 Section 6 of Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871, 1888. Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871, 1888. By Francis Rowe. Section 6. Letters from 1873, Part 3. Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory. August, 1873. We have just come in from a drive to the purgatoire with Colonel Knight behind his handsome horses. It makes me sad, always, to go over that familiar road, and to scenes that are so closely associated with my learning to ride and shoot when we were here before. The small tree that was my target is dead, but still standing, and on it are several little pieces of the white paper bull's eyes that Faye and Lieutenant Baldwin tacked on it for me. We often see poor Tom. The post-traitor bought him after Lieutenant Baldwin's death, so the dear horse would always have good care and not be made to bring and carry for a cruel master. He wonders about as he chooses and is fat, but the coat that was once so silky and glossy is now dull and faded, and the horse looks spiritless and ejected. Poor Tom. The Greyhound magic still remembers their many, many hunts together when the horse would try to outrun the dog, and the hound often goes out to make him little visits. And the sight is pathetic. That big dog of the chaplains is still here, and how the good man can conscientiously have him about I cannot understand. Colonel Knight has two large dogs also, but they are shut in the stable most of the time to guard his pair of valuable horses. The horses are not particularly fast or spirited, but they are very beautiful and perfectly matched in color and gait. Ever since Hal has been old enough to run with a horse, he has always gone with me riding or driving. So the first time we drove with Colonel Knight, I called Hal to go with us, and he ran out of the house and over the fence with long, joyful bounds. To be instantly pounced upon and rolled over into the Asakia by the two big dogs of Colonel Knight said I had not even heard of. Hal has splendid fighting blood and has never shown cowardice, but he is still a young dog and inexperienced and no match for even one old fighter, and to have two notoriously savage, bloodthirsty beasts gnawing at him as though he was a bone was terrible. But Hal apparently never thought of running from them, and after the one howl of surprise gave his share of vicious growls and snaps, but the old dogs were protected by their heavy hair, while Hal's short coat and fine skin were easily torn. We all rushed to his rescue, for it looked as though he would be torn in pieces, and when I saw a long cut in his tender skin I was frantic. But finally the two black dogs were pulled off, and Hal was dragged out of the ditch and back to the house, holding back and growling all the time, which showed plainly he was not satisfied with the way the affair had ended. The drive that day I did not enjoy. Hal was not torn so deeply as to have unsightly scars, for which I was thankful. From that day on, however, he not only hated those dogs, but disliked the man who cares for them, and seemed to consider him responsible for their very existence. And it was wonderful that he should recognize Cressy's step on the ground as he passed at the side of our house. Several times when he would be stretched out on the floor, to all appearances fast asleep, I have seen him open his eyes wide and growl when the man and dogs were passing, although it was perfectly impossible for him to have seen them. One morning about ten days ago when I was on the second floor, I heard an awful noise downstairs. Rines, growls, and howls all so mingled together one would have thought there were a dozen dogs in the house. I ran down to see what could possibly be the matter, and found Hal at a window in the dining room that looked out on the backyard, every hair on his brindled back standing straight up and each white tooth showing. Looking out, I saw that turk, the more savage of the two black dogs, was in the yard and could not get out over the highboard fence. Cressy was probably on guard that day, and sentry over the prisoners who had brought water. The dog must have followed him in and then managed to get left. Hal looked up at me, and for one instant kept perfectly still, waiting to see what I would do. His big brown eyes were almost human in their beseeching, and plainly said, You cannot have forgotten. You will surely let me out. And let him out I did. I opened the doors leading to the yard, and, almost pushing me over, he rushed to the black dog, with great leaps and the most blood-curdling growls, jumping straight over him, then around him, then over him again and again, and so like a whirlwind, the poor black beast was soon crazy for snap as fast as he might. It was ever at the clear, beautiful air, Hal was always just out of reach. After he had worried the dog all he wanted to, Hal proceeded to business. With a greyhound trick he swung himself around with great force, and knocked the big dog flat upon the ground, and holding him down with his two paws, he pulled out mouthful after mouthful of long hair, throwing it out of his mouth bright and left. If the dog attempted to raise his big head, Hal was quick to give a wicked snap that made the head fall down again. When I saw that Hal had actually conquered the dog, and had proved that he was the splendid hound I had ever considered him to be, I told West to go out at once and separate them. But, for the very first time, West was slow. He went like a snail. It seemed that one of the dogs had snapped at his leg once, and I believe he would have been delighted if Hal had nod the dog flesh and bone. He pulled Hal in by his collar, and opened the gate for Turk, and soon things were quiet once more. All that day Hal's eyes were like stars, and one could almost see a grin on his mouth. He was ever on the alert, and would frequently look out on the yard, wag his tail, and growl. The strangest thing about it all is that, not once since that morning has he paid the slightest attention to Kressi or the two dogs, except to growl a little when they have happened to meet. Turk must have told his companion about the fight. For he too finds attractions in another direction when he sees Hal coming. Some of our friends have found pleasure in teasing me about my sporting taste, private arena, and so on. But I do not mind so very much, since the fight brought about peace, and proved that Hal has plenty of pluck. Those two night-dogs are looked upon as savage wolves by every mother in the garrison, and when it is known that they are out, mothers and nurses run to gather in their small people. Hal has developed a taste for hunting that has been giving trouble lately when he has run off with magic and the other hounds. So now he has chained until after guard-mounting, by which time the pack has gone. The signal officer of the department was here the other day when Faye and Min from the company were out signalling, and after luncheon I told West to go out to him on powder-face and lead King so he could ride the horse in instead of coming in the wagon with the Min. Late in the afternoon West came back and reported that he had been unable to find Faye, and then, with much hesitation and choking, he told me that he had lost Hal. He said that as they had gone up a little hill they had surprised a small band of antelope that were grazing rather near on the other side, and that the hounds started after them like a streak, pulling them down. Then one down before they had crossed the lowland, and then, not being satisfied, he had raced on again after the band that had disappeared over a hill further on. That was the last he saw of him. West said that he wanted to bring the dead antelope to the post, but could not as both horses objected to it. My heart was almost broken over the loss of my dog, and I started from my own room to indulge in a good cry when, as I passed the front door that was open, I happened to look out and, there, squatted down on the walk to the gate was Hal. I ran out to pet him but drew back in horror when I saw the condition he was in. His long nose and all of his white chest were covered with a thick coating of coarse antelope hair, plastered in with dried blood. The dog seemed too tired to move, and sat there with a listless, far away look that made me wish he could tell me all about his hunt and if he had lost the second poor little antelope. West almost danced from joy when he saw him, and lost no time in giving him a bath and putting him in his warm bed. Greyhounds are often great martyrs to rheumatism, and Deacon, one of the pack, will sometimes howl from pain after a hunt, and the howl of a Greyhound is far reaching and something to be remembered. Very soon now I will be with you. Faye has decided to close the house and live with the Bachelors while I am away. This will be much more pleasant for him than staying here all alone. End of Letter Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory, October 1873 The trip out was tiresome and seemed endless, but nothing worth mentioning happened until I got to Granada where Faye met me with an ambulance and escort wagon. It was after two o'clock in the morning when the train reached the station and as it is the terminus of the road every passenger left the car. I waited a minute for Faye to come in, but as he did not I went out also, feeling that something was wrong. Just as I stepped off the car, Mr. Davis, quartermaster's clerk, appeared and took my satchel, assuring me that Faye was right there waiting for me. This was so very unlike Faye's way of doing things that I at once suspected the real truth was not being told. But I went with him quickly through the little crowd and on up the platform and then I saw Faye. He was standing at one corner of the building all alone and I recognized him instantly by the long light blue overcoat and big campaign hat with brim turned up. And I saw also standing on the corner of the platform in front of him a soldier with rifle in hand and on the end of it glistening in the moonlight was a long bayonet. I had lived with troops long enough to know that the bayonet would not be there unless the soldier was a sentry guarding somebody or something. I naturally turned toward Faye but was held back by Mr. Davis and that made me indignant. But Faye at once said quietly and in a voice just loud enough for me to hear, get in the ambulance and ask no questions. And still he did not move from the corner. By this time I was terribly frightened and more and more puzzled. Drawn up close to the farther side of the platform was an ambulance, also an escort wagon in which that several soldiers and handing my trunk checks to Mr. Davis I got into the ambulance, my teeth chattering as though I had a chill. The very instant the trunks were loaded Faye and the sentry came and after ordering the corporal to keep his wagon and escort close to us and telling me to drop down in the bottom of the ambulance if I heard a shot Faye got on the ambulance also but in front with the driver. Leaning forward I saw that one revolver was in his hand and the other on the seat by his side. In this way and in perfect silence we rode through the town and until we were well out on the open plane when we stopped just long enough for Faye to get inside and a soldier from the wagon to take his seat by the driver. Then Faye told me of what had occurred to make necessary all these precautions. He had come over from Fort Lyon the day before and had been with Major Carol the depot quartermaster during the afternoon and evening. The men had established a little camp just at the edge of the miserable town where the mules could be guarded and cared for. About nine o'clock Faye and Mr. Davis started out for a walk but before they had gone far Faye remembered that he had left his pistols and cartridge belt on a desk in the quartermaster's office and fearing they might be stolen they went back for them. He put the pistols on underneath his heavy overcoat as the belt was quite too short to fasten outside. Well he and Mr. Davis walked along slowly in the bright moonlight past the many saloons and gambling places never once thinking of danger when suddenly from a dark passageway a voice said you are the man I want and bang went a pistol shot close to Faye's head so close in fact that as he ducked his head down when he saw the pistol pointed at him the rammer slot struck his temple and cut a deep hole that at once bled profusely. Before Faye could get out one of his own pistols from underneath the long overcoat another shot was fired and then away skipped Mr. Davis leaving Faye standing alone in the brilliant moonlight. As soon as Faye commenced to shoot his would-be assassin came out from the dark doorway and went slowly along the walk taking good care however to keep himself well in the shadow of the buildings. They went on down the street shooting back and forth at each other Faye wondering all the time why he could not hit the man. Once he got him in front of a restaurant window where there was a bright light back of him and taking careful aim he thought the affair could be ended right there but the ball whizzed past the man and went crashing through the window and along the tables sending broken china right and left. Finally their pistols were empty and Faye drew out a second at the side of which the man started to run and disappeared in the shadows. As soon as the shooting ceased men came out from all sorts of places and there was soon a little crowd around Faye asking many questions but he and Major Carroll went to a drugstore where his wounds could be dressed. For some time it was thought there must be a ball in the deep hole in his temple. When Faye had time to think he understood why he had done such poor shooting he is an almost sure shot but always holds his pistol in his left hand and of course aims with his left eye but that night his left eye was filled with blood the very first thing from the wound in his left temple which forced him unconsciously to aim with his right eye which accounts for the wild shots. The soldiers heard of the affair in camp and several came up on a run and stood guard at the drugstore. A rumor soon got around that Oliver had gone off to gather some of his friends and they would soon be at the store to finish the work. Very soon however a strange man came in much excited and said, Lieutenant, Oliver's pals are getting ready to attack you at the deep hole as the train comes in and out he went. The train was due at two o'clock a.m. and this caused Faye four hours of anxiety. He learned that the man who shot at him was Billy Oliver, a horse thief and desperado of the worst type and that he was the leader of a band of horse thieves that was then in town. To be threatened by men like those was bad enough in itself but Faye knew that I would arrive on that train. That was the cause of so much caution when the train came in. There were several rough looking men at the station but if they had intended mischief the long infantry rifles in the hands of drilled soldiers probably persuaded them to attend to their own affairs. A man told the corporal however that Oliver's friends had decided not to kill Faye at the station but had gone out on horseback to meet him on the road. This was certainly misery prolonged. The mules were driven through the town at an ordinary gate but when we got on the plane they were put at a run and for miles we came at that pace. The little black shaved tails pulled the ambulance and I think that for once they had enough run. The moonlight was wonderfully bright and for a long distance objects could be seen and bunches of sagebrush and Spanish bayonet took the forms of horsemen and naturally I saw danger in every little thing we passed. One thing occurred that night that deserves mentioning. Someone told the soldiers that Oliver was hidden in a certain house and one of them, a private, started off without leave and all alone for that house. When he got there the entire building was dark not a light in it except that of the moon which streamed in through two small windows. But the gritty soldier went boldly in and searched every little room and every little corner even the cellar but not a living thing was found. It may have been brave but it was a dreadful thing for the trooper to do for he so easily could have been murdered in the darkness and Faye and the soldiers never have known what had become of him. Colonel Bissell declares that the man shall be made a corporal upon the first vacancy. The man Oliver was in the jail at Las Animas last summer for stealing horses. The old jail was very shaky and while it was being made more secure he and another man a wife murderer were brought to the guard house at this post. They finally took them back and Oliver promptly made his escape and the sheriff had actually been afraid to re-arrest him. We have all begged Faye to get out a warrant for the man but he says it would simply be a farce that the sheriff would pay no attention to it. The whole left side of Faye's face is badly swollen and very painful and the wound in his ankle compels him to use a cane. Just how the man managed to shoot Faye in the ankle no one seems to understand. Grenada must be a terrible place. The very afternoon Faye was there a Mexican was murdered in the main street but not the slightest attention was paid to the shooting. Everything went right on as though it was an everyday occurrence. The few respectable people are afraid even to try to keep order. Dodge City used to be that way and there was a rain of terror in the town until finally the twelve organized vigilantes became desperate and took affairs in their own hands. They notified six of the leading desperados that they must be out of the place by a certain day and hour. Four went but two were defiant and remained. When the specified hour had passed twelve double-barreled shotguns were loaded with buckshot and in a body the vigilantes hunted these men down as they would mad dogs and riddled each one through and through with the big shot. It was an awful thing to do but it seems to have been absolutely necessary and the only way of establishing law and order. Our friends at Fort Dodge tell us that the place is now quite decent and that a man can safely walk in the streets without pistols and a belt full of cartridges. End of letter. Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory, October 1873. One naturally looks for all sorts of thrilling experiences when out on the frontier but to have men and things mix themselves up in a maddening way in one's very own house as has recently been done in mine is something not usually counted upon. To begin with Mrs. Ray is with us and her coming was not only most unlooked for up to two days ago but through a wretched mistake in a telegram she got here just twenty-four hours before we thought she would arrive. Ordinarily this would have been a delightful surprise but unfortunately things had begun to mix. Fay had suffered so much from the wound in his head that very little attention had been given the house since my return from the east. Therefore it was not in the very best of order. It was closed during my two months absence as Fay had lived down with the bachelors. The very day that Mrs. Ray came the quartermaster had sent a man to repair one of the chimneys and plaster and dirt had been left in my room the one I had intended Mrs. Ray to occupy. And then to make matters just as bad as possible there was a sandstorm in the late afternoon that had of course sifted dust over all things. But this was not all. My nerves had not recovered from the shock at Granada and had given out entirely that day just before dinner and had sent me to bed with an uncomfortable chill. Still I was not disheartened before I went east many things had been put away but west had unpacked and polished the silver several days before and the glass was shining and the china closets in perfect order all of which had been attended to with my own hands. Besides the wife of one of the sergeants was to come the next morning to dust and clean the little house from top to bottom. So there was really nothing to worry about as everything would be in order long before time for the stage to arrive that would bring Mrs. Ray. But after the chill came a fever and with the fever came dreams most disturbing dreams in which were sounds of crunching gravel then far away voices. Voices that I seemed to have heard in another world. A door was opened and then oh how can I ever tell you in the hall came Faye's mother. By that time dreams had ceased and it was cruel reality that had to be faced. And even now I wonder how I lived through the misery of that moment. The longing to throw myself out of the window, jump in the river, do anything in fact but face the mortification of having her see the awful condition of her son's house. Her son's house that was just it. I did not care at all for myself. My only thought was for Faye whose mother might find cause to pity him for the delinquencies of his wife. First impressions are indelible and it would be difficult to convince Mrs. Ray ever that the house was not always dusty and untidy. How could she know that with pride I had ever seen that our house, however rough it might have been, was clean and cheerful. And of what use would it be to arrange things attractively now she would be justified in supposing that it was only in its company dress. I was weak and dizzy from fever and a sick heart but I managed to get dressed and go down to do the best I could. West prepared a little supper and we made things as comfortable as possible considering the state of affairs. Mrs. Ray was most lovely about everything, said she understood it all, but that could not be, not until she had seen one of our sandstorms from the dust of which it is impossible to protect a thing. I had been wishing for a storm ever since so Mrs. Ray could see that I was not responsible for the condition of things that night. Now this was not all, far, far from it. On the way out in the cars Mrs. Ray met the Colonel of the Regiment, a real Colonel who is called a Colonel too, who was also on his way to this post. And with him was Lieutenant Whittemore a classmate of Faze. Colonel Fitz James was very courteous to Mrs. Ray and when they reached Kit Carson he insisted upon her coming over with him in the ambulance that had been sent to meet him. This was very much more comfortable than riding in the old stage so she gladly accepted and to show her appreciation of the kindness she invited the Colonel, also Lieutenant Whittemore, to dine with us the following evening. Yes, there is still more, for it so happens that Colonel Fitz James is known to be an epicure, to be fussy and finical about all things pertaining to the table. And what is worse takes no pains to disguise it and in consequence is considered an undesirable dinner guest by the most experienced housekeepers in the Regiment. All this I had often heard and recalled every word during the long hours of that night as I was making plans for the coming day. The combination in its entirety could not have been more formidable. There was Faze's mother, a splendid housekeeper, her very first day in our house, his Colonel and an abnormally sensitive pallet, his very first meeting with each of us, his classmate, a young man of much wealth, a perfect stranger to me, a soldier cook, willing and a very good waiter, but only a plain, everyday cook, certainly not a maker of dainty dishes for a dinner party, and my own experiences in housekeeping had been limited to log huts in outlandish places. Every little thing for that dinner had to be prepared in our own house. There was no obliging caterer around the corner where a salad and ice and other things could be hurriedly ordered, not even one little market to go to for fish, flesh or fowl, only the Suttler's Store where their greatest dainty is Cove Oysters. Fortunately there were some young grouse in the house which I had saved for Mrs. Ray and which were just right for the table, and those West could cook perfectly. So with a head buzzing from quinine I went down in the morning and with stubborn determination that the dinner should be a success, I proceeded to carry out the plans I had decided upon during the night. The house was put in splendid order, and the dinner prepared, and Colonel Knight was invited to join us. I attempted only the dishes that could be served well, nothing fancy or difficult, and the sergeant's wife remained to assist West in the kitchen. It all passed off pleasantly and most satisfactorily, and Colonel Fitz James could not have been more agreeable, although he looked long and sharply at the soldier when he first appeared in the dining room. But he said not a word. Perhaps he concluded it must be soldier or no dinner. I had been told several nice things he said about that distracting dinner before leaving the garrison. But it all matters little to me now, since it was not found necessary to take me to a lunatic asylum. Mrs. Ray saw in a paper that Faye had been shot by a desperado and was naturally much alarmed, so she sent a telegram to learn what had happened, and in reply Faye telegraphed for her to come out, and fearing that he must be very ill she left Boston that very night. But we understood that she would start the next day, and this misinterpretation caused my undoing, that and the sandstorm. That man Oliver has at last been arrested and is now in the jail at Las Animas, chained with another man, a murderer to a post in the dark cellar. This is because he has so many times threatened the jailer. He says that someday he will get out and then his first act will be to kill the keeper and the next to kill Lieutenant Ray. He also declares that Faye kicked him when he was in the guard house at the post. Of course anyone with a knowledge of military discipline would know this assertion to be false, for if Faye had done such a thing as that he might have been court-martialed. The sheriff was actually afraid to make the arrest the first time he went over, because so many of Oliver's friends were in town, and so he came back without him, although he saw him several times. The second trip, however, Oliver was taken off guard and was handcuffed and out of the town before he had a chance to rally his friends to his assistants. He was brought to Las Animas during the night to avoid any possibility of lynching. The residents of the little town are full of indignation that the man should have attempted to kill an officer of this garrison. He is a horse-thief and desperado, and made his escape from their jail several months back, so altogether they consider the country can very well do without him. I think so too, and wish every hour in the day that the sheriff had been less cautious. Oliver cannot be tried until next May when the general court meets, and I am greatly distressed over this fact, for the jail is old and most insecure and he may get out at any time. The fear and dread of him is on my mind day and night. End of letter. Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory, December 1873 Everyone in the garrison seems to be more or less in a state of collapse. The ball-mask is over. The guests have departed, and all that is left to us now are the recollections of a delightful party that gave full return for our efforts to have it a success. We did not dream that so many invitations would be accepted at faraway posts that parties would come from Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, Fort Dodge, and Fort Wallace for a long ambulance ride was necessary from each place. But we knew of their coming in time to make preparations for all, so there was no confusion or embarrassment. Every house on the officer's line was filled to overflowing, and scarcely a corner left vacant. The new hospital was simply perfect for an elaborate entertainment. The large ward made a grand ballroom. The corridors were charming for promenading, and, yes, flirting. The dining room and kitchen perfect for the supper, and the office and other small rooms were a nice size for cloak rooms. Of course, each one of these rooms, big and small, had to be furnished. In each dressing room was a toilet table fitted out with every little article that might possibly be needed during the evening, both before and after removal of masks. All this necessitated much planning and immense amount of work and the stripping of our own houses. But there were a good many of us, and the soldiers were cheerful assistants. I was on the supper committee, which really dwindled down to a committee of one at the very last, for I was left alone to put the finishing touches to the tables and to attend to other things. The vain creatures seemed more interested in their own toilets and went home to beautify themselves. The commanding officer kept one eye and the quartermaster about a dozen eyes upon us while we were decorating to see that no injury was done to the new building. But that watchfulness was unnecessary for the many high windows made the fastening of flags an easy matter as we draped them from the casing of one window to the casing of the next, which covered much of the cold white walls and gave an air of warmth and cheeriness to the rooms. Acutriments were hung everywhere, every bit of brass shining as only an enlisted man can make it shine and the long infantry rifles with fixed bayonets were stacked wherever they would not interfere with the dancing. Much of the supper came from Kansas City, that is, the celery, fowls and material for little cakes, ices and so on, and the orchestra consisted of six musicians from the regimental band at Fort Riley. The floor of the ballroom was waxed perfectly, but it is hoped by some of us that much of the lightening will be taken from it before the hospital cots and attendants are moved in that ward. Everybody was enmasque and almost everyone wore fancy dress and some of the costumes were beautiful. The most striking figure in the rooms perhaps was Lieutenant Alden, who represented death. He is very tall and very slender, and he had on a skin-tight suit of dark brown drilling painted from crown to toe with thick white paint to represent the skeleton of a human being. Even the mask that covered the entire head was perfect as a skull. The illusion was a great success, but it made one shiver to see the awful thing walking about, the grinning skull towering over the heads of the tallest, and ever at its side was a red devil also tall and so thin one wondered what held the bones together. This red thing had a long tail. The devil was Lieutenant Perkins, of course. Faye and Dr. Dent were dressed precisely alike as sailors, the doctor even wearing a pair of Faye's shoes. They had been very sly about the twin arrangement, which was really splendid, for they are just about the same size and have hair very much the same color, but smart as they were I recognized Faye at once, the idea of anyone thinking I would not know him. We had queens and milk-maids and flower girls galore and black starry nights and silvery days and all sorts of things, many of them very elegant. My old yellow silk, the two black lace flounces you gave me and a real Spanish mantilla that Mrs. Ray happened to have with her made a handsome costume for me as a Spanish lady. I wore almost all the jewelry in the house. Every piece of my own small jewelry in the house, every piece of my own small amount and much of Mrs. Ray's, the nicest of all having been a pair of very large, old-fashioned hoop earrings all set around with brilliance. My comb was a home product, very showy, but better left to the imagination. The dancing commenced at nine o'clock and at twelve supper was served when we unmasked and after supper we danced again and kept on dancing until five o'clock. Even then a few of us would have been willing to begin all over for when again could we have such a ballroom with perfect floor and such excellent music to dance by. But with the new day came a new light and all was changed, much like the change of a ballet with a new calcium light. Only ours was not beautifying, but most trying to tired, painted faces and seeing each other we decided that we could not get home too fast. In a few days the hospital will be turned over to the post-surgeon and the beautiful ward will be filled with iron cots and sick soldiers and instead of delicate perfumes the odor of nauseous drugs will pervade every place. I have been too busy to ride during the past week but I'm going out this afternoon to talk to Franklin's young daughter who is a fearless rider although only fourteen. King is very handsome now and his gait delightful but he still requires most careful management. He ran away with me the other day starting with those three tremendous strides but we were out on a level and straight road so nothing went wrong. All there was for me to do was to keep my seat. Lieutenant Perkins and Miss Campbell were a mile or more ahead of us after he had passed them he came down to a trot evidently flattering himself that he had won a race and that nothing further was expected of him. He jumps the cavalry hurdles beautifully goes over like a deer Hal always following directly back of him whatever a horse does that dog wants to do also. Last spring when we came up from Camp Supply he actually tried to eat the corn that dropped from King's mouth as he was getting his supper one night in camp. He has scarcely noticed powder face since the very day King was sent to me but became devoted to the new horse at once. I wonder if he could have seen that the new horse was the faster of the two. End of Letter End of Section 6 Section 7 of Army Letters from an Officer's Wife 1871-1888 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Sue Anderson Army Letters from an Officer's Wife 1871-1888 by Francis Rowe Section 7 Letters from 1874 and 1877 Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory May 1874 There is such good news to send you today I can hardly write it fast enough the territorial court has been in session and yesterday that horse thief Billy Oliver was tried and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in the penitentiary. The Sheriff and a Posse started for Canyon City this morning with him and another prisoner to take his escape on the way over. The Sheriff told Faye confidentially the route he intended to take which is not at all the one he is supposed to be going over and threw out strong hints to the effect that if he wanted to put an end to the man's vicious career there would be no interference from him the Sheriff or his Posse he even told Faye of a lonesome spot where it could be accomplished easily this was a strange thing for a Sheriff to do even in this country of desperados and shows what a fiend he considers Oliver to be he said that the man was the leader of a gang of the lowest and boldest type of villains and that even now it would be safer to have him out of the way Sheriff's are afraid of these men and do not like to be obliged to arrest them the day of the trial as Faye was about to go to the courtroom the Corporal came to the house and told him that he had just come from Las Animas where he had heard from a reliable source that many of Oliver's friends were in the town and that it was their intention to kill Faye as he came in the courtroom he even described the man who was to do the dreadful work and he told Faye that if he went over without an escort he would certainly be killed this was simply maddening and I begged Faye to ask for a guard but he would not insisting that there was not the least danger that even a desperado would not dare shoot an army officer in Las Animas in a public place for he knew he would be hung the next moment that was all very well but it seemed to me that it would be better to guard against the murder itself rather than think of what would be done to the murderer that the Corporal would never have come to the house if he had not heard much that was alarming so Faye went over without a guard but did condescend to where his revolvers he says that the first thing he saw as he entered the courtroom were six big, brawny cavalrymen each one a picked man selected for bravery and determination of course each trooper was armed with large government revolvers and a belt full of cartridges he also saw that they were sitting near and where they could watch every move of a man who answered precisely to the Corporal's description and as he passed on up through the crowd he almost touched him his hair was long and hung down on his shoulders about a face that was villainous and he was armed to the teeth there were other tough looking men seated near this man each one armed also Colonel Bissell had heard of the threat to kill Faye and ordered a Corporal the very man who had searched so bravely through the dark house for Oliver at Granada and five privates to the court with instructions to shoot at once the first and every man who made the slightest move to harm Faye those men knew very well what the soldiers were there for and I imagine that after one look at their weather beaten faces which told of many an Indian campaign the villains decided that it would be better for Oliver to manage his own affairs a Sergeant and one or two privates were summoned by Oliver to give testimony against Faye but each one told the same story and said most emphatically that Faye had not done more than speak to the man in the line of duty and as any officer would have done directly after guard mounting and as the new guard marches up to the guard house the old guard is ordered out to the prisoners and the prisoners stand in the middle of the line with soldiers at each end and every man enlisted man and prisoner is required to stand up straight and in line it was at one of these times that Oliver claimed that Faye kicked him when he was officer of the day Faye and Major Tilford say that the man was slouching and Faye told him to stand up and take his hands out of his pockets a small thing to murder but I imagine that any sort of discipline to a man of his character was most distasteful of course Faye left the courtroom as soon as his testimony had been given when the sentence was pronounced the judge requested all visitors to remain seated until after the prisoner had been removed which showed that he was a little afraid of trouble and knew the bitter feeling against the horse thief in the town several girls and young officers outside in an ambulance and they commenced to cheer when told of the sentence but the judge hurried a messenger out to them with a request that they make no demonstration whatever he is a fearless and just judge and it is a wonder that Desperados have not killed him long ago perhaps now I can have a little rest from the terrible fear that has been ever with me day and night during the whole winter he carried out his threat of double murder he had made his escape once and I feared that he might get out again but that post and chain must have been very securely fixed down in that cellar end of letter Fort Lyon Colorado Territory June 1874 by this time you have my letter telling you that the regiment has been ordered to the department of the gulf I have heard that it is to go directly to Holly Springs Mississippi for the summer where a large camp is to be established just imagine what the suffering will be to go from this dry climate to the humidity of the south and from cool thick walled adobe buildings to hot glary tents in the midst of summer heat we will reach Holly Springs about the 4th of July phase allowance for baggage hardly carries more than trunks in the house linen and silver so we are taking very few things with us it is better to give them away than to pay for their transportation such a long distance both horses have been sold and beautiful king has gone the young man who bought him was a stranger here and knew absolutely nothing about the horse except what someone in Los Animas had told him he rode him around the yard only once and then jumping down like a rocket a fat roll of bills counted off the amount for horse saddle and bridle and then without saying one word more than a curt good morning he mounted the horse again and rode out of the yard and away I saw the whole transaction from a window saw it as well as hot blinding tears would permit Fay thinks the man might have been a fugitive and wanted a fast horse to get him out of the country we learned not long ago you know that king had been an Indian race pony owned by a half breed named Bent he sent word from camp supply that I was welcome to the horse if I could ride him the chaplain has bought powder face and I am to keep him as long as we are here Hal will go with us for I cannot give up that dog and horses too speaking of Hal reminds me of the awful thing that happened here a few days ago I have written often of the pack of beautiful greyhounds owned by the cavalry officers and of the splendid record of magic Hal's father as a hunter and how the dog was loved by Lieutenant Baldwin next to his horse but unless the dogs were taken on frequent hunts they would steal off on their own account and often be away a whole day perhaps until after dark the other day they went off this way and in the afternoon when Lieutenant Alden was riding along by the river he came to a scene that made him positively ill on the ground close to the water was the carcass of a calf which had evidently been filled with poison for wolves and near it on the bank lay magic, deacon, dixie and other hounds all dead or dying blue has bad teeth and was still gnawing at the meat and therefore had not been to the water which causes almost instant death in cases of poisoning by wolf meat as soon as Lieutenant Alden saw that the other dogs were past doing for he hurried on to the post with blue and with great difficulty saved her life so Hal and his mother are soul survivors of the greyhounds that had been known at many of the frontier posts as fearless and tireless hunters and plucky fighters when forced to fight greyhounds will rarely seek a fight a trait that sometimes fools other dogs and brings them to their waterloo when Lieutenant Alden told me of the death of the dogs tears came in his eyes as he said I have shared my bed with old magic many a time and how those dogs will be missed at the bachelor quarters when we came here last summer I was afraid that the old hounds would pounce upon Hal but instead of that they were most friendly to know he was one of them a wanderer returned end of letter St. Charles Hotel New Orleans, Louisiana September 1877 life in the army is certainly full of surprises at past Christian yesterday morning Fay and I were sitting on the veranda breeding the papers in an indifferent sort of way when suddenly Fay jumped up and said the third has been ordered to Montana Territory at first I could not believe him it seemed so improbable that troops would be sent to such a cold climate at this season of the year and besides most of the regiment is at Pittsburgh just now because of the great cold strike but there in the Picayune was a little paragraph of half a dozen lines that was to affect our lives for years to come and which had the immediate power to change our condition of indolent content into one of the greatest activity and excitement Fay went at once to the telegraph office and by wire gave up the remainder of his leave and also asked the regimental agiton if transportation was being provided for officers families the distance is so great and the Indians had been so hostile in Montana during the past two years that we thought families possibly would not be permitted to go after luncheon we packed the trunks carefully separating things so there would be no necessity for repacking if I could not go and I can assure you that many an article was folded down damp with hot tears the very uncertainty was so trying in the evening we went around to say goodbye to a few of the friends who have been so cordial and hospitable during the summer early this morning we came from past Christian and soon after we got here telegrams came for Fay one ordering him to proceed to Pittsburgh and report for duty and another saying that officers families may accompany the regiment this was glorious news to me the fear and dread of having to be left behind had made me really ill and what would have become of me if it had actually come to pass I cannot imagine I can go that is all sufficient for the present and we expect to leave for Pittsburgh this evening at nine o'clock the late start gave us a long day we had nothing to do after a while when it is not quite so hot outside we are going to take a farewell look at some of our old haunts our friends are all out of the city and Jackson Barracks is too far away for such a warm day besides there is no one there now that we know it seems quite natural to be in this dear old hotel where all during the past winter our army and navy club coutillions were danced every two weeks and they were such beautiful affairs with two splendid military orchestras to furnish the music one for dancing and one to give choice selections in between the figures we will carry with us to the snow and ice of the Rocky Mountains many, many delightful memories of New Orleans where the French element gives a charm to everything the Mardi Gras parades in which the regiment had each year taken such a prominent part the courtly recs balls the balls of comas the delightful Creole balls in Grunewald Hall the stately and exclusive balls of the Washington artillery in their own splendid hall the charming dancing receptions on the ironclad monitor cononicus also the warship Plymouth where we were almost afraid to step things were so immaculate and shiny and then our own pretty army feats at Jackson Barracks regimental headquarters each and all will be remembered ever with a keenest pleasure but the event in the south that has made the deepest impression of all occurred at Vicksburg where for three weeks we lived in the same house on Fami and intimately with Jefferson Davis I consider that to have been a really wonderful experience you probably can recall a little of what I wrote you at the time how we were boarding with his niece in her splendid home when he came to visit her I remember so well the day he arrived he knew of course that an army officer was in the house and Mrs. Porterfield had told us of his coming so the meeting was not unexpected still when we went down to dinner that night I was almost shivering from nervousness although the air was excessively warm I was so afraid of something unpleasant coming up for although Mrs. Porterfield and her daughter were women of culture and refinement they were also rebels to the very quick and never failed at any time to remind one that their uncle was President Davis and then as we went in the large dining room Faye in his very bluest shiniest uniform looked as if he might be Uncle Sam himself and his daughter nothing whatever a tall thin old man came forward with Mrs. Porterfield to meet us a courtly gentleman of the old Southern School who apparently had never heard of the Civil War and who if he noticed the blue uniform at all did not take the slightest interest in what it represented his composure was really disappointing after greeting me with grave dignity he turned to Faye and asked his hand firmly and cordially the whole expression of his face softening just a little I have always thought that he was deeply moved by once again seeing the federal blue under such friendly circumstances and that old memories came surging back bringing with them the almost forgotten love and respect for the Academy a love that every graduate takes to his grave whether his life be one of honor one could very easily have become sentimental and fancied that he was old West Point misled and broken in spirit admitting in dignified silence his defeat and disgrace to young West Point who with Uncle Sam's shoulder straps and brass buttons could be generously oblivious to the misguidance and treason of the other we wondered many times if Jefferson Davis regretted his life but he certainly could not have been satisfied with it there was more in that meeting than a stranger would have known of in the splendid dining room where we sat which was 40 feet in length and floored with tiles of Italian marble as was the entire large basement it was impossible not to notice the unpainted casing of one side of a window and also the two immense patches of common gray plaster and frescoed walls which covered holes made by a piece of shell that had crashed through the house during the siege of Vicksburg the shell itself had exploded outside near the servants quarters then again every warm evening after dinner during the time he was at the house Jefferson Davis and Fay would sit out on the grand marble porch and smoke and tell of little incidents that had occurred at West Point these times they would almost touch what was left of a massive pillar at one end that had been shattered and cracked by pieces of shell from US gun boats one piece being still embedded in the white marble for Jefferson Davis knew that Fay's father was an officer in the Navy and that he had bravely and boldly done his very best toward the undoing of the Confederacy and by his never failing polished courtesy to that father's son sitting by pieces of shell and patched up walls the president of the Confederacy set an example of dignified self-restraint that many a Southern man and woman particularly woman would do well to follow for in these days of reconstruction officers and their families are not always popular but at past Christian this summer we have received the most hospitable thoughtful attention and never once by word or deed were we reminded that we were yanked tanks as was the case at Holly Springs the first year we were there however we did some fine reconstruction business for Uncle Sam right there with those pert Mississippi girls two of whom were in a short time so thoroughly reconstructed that they joined his forces for better or for worse the social life during the three years we have been in the south has most of the time been charming but the service for officers has often been most distasteful many times they have been called upon to escort and protect carpet bag politicians of a very low type of manhood men who could never command one honest vote at their own homes in the north face company has been moved 21 times since we came from Colorado three years ago and almost every time it was at the request of those unprincipled carpet baggers these moves did not always disturb us however as during most of the time Faye has been adjutant general of the district of Baton Rouge and this kept us at Baton Rouge but during the past winter we have been in New Orleans several old Creole families whose acquaintance we made have charming old-style southern homes at past Christian but we have ever been cordially welcomed it was a common occurrence for me to chaperone their daughters to informal dances at the different cottages along the beach and on moonlight sailing parties on Mr. Payne's beautiful yacht and then during the entire summer from the time we first got there I have been captain of one side of a croquet team Mr. Payne having been captain of one side of Baton Rouge the croquet part was of course the result of major Borden's patient and exacting teaching at Baton Rouge mentioning Baton Rouge reminds me of my dear dog that was there almost a year with the hospital steward he is now with the company at Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama and Faye has telegraphed the sergeant to see that he has taken to Pittsburgh with the company we are going out now to the beach house for some of his delicious biscuit glacé our city friends are all away still so there will be nothing for us to do but wander around poor Passela Temp until we go to the station end of letter Manon Gahila house Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania September 1877 once again we have our trunks packed for the long trip to Montana and this time I think we will go as a special train is now at the station and baggage of the regiment is being hurriedly loaded word came this morning that the regiment would start tonight so it seems that at last General Sherman has gained his point for three long weeks we have been kept here in suspense packing and then unpacking one day we were to go the next day we were not to go while the commanding general and the division commander were playing tug of war with us the trip will be long and very expensive and we go from a hot climate to a cold one at a season when the immediate purchase of warm clothing is imperative and with all this unexpected expense we have been forced to pay big hotel bills for weeks just because of a disagreement between two generals that should have been settled in one day money is very precious to the poor army at present too for not one dollar can be paid to officers or enlisted men for over three months how officers with large families can possibly manage this move I do not see sell their pay accounts I expect and then be court-martialed for having done so congress failed to pass the army appropriation bill before it adjourned consequently no money can be paid to the army until the next session promptly pay Uncle Sam himself all commissary and quarter-master bills at the end of each month and without one little grumble do his bidding no matter what the extra expense may be I wonder what the wise men of congress who were too weary to take up the bill before going to their comfortable homes I wonder what they would do if the army as a body would say we are tired Uncle dear and are going home for the summer to rest you will have to get along without us and manage the Indians and strikers the best way you can this would be about as sensible as forcing the army to be poppers for months and then ordering regiments from east to west and south to north of course many families will be compelled to remain back that might otherwise have gone and we brought up with us from Holly Springs he has been at the arsenal since we have been here and Hal has been with him it is over one year since the dog saw me and I am almost afraid he will not know me tonight at the station before we left past Christian Faye telegraphed the sergeant to bring Hal with the company and purchase necessary food for him on the way up several of the men who claim to have bought meat for the dog the sum total of which was nine dollars for the two days we were so pleased to know that Hal had been so well cared for but the soldiers were welcome to the money and more with it for we were so glad to have the dog with us again safe and well we have quite a Ray family now Faye and I a Darkie gray squirrel it will be a hard trip for Billy but I have made for him a little ribbon collar and sewed securely to it a long tape which makes a fine picket rope that can be tied to various things in various places and in this way he can be picketed and yet receive exercise and air we are to go almost straight north from the railroad for a distance of over 400 miles this will take several weeks under the most favorable conditions but you must not mind are going so far away it will be no further than the Indian territory and the climate of Montana must be very much better than it was at camp supply and the houses must certainly be more comfortable as the winters are so long and severe I shall be so glad to have a home of my own again come from the station and says that almost everything has been loaded and that we are really to start tonight at eight o'clock this is cheering news for I think that everyone is anxious to get to Montana except the poor officers who cannot afford to take their families with them end of letter Corrine, Utah Territory September 1877 we were almost one week coming out this morning our train was a special and having no schedule we were often sidetracked for hours at a time to make way for the regular trains as soon as possible after we arrived the tents were unpacked and put up and it was amazing to see how soon there was order out of chaos this morning the camp looks like a little white city streets and all our camp mess has been started and we will be very comfortable I think with a good soldier cook and cagey to take care of the tents I am making covers for the bed trunk and folding table of dark blue Cretan with white figures which carries out the color scheme of the folding chairs and will give a little air of cheeriness to the tent and of the same material I am making pockets tucked at night these covers and big pockets will be folded and put in the roll of bedding every morning there are not enough ambulances to go around so I had my choice between being crowded in with other people or going in a big army wagon by myself and having had one experience in crowding I chose the wagon without hesitation and the high top will be of canvas drawn over bows in true emigrant fashion our tent will be folded to form a seat and placed in the back upon which I can sit and look out through the round opening and gossip with the mules that will be attached to the wagon back of me in the front half will be packed all of our camp furniture and things the knock down bed, mess chest two little stoves one for cooking and so on KG will sit by the driver there is not one spring in the wagon but even without I will be more comfortable than with Mrs. Hayden and three small children they can have the ambulance to themselves perhaps and will have all the room I thought of Billy too he can be picketed all the time in the wagon but imagine the little fellow's misery in an ambulance with three restless children for six or eight hours each day Hal is with us in fact I can hardly get away from the poor dog he is so afraid of being separated from me again when we got to the station at Pittsburgh he was there with KG and it took only one quick glance to see that he was a heart broken spirit broken dog not one spark was left of the fire that made the old Hal try to pull me through an immense plate glass mirror in a hotel at Jackson Mississippi to fight his own reflection the time the strange man offered $150 for him and certainly he was not the hound that whipped the big bulldog at Monroe, Louisiana two years ago he did not see me as I came up back of him and as he had not even heard my voice for over one year I was almost childishly afraid to speak to him but I finally said Hal you have not forgotten your old friend he turned instantly but as I put my hand upon his head there was no joyous bound or lifting of the ears and tail just a look of recognition then a raising up full length of the slender body on his back legs and putting a forefoot on each of my shoulders as far over as he could reach he gripped me tight fairly digging his toenails into me and with his head pressed close to my neck he held on and on giving little low whines that were more like human sobs than the cry of a dog of course I had my arms around him and of course I cried too it was so pitifully distressing for it told how keenly the poor dumb beast suffered during the year he had been away from us people stared and soon there was a crowd about us with an abundance of curiosity K.G. explained the situation and from then on to train time Hal was petted and petted and given dainties from lunch baskets he was in the car next to ours coming out and we saw him often many times there were long runs across the plains when the only thing to be seen or near would be the huge tanks containing water for the engines at one of these places while we were getting water K.G. happened to be asleep and a recruit thinking that Hal was ill treated by being kept tied all the time unfastened the chain from his collar and led him from the car the first thing the dog saw was another dog and alas a greyhound belonging to Ryan an old soldier the next thing he saw was the dear old beautiful plains for which he had pined so long and wearily the two dogs had never seen each other before but hounds are clannish and never fail to recognize their own kind so with one or two jumps by way of introduction the two were off and out of sight before anyone on the cars noticed what they were doing I was sitting by the window in our car and saw the dogs go over the rolling hill and saw also that a dozen or more soldiers were running after them I told Faye what had happened and he started out and over the hill on a hard run time passed and we in the cars watched but neither men nor dogs came back finally a long whistle was blown from the engine and in a short time the train began to move the officers and men came running back but the dogs were not with them my heart was almost broken to leave my beautiful dog on the plains to starve to death was maddening I wanted to be alone so to the dressing room I went and with Faye's buried in a portier was sobbing my very breath away when Mrs. Pierce wife of Major Pierce was so sweetly and sympathetically don't cry dear Hal is following the car and the conductor is going to stop the train giving her a hasty embrace I ran back to the end of the last car and sure enough there was Hal the old Hal bounding along with tail high up and eyes sparkling showing that the blood of his ancestors was still in his veins the conductor did not stop the train simply because the soldiers did not give him an opportunity they turned the brakes and then held them and if a train man had interfered there would have been a fight right then and there as soon as the train was stopped Faye and Ryan were the first to go for the dogs but by that time the hounds thought the whole affair great fun and objected to being caught at least Ryan's dog objected the porter in our car caught Hal but Ryan told him to let the dog go that he would bring the two back together this was shrewd in Ryan for he reasoned that Major Carlton might wait for an officer's dog but never for one that belonged to only an enlisted man but really it was the other way the enlisted men held the brakes the dogs ran back almost a mile to the water tank and the conductor backed the train down after them and not until both dogs were caught and on board could steam budget ahead the major was in temporary command of the regiment at that time he is a very pompous man and always in fear that proper respect will not be shown his rank and when we were being backed down he went through our car and said in a loud voice I am very sorry Mrs. Ray that you should lose your fine greyhound but this train cannot be detained any longer it must move on I said nothing for I saw the two big men in blue at the break in front and knew Major Carlton would never order them away much as he might bluster and try to impress us with his importance for he is really a tender hearted man poor Faye was utterly exhausted from running so long and for some time Ryan was in a critical condition it seems that he buried his wife quite recently and has left his only child in New Orleans in a convent and the greyhound, a pet of both wife and little girl is all he has left to comfort him everyone is so glad that he got the dog Hal was not unchained again I assure you until we got here but poor KG almost killed himself at every stopping place running up and down with the dog to give him a little exercise it is really delightful to be in a tent once more and I am anticipating much pleasure in camping through a strange country a large wagon train of commissary stores will be with us so we can easily add to our supplies now and then it is amazing to see the really jolly mood everyone seems to be in the officers are singing and whistling and we can often hear from the distance the boisterous laughter of the men and the wives there is an expression of happy content on the face of each one we know, if the world does not that the part we are to take on this march is most important we will see that the tents are made comfortable and cheerful at every camp that the little dinner after the weary march the early breakfast and the cold luncheon are each and all as dainty as camp cooking will permit yes we are sometimes called camp followers but we do not mind it probably originated with some envious old bachelor officer we know all about the comfort and cheer that goes with us and then we have not been left behind end of letter end of section 7 section 8 of army letters from an officer's wife 1871, 1888 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Sue Anderson army letters from an officer's wife 1871, 1888 by Francis Rowe section 8 letters from 1877 Ryan's Junction Idaho Territory October 1877 we are snowbound and everyone seems to think that we will be compelled to remain here several days it was bright and sunny when the camp was made yesterday but before dark a terrible blizzard came up and by midnight the snow was deep and the cold in the camp was intense as long as we remain inside the tents we are quite comfortable with a little conical sheet-iron stoves that can make a tent very warm and the snow that had banked around the canvas keeps out the freezing wind we have everything for our comfort but such weather does not make life in camp at all attractive Phages came in from Major Pierce's tent where he says he saw a funny sight they have a large hospital tent on each side of which is a row of iron cots and on the cots were five chubby little children one of mere baby kicking up their little pink feet in jolly defiance of their patient old mammy who was trying to keep them covered up the tent was warm and cozy but outside where the snow was so deep and the cold so penetrating one could hardly have believed that these small people could have been made so warm and happy but mrs. Pierce is a wonderful mother Major Pierce was opposed to bringing his family on this long march to be exposed to all kinds of weather but mrs. Pierce had no idea of being left behind with two days of car and eight days of the worst kind of stage travel between her husband and herself so like a sensible woman she took matters in her own hands when we reached Chicago where she had been visiting there at the station was the smiling mrs. Pierce with babies, governess, nurses and trunks all splendidly prepared to come with us and come they all did after the major had scolded a little and eased his conscience he smiled as much as the other members of the family the children with us seemed to be standing the exposure wonderfully well one or two were pale at first but have become rosy and strong although there is much that must be very trying to them and the mothers also the tents are struck at six sharp in the morning and that means that we have to be up at four and breakfast at five that the bedding must be rolled every little thing tucked away in trunks or bags the mess chest packed and the cooking stove and cooking utensils not only made ready to go safely in the wagon but they must be carried out of the tents before six o'clock at that time the soldiers come and when the bugle sounds down go the tents and if anything happens to be left inside it has to be fished out from underneath the canvas or left there until the tent is folded the days are so short now that all this has to be done in the darkness by candle or lantern light and how mothers can get their small people up and ready for the day by six o'clock I cannot understand for it is just all I can manage to get myself and the tent ready by that time we were on the banks of a small stream and the tents are evidently pitched directly upon the roosting ground of wild geese for during the snowstorm thousands of them came here long after dark making the most dreadful uproar one ever heard with the whoring of their big wings and constant hunk hunk of hundreds of voices they circled around so low and the calls were so loud that it seemed sometimes as if they were inside the tents they must have come home for shelter and become confused and blinded by the lights in the tents and the loss of their ground we must be going through a splendid country for game I was very ill for several days on the way up the result of malaria perhaps too many scuppernog grapes at past Christian and jolting of the heavy wagon that makes a small stone seem the size of a boulder one morning I was unable to walk or even stand up and Faye and Major Bryant carried me to the wagon on a buffalo robe all of that day's march Faye walked by the side of my wagon and that allowed him no rest whatever for in order to make it easy for me as possible my wagon had been placed at the extreme end of the long line the troops marched 50 minutes and hauled 10 and as we went much slower than the men marched we would about catch up with the column at each rest just when the bugle would be blown to fall in line again and then on the troops and wagons would go Faye was kept on a continuous tramp I still think he should have asked permission to ride on the wagon part of the day at least but he would not do so one evening when the camp was near a ranch I heard Dr. Gordon tell Faye outside the tent that I must be left at the place in the morning that I must be left at the place in the morning that I was too ill to go further I said not a word about having heard this but I promised myself that I would go on the dread of being left with perfect strangers of whom I knew nothing and where I could not possibly have medical attendance did not improve my condition but fear gave me strength and in the morning when camp broke I assured Dr. Gordon that I was better very much better and stuck to it with so much persistence that at last he consented to my going on but during many hours of the march that morning I was obliged to ride on my hands and knees the road was unusually rough and stony and the jolting I could not endure sitting on the canvas or lying on the padded bottom of the wagon it so happened that Faye was officer of the day that day and Colonel Fitz James knowing that he was under a heavy strain with a sick wife in addition to the long marches sent him one of his horses to ride a very fine animal and one of a match team at the very first halt Faye missed howl and riding back to the company saw he was not with the men so he went on to my wagon but found that I was shut up tight cagey asleep and the dog not with us he did not speak to either of us but kept on to the last wagon where a laundress told him she saw the dog going back down the road we had just come over the wagon master a sergeant had joined Faye riding a mule and the two rode on after the dog expecting every minute to overtake him but the recollection of the unhappy year at Baton Rouge with a hospital steward was still fresh in Hal's memory and the fear of another separation from his friends drove him on and on faster and faster and kept him far ahead of the horses when at last Faye found him he was sitting by the smoking ashes of our camp stove his long nose pointed straight up giving the most blood curdling howls of misery and woe possible for a greyhound to give and this is saying much the poor dog was wild with delight when he saw Faye and of course there was no trouble in bringing him back he was only too glad to have his old friend to follow he must have missed Faye from the company in the morning and then failing to find me in the shut up wagon had gone back to camp for us this is all easily understood but how did that hound find the exact spot where our tent had been even the very ashes of our stove on that large camp ground when he has no sense of smell I wondered all the day why I did not see Faye and when the stop for luncheon passed and he had not come I began to worry as much as I could think of anything beyond my own suffering late in the afternoon we reached the camp for the night and still Faye had not come and no one could tell me anything about him and I was very very ill Dr. Gordon was most kind and attentive but neither he nor other friends could relieve the pain in my heart for I felt so positive that something was wrong just as our tent had been pitched Faye wrote up looking weary and worried said a word or two to me and then wrote away again he soon returned however and explained his long absence by telling me briefly that he had gone back for the dog but he was quiet and distrae and directly after dinner he went out again when he came back he told me all about everything that had occurred under any circumstances it would have been a dreadful thing for him to have been absent from the command without permission but when officer of the day it was unpardonable and to take the Colonel's horse with him made matters all the worse and then the wagon master was liable to have been called upon at any time if anything had happened or the command had come to a dangerous forward Faye told me how they had gone back for the dog and so on and said that when he first got in camp he wrote immediately to the Colonel's tent turned the horse over to an orderly and reported his return to the Colonel adding that if the horse was injured he would replace him then he came to his own tent fully expecting an order to follow soon placing him under arrest but after dinner as no order had come he went again to see the Colonel and told him just how the unfortunate affair had come about how he had felt that if the dog was not found it might cost me my life as I was so devoted to the dog and so very ill at that time the Colonel listened to the whole story and then told Faye that he understood it all that undoubtedly he would have done the same thing I think it was grand in Colonel Fitz James to have been so gentle and kind not one word of reproach did he say to Faye perhaps memories of his own wife came to him the Colonel may have a sensitive pallet that makes him unpopular with many but there are two people in his regiment who know that he has a heart so tender and big that the pallet will never be considered again by them of course the horse was not injured in the least we are on the stage road to Helena and at this place there is a fork that leads to the northwest which the Lieutenant Colonel and four companies will take to go to Fort Missoula, Montana the Colonel, headquarters and other companies are to be stationed at Helena during the winter we expect to meet the stage going south about noon tomorrow and you should have this in eight days Billy Squirrel has a fine time in the wagon and is very fat he runs off with bits of my luncheon every day and hides them in different places in the canvas to his own satisfaction at least one of the mules back of us has become most friendly and will take from my hand all sorts of things to eat poor Hal had a fit the other day something like Vertigo after having chased a rabbit Dr. Gordon says that he has fatty degeneration of the heart caused by having so little exercise in the south but that he will probably get over it if allowed to run every day but I do not like the very idea of the dog having anything to matter with his heart it was so pathetic to have him staggered in the tent and drop at my feet dumbly confident that I could give him relief end of letter camp near Helena Montana Territory November 1877 the company has been ordered to camp Baker a small post nearly 60 miles further on we were turned off from the Helena Road and the rest of the command at the base of the mountains and are now about 10 miles from Helena on our way to the new station as we are told is a wretched little two company post on the other side of the big belt range of mountains I am awfully disappointed in not seeing something of Helena and very very sorry that we have to go so far from our friends and to such an isolated place but it is the company's turn for detached service so here we are the scenery was grand in many places along the latter part of the march and it is grand here also we are in a beautiful broad valley with snow-capped mountains on each side from all we hear we conclude there must be exceptionally good hunting and fishing about camp Baker and there is some consolation in that the fishing was very good at several of our camps after we reached the mountains and I can assure you that the speckled trout of the east and these mountain trout are not comparable the latter are so far far superior the flesh is white and very firm and sometimes they are so cold when brought out of the water one finds it uncomfortable to hold them they are good fighters too and even small ones give splendid sport one night the camp was by a beautiful little stream with high banks and here and there bunches of bushes and rocks an ideal home for trout so I started out hoping to catch something with a common willow pole and ordinary hook and grasshoppers for bait Faye tells everybody that I had only a bent pin for a hook but of course no one believes him Major Stokes joined me and we soon found a deep pool just at the edge of camp his fishing tackle was very much like mine so when we saw Captain Martin coming toward us with elegant, jointed rod, shiny, new reel and a camp stool we felt rather crestfallen Captain Martin passed on and seated himself comfortably on the bank just below us but Major Stokes and I went down the bank to the edge of the pool where we were compelled to stand of course the water was beautifully clear and as soon as everybody and everything became quiet we saw down on the bottom one or two trout then more appeared and still more until there must have been a dozen or so beautiful fish in between the stones each one about ten inches long but go near the hooks they would not neither would they rise to Captain Martin's most tempting flies for he too saw many trout from where he sat we stood there a long time until our patience was quite exhausted trying to catch some of those fish sometimes letting the current take the grasshoppers almost to their very noses when finally Major Stokes whispered there Mrs. Ray there try to get that big fellow now as we had all been most unsuccessful with the little fellows I had no hope whatever of getting the big one still I tried for he certainly was a beauty and looked very large as he came slowly along carefully avoiding the stones before I had moved my bait six inches there was a flash of white down there and then with a little jerk I hooked that fish hooked him safely that was very very nice but the fish set up a terrible fight that would have given great sport with a reel but I did not have a reel and the steep bank directly back of me only made matters worse I saw that time must not be wasted that I must not give him a chance to slacken the line and perhaps shake the hook off so I faced about and putting the pole over my shoulder proceeded to climb the bank of four or five feet dragging the flopping fish after me Captain Martin laughed heartily but instead of laughing at the funny sight Major Stokes jumped to my assistance and between us we landed the fish up on the bank it was a lovely trout by far the largest we had seen and Major Stokes insisted that we should take him to the commissary scales where he weighed over three and one half pounds the jumping about of my big trout ruined the fishing of course in that part of the stream for some time so with a look of disgust for things generally Captain Martin folded his rod and camp stool and returned to his tent I had the trout served for our dinner and having been so recently caught it was delicious these mountain trout are very delicate and if one wishes to enjoy their very finest flavor they should be cooked and served as soon as they are out of the water if kept even a few hours this delicacy is lost a fact we have discovered for ourselves on the march up the camp tonight is near the house of a German family and I am riding in their little prim sitting room and Billy Skrull is with me and very busy examining things generally I came over to visit while the tents were being pitched and was received with such cordial hospitality and have found the little room so warm and comfortable that I have stayed on longer than I had intended soon after I came my kind hostess brought in a cup of most delicious coffee and a little picture of cream real cream some of the things I had seen a picture of cream real cream something I had not tasted for six weeks and she also brought a plate piled high with generous pieces of German cinnamon cake at the same time telling me that I must eat every bit of it that I looked real peaked and not strong enough to go tramping around with all those men when I told her that it was through my own choice that I was tramping that I enjoyed it she looked at me with genuine pity as though she had just discovered that I did not have good common sense we start on early in the morning and it will take two or three days to cross the mountains the little camp of one company looks lonesome after the large regimental camp we have been with so long the air is really wonderful so clear and crisp and exhilarating it makes me long for a good horse and horses we intend to have as soon as possible we are anticipating so much pleasure in having a home once more even if it is to be of logs and buried in snow perhaps during the winter Hal is outside and his beseeching wines have swelled to awful howls that remind me of neglected duties in the tent End of letter Camp Baker, Montana Territory November 1877 it was rather late in the afternoon yesterday when we got to this post because of a delay on the mountains but this did not cause inconvenience to anyone there was a vacant set of quarters that Lieutenant Hayden took possession of at once for his family and where with camp outfit they can be comfortable until the wagons are unloaded Fay and I are staying with the commanding officer and his wife Mark Gardner is Lieutenant Colonel of the DASH Infantry and has a most enviable reputation as a post commander as an officer we have not seen him yet but we do know that he can be a most charming host he has already informed Fay that he intends to appoint him adjutant and quartermaster of the post we are in a little valley almost surrounded by magnificent heavily timbered mountains and Colonel Gardner says that at any time one can find deer, mountain sheep and bear in these forests adding that there are also mountain lions and wild cats the scenery on the road from Helena to Camp Baker was grand but the roads were dreadful most of the time along the sides of steep mountains that seemed to be one enormous pile of big boulders inside some places and solid rock in others these roads have been cut into the rock and are scarcely wider than the wagon track and often we could look almost straight down 75 feet or even more on one side and straight up for hundreds of feet on the other side and in the canyons many of the grades were so steep that the wheels of the wagons had to be chained in addition to the big brakes to prevent them from running sideways and so off the grade I rode down one of these places but it was the last as well as the first every time the big wagon jolted over a stone and it was jolt over stones all the time it seemed as if it must topple over the side and roll to the bottom and then the way the driver talked to the mules to keep them straight and the creaking and scraping of the wagons was enough to frighten the most courageous in Confederate Gulch we crossed a ferry that was most marvellous a heavy steel cable was stretched across the river the Missouri and fastened securely to each bank and then a flat boat was chained at each end to the cable but so that it could slide along when the ferryman gripped the cable with a large hook and gave long hard pulls Faye says that the very swift current of the stream assisted him much the river runs through a narrow deep canyon where the ferry is and at the time we crossed everything was in dark shadow and the water looked black and fathoms deep with its wonderful reflections the grandeur of these mountains is simply beyond imagination they have to be seen to be appreciated and yet when seen one can scarcely comprehend their immensity we are 500 miles from a railroad with endless chains of these mountains between all supplies of every description are brought up that distance by long ox trains dozens of wagons in a train and 8 or 10 pairs of oxen to the one long chain that pulls three or four heavily loaded wagons we passed many of these trains on the march up and my heart ached for the poor patient beasts we are to have one side of a large double house which will give us as many rooms as we will need in this isolated place Hal is in the house now with KG and Billy is there also and has the exclusive run of one room the little fellow stood the march finally and it is all owing to that terrible old wagon that was such a comfort in some ways but caused me so much misery in others these houses must be quite warm they are made of large logs placed horizontally and the inner walls are plastered which will keep out the bitter cold during the winter the smallest window has an outside storm window end of letter Camp Baker, Montana Territory December 1877 this post is far over in the Belt Mountains and quite cut off from the outside world and there are very few of us here nevertheless the days pass wonderfully fast and they are pleasant days also and then we have our own little excitements of interest to us even if they are never heard of in the world across the snow and ice the Ray family was very much upset two days ago by the bad behavior of my horse Betty when she managed to throw Faye for the very first time in his life you know that both of our horses although raised near this place were really range animals and were brought in and broken for us the black horse has never been very satisfactory and Faye has a battle with him almost every time he takes him out but Betty has been lovely and behaved wonderfully well for so young a horse and I have been so pleased with her and her delightful gates a little single foot and easy canter the other morning Faye was in a hurry to get out to a lumber camp and as I did not care to go he decided to ride my horse rather than waste time by arguing which road they should go Ben always thinks he knows more about such things than his rider well Kelly led Betty up from the corral and saddled and bridled her and when Faye was ready to start I went out with him to give the horse a few lumps of sugar she is a beautiful animal a bright bay in color with perfect head and dainty expressive ears and remarkably slender legs Faye immediately prepared to mount in fact bridle in hand had his left foot in the stirrup and the right was over the horse when up went Miss Betts back arched precisely like a mad cat and down in between her four legs went her pretty nose and high up in the air went everything man and beast the horse coming down on legs as rigid and unbending as bars of steel and then something happened to Faye nothing could have been more unexpected and it was all over in a second Kelly caught the bridle reins in time to prevent the horse from running away and Faye got up on his feet and throwing back his best West Point shoulders faced the excited horse and for two long seconds he and Miss Betts were nowhere in the eye just what the horse thought no one knows but Kelly and I remember what Faye said all desire to laugh however was quickly crushed when I heard Kelly ordered to lead the horse to the settler's store and fit a Spanish bit to her mouth and to take the saddle off and strap a blanket on tight with a sursingle for I knew that a hard and dangerous fight was about to commence Faye told Keiji to chain Hal and then went in the house soon returning however without a blouse and with moccasins on his feet and with leggings when Kelly returned he looked most unhappy for he loves horses and has been so proud of Betty but Faye was not thinking of Kelly and proceeded at once to mount having as much fire in his eyes as the horse had in hers for she had already discovered that the bit was not to her liking as soon as she felt Faye's weight up went her back again but down she could not get her head and the more she pushed down the harder the spoon of the bit pressed against the roof of her mouth this made her furious and as wild as when first brought from the range she lunged and lunged forward and sideways reared and of course tried to run away but with all the vicious things her little brain could think of she could not get the bit from her mouth or Faye from her back so she started to rub him off doing it with thought and in the most scientific way she first went to the corner of our house then tried the other corner of that end and so she went on rubbing up against every object she saw house, tree and fence post traders that I thought very smart for the bit was put in her mouth there and she might have hoped to find some kind friend who would take it out it required almost two hours of the hardest kind of riding to conquer the horse and to teach her that just as long as she held her head up and behaved herself generally the bit would not hurt her she finally gave in and is once more a tractable beast hidden her twice but with the Spanish bit she is a nervous animal and will always be frisky it has leaked out that the morning she bucked so viciously a cat had been thrown upon her back at the corral by a playful soldier just before she had been led up Kelly did not like to tell this of a comrade it was most fortunate that I had decided not to ride at that time for a pitch over a horse's head is a performance I am not seeking and Betty had been such a dear horse all the time her single foot and run both so swift and easy Kelly says you can't feel yourself on her mom Fay is quarter master adjutant, commissary signal officer and has other positions that I cannot remember just now that compel him to be at his own office for an hour every morning before breakfast in the day the post commander is up and out at half past six every work day and Sundays I am sure he is a most unhappy man but Fay gets away for a hunt now and then and the other day he started off much to my regret all alone and with only a rifle I worry when he goes alone up in these dense forests and when an officer goes with him I am so afraid of an accident one may shoot the other it is impossible to take a wagon or even ride a horse among the rocks and big boulders there are panthers and wild cats and wolves and all sorts of fearful things up there the coyotes often come down to the post at night and their terrible unearthly howls drive the dogs almost crazy and some of the people too I worried about Fay the other morning as usual about the things that could so easily happen and then I tried to forget my anxiety by taking a brisk ride on Betty but when I returned I found that Fay had not come so I worried all the more the hours passed and still he was away and I was becoming really alarmed at last there was a shout at a side door and running out I found Fay standing up very tall with a smile on his face and on the ground at his feet was an immense white-tailed deer he said he had walked miles on the mountain but had failed to find one living thing and had finally come down and was just starting to cross the valley on his way home when he saw the deer which he fortunately killed with one shot at very long range he did not want to leave it to be devoured by wolves so he dragged the heavy thing all the way in and that was why he was gone so long for of course he was obliged to rest every now and then I was immensely proud of the splendid deer but it did not convince me in the least that it was safe for Fay to go up in that forest alone of course Fay has shot other deer and mountain sheep also since we have been here but this was the first he had killed when alone in the large game we have ever had buffalo, antelope, black-tailed deer white-tailed deer the mountain sheep is the most delicious the meat is very tender and juicy and exceedingly rich in flavour it is very gamey of course and is better after having been frozen or hung for a few days these wary animals are most difficult to get for they are seldom found except on the peaks of high mountains where the many big rocks screen them so when one is brought in it is always with great pride and rejoicing there are antelope in the lowlands about here but none have been brought in since we came to the post the ruffled grouse and the tool-hens are plentiful and of course nothing can be more delicious and the trout are perfect too but the manner in which we get them this frozen up weather is not sportsman-like there is a fine trout stream just outside the post which is frozen over now but when we wish a few nice trout for dinner or breakfast KG and I go down and with a hatchet he will cut a hole in the ice through which I fish and usually catch all we want in a few minutes the fish seem to be hungry and rise quickly to almost any kind of bait except flies they seem to know that this is not the trout are not very large about eight or ten inches long but they are delicate in flavor and very delicious KG is not a wonderful cook but he does very well and I think I would much prefer him to a Chinaman judging from what I have seen of them here Mrs. Conrad, wife of Captain Conrad of the Dash Infantry had one who was an excellent servant in every way except in the manner of doing the laundry work he persisted in putting the soiled linen in the boiler right from the basket and no amount of talk on the part of Mrs. Conrad could induce him to do otherwise Monday morning Mrs. Conrad went to the kitchen and told him once more that he must look the linen over and rub it with plenty of water and soap before boiling it the heathen looked at her with a grin and said all right, you know like him my washi you washi yourself and lifting the boiler from the stove he emptied its entire steaming contents out upon the floor he then went to his own room gathered up his few clothes and bedding and started off he knew full well that if he did not leave the reservation at once he would be put off after such a performance end of letter end of section 8