore cut this letter short.

I said this evening that if I was sure this expedition would go no
farther the next four days than it has those just past, I would be
glad to take despatches to Lincoln and return, just for the sake of
getting home again for a few hours. . . ,

On Little Missouri, May 30th— 10 p.m.

... I am determined to sit up, even though it is ten o'clock, and
write to you, notwithstanding I have had a tremendous day's work.
I breakfasted at four o'clock, was in the saddle at five, and between
that hour and 6 p.m. I rode fifty miles over a rough countiy, un-
known to everybody, and only myself for a guide.

We had halted here for one day in order to determine the truth of
the many rumors which you and all of us have heard so long and

• They both took advantage of their first absence from home to partake of
their favorite vegetable. Onions were permitted at our table, but after indulging
in them they found themselves severely let alone, and that they did not enjoy.

306 APPENDIX.

often, to the effect that the hostile Indians were gathered on the
Little Missouri River, with the intention of fighting us here.

I suggested to General Terry to send out a strong scouting-party
up the river to find out all that could be ascertained. He left the
matter to me, and I took four companies of cavalry and a part of
the scouts, and at five o'clock we were off. The valley of the
river averages about one mile in width, hemmed in on both sides
by impassable Bad Lands. The river is crooked beyond descrip-
tion.

To shorten the story, we marched the fifty miles and got back
before dark, having settled the question beyond a doubt that all
stories about large bodies of Indians being here are the merest
bosh. None have been here for six months, not even a small hunt-
ing-party.

We took pack-mules with us to carry feed for the horses. When
we lunched, all the officers got together and we had a jolly time.

Only think, we found the Little Missouri River so crooked and the
Bad Lands so impassable that in marching fifty miles to-day we
forded the river thirty-four (34) times. The bottom is quicksand.
Many of the horses went down, frequently tumbling their riders into
the water; but all were in good spirits, and every one laughed at
every one else's mishaps.

General Terry just left my tent a few moments since, and when I
asked him not to be in a hurry he said, " Oh, I'll leave you, for you
must be tired and want to go to bed." I did not tell him that I was
going to write to you before I slept.

Bloody Knife looks on in wonder at me because I never get tired,
and says no other man could ride all night and never sleep. I know
I shall sleep soundly when I do lie down ; but, actually, I feel no
more fatigued now than I did before mounting my horse this morn-
ing. . . .

What I am going to tell you is for you alone. But came to

me the other day, and asked me to arrange that he should be stationed
at our post next winter. He says he wants to be in a garrison where
the duty is strict, and, above all, he desires to prove that he is, and
desires to be, a man, and he believes that he could do much better
than he has if he could serve under me. He says the very atmo-
gphere of his post seems filled with evil for him. I have a scheme

APPENDIX. 807

by which I think I can accomplish his coming, and I believe that
you -will approve.*

The scouts reached here in good time, and glad was I to get my
letters. . . .

lu Camp, about Ten Miles West of the Little Missouri,
May 3l8t.

. . . We left camp about eight o'clock. After marching a few
miles, Tom, "Bos," and I, taking some men, started on a near route
across the country, knowing that we would intercept the column
later on. This is the second time I have left the main command,
and both times they have lost their way; so you see my "bump of
locality " is of some use out here. We reached this camp about three-
quarters of an hour from the time we left the column, but the latter
strayed off, and While we were here by 9 a.m., the rest did not reach
here until two o'clock. When they found they were lost, the officers
all assembled at the head of the column to consult together and try
and find the right way.

To-day, while out with Tom and "Bos," we were riding through a
part of the country filled with small buttes, in which it was easy to
lose one's self. "Bos" stopped a few moments as we were riding
through a ravine, and dismounted to take a pebble from his pony's
shoe. I observed it, and said to Tom, "Let's slip round the fiill be-
hind ' Bos,' where he can't find us, and when he starts we'll fire in the
air near him." The moment we passed out of sight our entire party
galloped around the hill behind him and concealed ourselves. Tom
and 1 crawled to the top of the hill and peeped tlirough the grass
without being seen. Sure enough, "Bos " thought he was lost, as we
could nowhere be seen in the direction he expected to find us.

Tom and I were watching him, and just as he seemed in a quan-
dary as to where we were, I fired my rifle so that the bullet whizzed
over his head. I popped out of sight for a moment, and when I
looked again "Bos" was heading his pony towards the command,
miles away. I fired another shot in his direction, and so did Tom,
and away "Bos " flew across the plains, thinking, no doubt, the Sioux

• We had been extremely anxious about the oflScer to whom my husband re-
fers, and longed to save him from himself. Since he is gone, I think that I am not
betraying confidence iu quoting fL-om this letter.

808 APPENDIX.

were after him. Tom and I mounted our horses and soon over-
hauled him. He will not hear the last of it for some time.

Charlie Reynolds killed two big-horn sheep to-day and gave me
the finest of the two heads. I have it in my tent now and hope to
preserve it, although I came away without my preservative powders.

Nearly all my amusement is with " Bos" and Tom. We lunch
together every day. ... I have about made up my mind that when
I go on expeditions like this you are to go too. You could have
endured this as well as not. . . .

Powder Kiver, about Twenty Miles above its Mouth,
June 9, 1S76.

. . . We are now in a country heretofore unyisited by white men.
Reynolds, who had been guiding the command, lost his way the
other day, and General Terry did not know what to do about find-
ing a road from O'Fallon's Creek across to Powder River. I told
him I thought I could guide the column. He assented ; so Tom,
"Bos," and I started ahead, with company D and the scouts as escort,
and brought the command to this point, over what seems to be the
only practicable route for miles on either side, through the worst
kind of Bad Lands. The general did not believe it possible to find
a road'through. When, after a hard day's work, we arrived at this
river by a good, easy road, making thirty-two miles in one day, he
was delighted and came to congratulate me.

Yesterday I finished a Oalaxy article, which will go in the next
mail ; so, you see, I am not entirely idle. Day before yesterday I
rode nearly fifty miles, arose yesterday morning, and went to work
at my article, determined to finish it before night, which I did,
amidst constant interruptions. It is now nearly midnight, and I
must go to my bed, for reveille comes at three.

As a slight evidence that I am not very conceited regarding my
personal appearance, I have not looked in a mirror or seen the reflec-
tion of my beautiful (?) countenance, including the fine growth of
auburn whiskers, since I looked in the glass at Lincoln.*

• This reference to the color of his beard, which he only allowed to grow on
campaign*, was a reminder of the fact upon which we had long since agreed : that
though Titian might have found beauty in that tint, we did not.

APPENDIX. 309

On Yellowstone, at Mouth of Powder River,
June nth— 10.30 p.m.

. . . This morning we left our camp on Powder River, I acting
again as guide. The expedition started to make its way through
unknown Bad Lands to the mouth of the river. General Terry felt
great anxiety in regard to the trip, as he feared that we could not
get through with the wagons. He had been down the river to its
mouth with cavalry, and he and those with him said that wagons
could not make the march in a month, and the Bad Lands looked
Btill more impracticable. He came to my tent before daylight, and
asked me if I would try to find the road. He seems to think I have
a gift in that way, and he hoped that we might get within ten miles
of the river's mouth to-day. What rendered our condition more
embarrassing was that the men had only rations for one day left.

I started with one company and the scouts, and in we "plunged
boldly." One company had been sent out the previous day to look
for a road, and their failure to return the same day increased the
anxiety. I thought likely they had lost their way and had slept in
the Bad Lands. Sure enough we found them about 10 a.m.

After passing through some perfectly terrible country I finally
struck a beautiful road along a high plateau, and instead of guiding
the command within ten miles of here we have all arrived and the
wagon-train beside.

If you will look on the map near my desk you will find the mouth
of Powder River and our present location on the Yellowstone,
almost due west from Lincoln. Follow up the Yellowstone a short
distance, and the first stream you come to is the Tongue River, to
which point we wiU move after resting three or four days. We
will there be joined by the six companies of the regiment now ab-
sent on a scout, and I shall then select the nine companies to go
with me. . . .

The steamer Far West leaves for Fort Buford to-morrow. . . .
As I was up at three this morning, and have had a hard day's march,
and as it is now going on to twelve, I must hie to bed to get a little
rest and slumber. . . .

Monday, June 12th— before Breakfast.

... I rose early this morning, without waiting to be called to
breakfast, in order that I might write my letter. The Yellowstone

810 APPENDIX.

is very high ; steamers loaded to their utmost capacity can go up
some distance above the mouth of the Big Horn. I wanted to send
you a letter that I wished you to read and afterwards re-mail, had I
not thought you might have found an opportunity to come up the
river in the Josephine. The new supplies for our mess — of onions,
potatoes, and dried apples — have just come from the boat.

" Tuck " * regularly comes when I am writing, and lays her head
on the desk, rooting up my hand with her long nose until I consent
to stop and notice her. She and Swift, Lady and Kaiser sleep in
my tent.

You need not be anxious about my leaving the column with small
escorts; I scarcely hunt any more. f , . .

Mouth of Tongue River, June 17th,
... I fear that my last letter, written from the mouth of Powder
Kiver, was not received in very good condition by you. The mail
was sent in a row-boat from the stockade to Buf ord, under charge of
a sergeant and three or four men of the 6th Infantry. Just as they
were pushing off from the Far West the boat capsized, and mail and
soldiers were thrown into the rapid current ; the sergeant sank and
was never seen again. The mail was recovered, after being sub-
merged for five or ten minutes. Captain Marsh and several others
sat up all night and dried it by the stove. I was told that my letter
to you went off all right, also my Oalaxy article. The latter was
recognized by a young newspaper reporter and telegraph operator
who came up on the train with us from St. Paul, and he took special
pains in drying it.

With six companies of the 7th, the Gatliog battery, the scouts, and
the pack-mules, I left the mouth of Powder River Thursday morn-
ing, leaving all our wagons behind,and directing our march for this
point, less than forty miles distant. General Terry and staff fol-
lowed by steamer. We marched here in about one and a quarter
days. The boat arrived yesterday evening. . . . The officers were
ordered to leave their tents behind. They are now lying under tent-
flies or in shelter-tents. When we leave here I shall only take a tent-
fly. We are living delightfully. This morning we had a splendid

• She was my husband's favorite dog.

t This letter vras scorched and defaced, but fortunately I could read it all,
thanks to those who sat up all night to dry the mail.

APPENDIX. 811

dish of fried fish, which Tom, " Bos," and I caught a few steps from
my tent last evening.

The other day, on our march from Powder River, I shot an antelope.
That night, while sitting round the camp - fire, and while Hughes
was making our coffee, I roasted some of the ribs Indian fashion,
and I must say they were delicious. We all slept in the open air
around the fire, Tom and I under a fly, "Bos " and An tie Reed on
the opposite side. Tom pelted "Bos" with sticks and clods of
earth after we had retired. I don't know what we would do with-
out "Bos" to tease. . . .

Yesterday Tom and I saw a wild-goose flying over-head quite
high in the air. We were in the hushes and could not see each
other,- Neither knew that the other intended to fire. Both fired
simultaneously, and dovrn came the goose, killed. Don't you think
that pretty good shooting for rifles?

On our march here we passed through some very extensive Indian
villages — rather the remains of villages occupied by them last winter.
I was at the head of the column as we rode through one, and sudden-
ly came upon a human skull lying under the remains of an extinct
fire. I halted to examine it, and lying near by I found the uniform
of a soldier. Evidently it was a cavalry uniform, as the buttons on
the overcoat had "C" on them, and the dress-coat had the yellow
cord of the cavalry uniform running through it. The skull was
weather-beaten, and had evidently been there several months. All
the circumstances went to show that the skull was that of some poor
mortal who had been a prisoner in the hands of the savages, and
who doubtless had been tortured to death, probably burned, . . .

We are expecting the Josephine to arrive in a day or two. I hope
that it will bring me a good long letter from you, otherwise I do not
feel particularly interested in her arrival — unless, by good-luck, you
should be on board; you might just as well be here as not. ... I
hope to begin another Galaxy article, if the spirit is favorable. . . .

Month of Rosebud, June 21, 1876,

. . . Look on my map and you will find our present location on the

Yellowstone, about midway between Tongue River and the Big Horn,

The scouting- party has returned. They saw the trail and deserted

camp of a village of three hundred and eighty (380) lodges. The

trail was about one week old. The scouts reported that they could

312 APPENDIX.

have overtaken the village in one day and a half. I am now going
to take up the trail where the scouting-party turned back. I fear
their failure to follow up the Indians has imperilled our plans by
giving the village an intimation of our presence. Think of the
valuable time lost! But I feel hopeful of accomplishing great re-
sults. I will move directly up the valley of the Rosebud. General
Gibbon's command and General Terry, with steamer, will proceed up
the Big Horn as far as the boat can go. . . . I like campaigning
with pack-mules much better than with wagons, leaving out the
question of luxuries. We take no tents, and desire none.

I now have some Crow scouts with me, as they are familiar with
the country. They are magnificent-looking men, so much hand-
somer and more Indian-like than any we have ever seen, and so
jolly and sportive; nothing of the gloomy, silent red-man about
them. They have. formally given themselves to me, after the usual
talk. In their speech they said they had heard that I never aban-
doned a trail ; that when my food gave out I ate mule. That was
the kind of a man they wanted to fight under; they were willing to
eat mule too.

I am going to send six Ree scouts to Powder River with the mail;
from there it will go with other scouts to Fort Buf ord. . . .

Jane 22d— 11 A.if.

... I have but a few moments to write, as we move at twelve,
and I have my hands full of preparations for the scout. . . . Do
not be anxious about me. You would be surprised to know how
closely I obey your instructions about keeping with the column. I
hope to have a good report to send you by the next mail. ... A suc-
cess wiU start us all towards Lincoln. . . .

I send you an extract from General Terry's official order, know-
ing how keenly you appreciate words of commendation and confl,-
dence, such as the following: "It is of course impossible to give
you any definite instructions in regard to this movement; and were
it not impossible to do so, the Department Commander places too
much confidence in your zeal, energy, and ability to wish to impose
upon you precise orders, which might hamper your action when
nearly in contact with the enemy."

THE END,

l^A^J

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

F. Custer, Elizabeth

655 Boots and saddles

C92

'-^'S,y:ii:iii|

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