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19 - Army Letters from an Officers Wife, 1871-1888 by Frances M. A. Roe · Army Letters from an Officers Wife, 1871-1888

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Speaker 1: Section nineteen of Army Letters from an Officer's Wife eighteen
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Speaker 1: seventy one eighteen eighty eight. This is the LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
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Speaker 1: by Sue Anderson. Army Letters from an Officer's Wife eighteen
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Speaker 1: seventy one eighteen eighty eight by Francis Rowe, Section nineteen
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Speaker 1: Letters from eighteen eighty six eighteen eighty seven, Fort Shaw,
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Speaker 1: Montana Territory, July eighteen eighty six. My trip to Helena
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Speaker 1: was made alone. After all the evening before I started,
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Speaker 1: Missus Todd told me that she could not go, frankly
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Speaker 1: admitting that she was afraid to go over the lonesome
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Speaker 1: places on the road with only the driver for a protector.
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Speaker 1: It was important that I should see a dentist, and
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Speaker 1: Missus Avril was depending upon me to bring her friend
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Speaker 1: down from Helena, who was expected from the east, so
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Speaker 1: I decided to go alone. The quartermaster gave me the
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Speaker 1: privilege of choosing my driver, and I asked for a civilian,
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Speaker 1: a rather old man who was disliked by every one
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Speaker 1: because of his surly disagreeable manner. Just why I chose
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Speaker 1: him I cannot tell, except that he is a good driver,
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Speaker 1: and I felt that he could be trusted. The morning
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Speaker 1: we started, Fay said to him, driver, you must take
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Speaker 1: good care of missus Ray, for she asked for you
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Speaker 1: to drive on this trip, which must have had its effect.
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Speaker 1: That and the nice lunch I had prepared for him,
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Speaker 1: for he was kind and thoughtful at all times. It
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Speaker 1: takes two days to go to Helena from here, a
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Speaker 1: ride of forty five miles one day and forty the second.
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Speaker 1: And on each long drive there are stretches of miles
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Speaker 1: and miles over mountains and through canyons where one is
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Speaker 1: far from a ranch or human being, and one naturally
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Speaker 1: thinks of robbers and other unpleasant things. At such places,
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Speaker 1: I rode on top with the driver, where I could
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Speaker 1: at least see what was going on around us. Just
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Speaker 1: before we crossed the bird Tail divide, we came to
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Speaker 1: a wonderful sight, a sight worth seeing, the driver said,
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Speaker 1: and more to gratify him than because I wanted to,
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Speaker 1: we stopped. An enormous corral had been put up temporarily,
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Speaker 1: and in it were thousands of sheep so closely packed
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Speaker 1: that those in the center were constantly jumping over the
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Speaker 1: others trying to find a cooler place. In the winter,
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Speaker 1: when the weather is very cold, sheep will always jump
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Speaker 1: from the outer circle of the band to the center,
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Speaker 1: where it is warm. They always huddle together in cold weather,
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Speaker 1: and herders are frequently compelled to remain right with them
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Speaker 1: nights at a time, working hard every minute, separating them
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Speaker 1: so they will not smother. One of the men owner
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Speaker 1: of the sheep, I presume met us, and that he
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Speaker 1: would show me where to go so I could see
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Speaker 1: everything that was being done, which proved to be directly
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Speaker 1: back of a man who was shearing sheep. They told
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Speaker 1: me that he was the fastest and most expert shearer
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Speaker 1: in the whole territory. Any One could see that he
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Speaker 1: was an expert, for three men were kept busy waiting
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Speaker 1: upon him. At one corner of the corral was a
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Speaker 1: small funnel shaped drive, the outer opening of which was
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Speaker 1: just large enough to squeeze a sheep through, And in
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Speaker 1: the drive stood a man sheep in hand, ever, ready
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Speaker 1: to rush it straight to the hands of the shearer.
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Speaker 1: The instant he was ready for it. The shearer, who
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Speaker 1: was quite a young man, sat upon a box close
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Speaker 1: to the drive, and when he received a sheep, it
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Speaker 1: was always the same way between his knees, and he
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Speaker 1: commenced and finished the shearing of each animal exactly the
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Speaker 1: same way, every clip of the large shears, counting to
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Speaker 1: the best advantage. They told me that he gave in
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Speaker 1: much time by the unvarying precision that left no ragged
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Speaker 1: strips to be trimmed off. The docility of those wild
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Speaker 1: sheep was astonishing. Almost while the last clip was being made,
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Speaker 1: the sheep was seized by a second assistant standing at
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Speaker 1: the shearer's left, who at once threw the poor thing
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Speaker 1: down on its side, where he quickly painted the brand
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Speaker 1: of that particular ranch, after which it was given its freedom.
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Speaker 1: It was most laughable to see the change in the sheep,
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Speaker 1: most of them looking lean and lanky, whereas in less
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Speaker 1: than one short minute before their sides had been broad
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Speaker 1: and wooly. A third man to wait upon the shearer
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Speaker 1: was kept busy at his right, carefully gathering the wool
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Speaker 1: and stuffing it in huge sacks. Every effort was made
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Speaker 1: to keep it clean, and every tiny bit was saved.
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Speaker 1: About four o'clock we reached Rock Creek, where we remained
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Speaker 1: overnight at a little inn. The house is built of logs,
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Speaker 1: and the architecture is about as queer as its owner.
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Speaker 1: Missus Gates, wife of the proprietor, can be and usually
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Speaker 1: is very cross and disagreeable, and I rather dreaded stopping
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Speaker 1: there alone. But she met me pleasantly, that is, she
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Speaker 1: did not snap my head off. So I gathered courage
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Speaker 1: to ask for a room that would be near some one,
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Speaker 1: as I was timid at night. That settled my standing
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Speaker 1: in her opinion, and with a humph, she led the
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Speaker 1: way across a hall and through a larger room where
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Speaker 1: there were several beds, and opening a door on the
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Speaker 1: further side that led to still another room. She told
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Speaker 1: me I could have that, adding that I needn't be
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Speaker 1: scared to death, as the boys will sleep right there.
5:44
Speaker 1: I asked her how old the boys were, and she snapped,
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Speaker 1: how old? Why they's men's folks, And out of the
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Speaker 1: room she went. Upon looking around, I saw that my
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Speaker 1: one door opened into the next room, and that as
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Speaker 1: soon as the boy occupied it, I would be virtually
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Speaker 1: a prisoner. To be sure, the windows were not far
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Speaker 1: from the ground, and I could easily jump out, but
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Speaker 1: to jump in again would require longer arms and legs
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Speaker 1: than I possessed. But just then I felt I would
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Speaker 1: much prefer to encounter robbers, mountain lions, any gentle creatures
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Speaker 1: of that kind to asking Missus Gates for another room.
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Speaker 1: When I went out to supper that night, I was
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Speaker 1: given a seat at one end of a long table
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Speaker 1: where were sitting nine men, including my own civilian driver,
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Speaker 1: who fortunately was near the end furthest from me. No
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Speaker 1: one paid the slightest attention to me, each man attending
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Speaker 1: to his own hungry self and trying to outdo the
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Speaker 1: others in talking. Finally they commenced, telling marvelous tales about
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Speaker 1: horses that they had ridden and subdued. And I said
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Speaker 1: to myself that I had been told all about sheep
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Speaker 1: that day, and there it was about horses. And I
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Speaker 1: wondered how far I would have to go to hear
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Speaker 1: all sorts of things about cattle. But anything about a
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Speaker 1: horse is always of interest to me, and those men
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Speaker 1: were particularly entertaining, as it was evident that most of
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Speaker 1: them were professional trainers. There was sitting at the further
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Speaker 1: end of the table a rather young looking man who
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Speaker 1: had been less talkative than the others, but who after
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Speaker 1: a while said something about a horse at the fort.
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Speaker 1: The mentioning of the post was startling, and I listened
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Speaker 1: to hear what further he had to say, and he continued, Yes,
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Speaker 1: you fellers can say what y're dim please about your broncos,
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Speaker 1: but that little horse can corral any dim piece of
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Speaker 1: horse flesh. Your can show up. A lady rides him,
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Speaker 1: and I guess i'd put her up with the horse.
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Speaker 1: The boys over there say that she broke the horse herself,
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Speaker 1: and I say, you fellaw's ughters see her make him go,
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Speaker 1: and he likes it too. By the time the man
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Speaker 1: stopped talking, my excitement was great, for I was positive
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Speaker 1: that he had been speaking of Rollo, although no mention
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Speaker 1: had been made of the horse's color or gait. So
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Speaker 1: I asked what gait the horse had He and two
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Speaker 1: or three of the other men looked at me with
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Speaker 1: pity in their eyes, actual pity that plainly said, poor thing.
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Speaker 1: What can you know about Gates? But he answered civilly, well, lady,
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Speaker 1: he is what you call a square pacer, And having
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Speaker 1: done his duty, he turned again to his friends as
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Speaker 1: though they only could understand him, and said, no cow,
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Speaker 1: swing about that horse. He is a light sorrel and
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Speaker 1: has the very handsomest bing yard ever. Did see it
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Speaker 1: waves too, and I guess the lady curls it, but
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Speaker 1: don't know for sure. The situation was most unusual, and
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Speaker 1: in some ways most embarrassing. Also. Those nine men were
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Speaker 1: rough and unkept, but they were splendid horsemen that I
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Speaker 1: knew intuitively. And to have one of their numbers select
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Speaker 1: my very own horse above all others to speak of
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Speaker 1: with unstinted praise was something to be proud of. But
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Speaker 1: to have my own self calmly and complacently disposed of
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Speaker 1: with the horse put up, in fact, was quite another thing.
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Speaker 1: But not the slightest disrespect had been intended, and to
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Speaker 1: leave the table without making myself known was not to
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Speaker 1: be thought of. I wanted the pleasure, too, of telling
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Speaker 1: those men that I knew the gait of a pacer
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Speaker 1: very well, that not in the least did I deserve
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Speaker 1: their pity. My face was burning and my voice unnatural.
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Speaker 1: When I threw the bomb, I said, the horse you
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Speaker 1: are speaking of, I know very well he is mine,
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Speaker 1: and I ride him and I thank you very much
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Speaker 1: for the nice things you have just said about him. Well,
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Speaker 1: there was a sudden change of scene at that table,
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Speaker 1: a dropping of knives and forks and various other things,
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Speaker 1: and I became conscious of eyes, thousands of eyes staring
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Speaker 1: straight at me. As I watched my broncho friend at
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Speaker 1: the end of the table. The man had opened his
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Speaker 1: eyes wide and almost gasped Jihuersalem, then utterly collapsed. He
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Speaker 1: sat back in his chair, gazing at me in a helpless,
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Speaker 1: bewildered way. That was disconcerting. So I told him a
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Speaker 1: number of things about Rollo, how Faye had taken him
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Speaker 1: to Helena during race week, and Lafferty, a professional jockey
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Speaker 1: of Bozeman, had tested his speed and had passed a
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Speaker 1: two thirty trotter with him one morning. The men knew Lafferty,
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Speaker 1: of course, there was a queer coincidence connected with him
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Speaker 1: and Rollo. The horse that he was driving at the
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Speaker 1: races was a pacer named Rolla, while my horse, also
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Speaker 1: a pacer, was named Rollo. All talk about horses ceased
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Speaker 1: at once, and the men said very little to each
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Speaker 1: other during the remainder of the time we were at
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Speaker 1: the table. It was almost pathetic, and an attention I
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Speaker 1: very much appreciated to see how bread, pickles, coal, meat,
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Speaker 1: and in fact everything else on that rough table were
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Speaker 1: quietly pushed to me, one after the other, without one
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Speaker 1: word being said. That was their way of showing their
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Speaker 1: approval of me. It was unpolished, but truly sincere. I
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Speaker 1: was not at all afraid that night, for I suspected
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Speaker 1: that the horsemen at the supper table were the boys
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Speaker 1: referred to by Missus Gates. But it was impossible to sleep.
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Speaker 1: The partition between the two rooms must have been very thin,
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Speaker 1: for the noises that came through were awful. It seemed
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Speaker 1: as though dozens of men were snoring at the same time,
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Speaker 1: and that some of them were dangerously creepy, for they
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Speaker 1: choked and gulped, and every now and then one would
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Speaker 1: have a nightmare and groan and yell until till someone
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Speaker 1: would tell him to shut up, or perhaps say something
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Speaker 1: funny about him to the others. No matter how many
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Speaker 1: times those men were wakened, they were always cheerful and
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Speaker 1: good natured about it, a statement that I cannot truthfully
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Speaker 1: make about myself on the same subject. It was not
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Speaker 1: necessary for me to leave my room through the window.
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Speaker 1: The next morning, although my breakfast was early, the house
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Speaker 1: seemed deserted and I had the long table all to myself.
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Speaker 1: At six o'clock we started on our ride to Helena.
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Speaker 1: I sat with the driver going through the long prickly
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Speaker 1: Pear Canyon and had a fine opportunity of seeing its
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Speaker 1: magnificent grandeur. While the early shadows were still long, the
12:42
Speaker 1: sun was on many of the higher boulders that made
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Speaker 1: them sparkle and show brilliantly in their high lights and shadows.
12:49
Speaker 1: The trees and bushes looked unusually fresh and green. We
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Speaker 1: hear that a railroad will soon be built through that canyon,
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Speaker 1: but we hope not. It would be positively wicked to
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Speaker 1: ruin anything so grand. We reached Helena before luncheon, and
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Speaker 1: I soon found Miss Duncan, who was expecting me. We
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Speaker 1: did not start back until the second day, so she
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Speaker 1: and I visited all the shops and then drove out
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Speaker 1: to Sulfur Spring. The way everybody and everything have grown
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Speaker 1: and spread out since the Northern Pacific Railroad has been
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Speaker 1: running cars through Helena is most amazing. It was so
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Speaker 1: recently a mining town, just last chance gulch, where chinamen
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Speaker 1: were digging up the streets for gold, almost undermining the
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Speaker 1: few little buildings, and chinamen also were raising delicious celery
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Speaker 1: where now stand very handsome houses. Now Main Street has
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Speaker 1: many pretentious shops, and pretty residences have been put up
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Speaker 1: almost to the base of Mount Helena. The ride back
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Speaker 1: was uneventful, greatly to Miss Duncan's disappointment. It is her
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Speaker 1: first visit to the West, and she wants to see
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Speaker 1: cowboys and all sorts of things. I should have said
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Speaker 1: wanted to see, for I think that already her interest
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Speaker 1: in brass buttons is so great that cowboys will never
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Speaker 1: be thought of again. There were two at Rock Creek,
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Speaker 1: but they were uninteresting, did not wear chaps, pistols, or
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Speaker 1: even big spurs. At the bird Tail, not one sheep
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Speaker 1: was to be seen. Every one had been sheared, and
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Speaker 1: the big band driven back to its range. Miss Duncan
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Speaker 1: is a pretty girl and unaffected, and will have a
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Speaker 1: delightful visit at this western Army post, where young girls
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Speaker 1: from the East do not come every day. And then
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Speaker 1: we have several charming young bachelors. End of letter Fort Shaw,
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Speaker 1: Montana Territory, December eighteen eighty seven. The excitement is about over.
14:55
Speaker 1: Our guests have returned to their homes, and now we
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Speaker 1: are settling down to our every day garrison life. The
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Speaker 1: wedding was very beautiful and as perfect in every detail
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Speaker 1: as adoring father and mother and loving friends could make it.
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Speaker 1: It was so strictly a military wedding too, at a
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Speaker 1: frontier post where everything is of necessity army blue. The
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Speaker 1: bride the child of the regiment, her father an officer
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Speaker 1: in the regiment many years, and the groom a recent
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Speaker 1: graduate from West Point, a lieutenant in the regiment. We
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Speaker 1: see all sorts of so called military weddings in the East,
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Speaker 1: some very magnificent church affairs, others at private houses and informal,
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Speaker 1: but there are ever lacking the real army surroundings that
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Speaker 1: made so perfect the little wedding of Wednesday evening. The
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Speaker 1: hall was beautifully draped with the greatest number of flags
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Speaker 1: of all sizes, each won a regulation, however, and the
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Speaker 1: altar and chancel rail were thickly covered with ropes and
15:59
Speaker 1: sprays of fragrant western cedars and many flowers, And from
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Speaker 1: either side of the raridos hung from their staffs. The
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Speaker 1: beautifully embroidered silken colors of the regiment. At the rear
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Speaker 1: end of the hall stood two companies of enlisted men,
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Speaker 1: one on each side of the aisle, in shining full
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Speaker 1: dress uniforms, helmets in hand. The bride's father is captain
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Speaker 1: of one of those companies, and the groom a lieutenant
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Speaker 1: in the other. As one entered the hall after passing
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Speaker 1: numerous orderlies, each one in full dress uniform of course,
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Speaker 1: and walked up between the two companies, every man standing
16:39
Speaker 1: like a statue, one became impressed by the rare beauty
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Speaker 1: and military completeness of the whole scene. The bride is
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Speaker 1: petite and very young, and looked almost a child as
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Speaker 1: she and her father slowly passed us, her gown of
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Speaker 1: heavy ivory satin trailing far back of her. The orchestra
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Speaker 1: played numbers previous to the ceremony, the Mendelssohn march for
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Speaker 1: processional and lo and grin for recessional. But the really
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Speaker 1: exquisite music was during the ceremony, when there came to
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Speaker 1: us softly, as if floating from afar, over gold lace
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Speaker 1: and perfumed silks and satins. The enchanting strains of Moskowski's serenade.
17:22
Speaker 1: Fay remained with the orchestra all the time to see
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Speaker 1: that the music was changed at just the right instant
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Speaker 1: and without mistake. The pretty reception was in the quarters
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Speaker 1: of Major and missus Stokes, and there also was the
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Speaker 1: delicious supper served. Some of the presents were elegant. A
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Speaker 1: case containing sixty handsome small pieces of silver was given
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Speaker 1: by the officers of the regiment, a superb silver picture
17:48
Speaker 1: by the men of Major Stokes company, and an exquisite
17:51
Speaker 1: silver after dinner coffee set by the company in which
17:55
Speaker 1: the groom is a lieutenant. Several young officers came down
17:59
Speaker 1: from Fortiseneing to assist as ushers, and there were at
18:03
Speaker 1: the post four girls from Helena. An army post is
18:07
Speaker 1: always an attractive place to girls, but it was apparent
18:10
Speaker 1: from the first that these girls came for an extra
18:13
Speaker 1: fine time. I think they found it. They were all
18:17
Speaker 1: at our cotilleon Monday evening and kept things moving fast.
18:21
Speaker 1: It was refreshing to have a new element and a
18:23
Speaker 1: little variety in partners. We have danced with each other
18:27
Speaker 1: so much that everyone has become more or less like
18:30
Speaker 1: a machine. They led dancing with Miss Stokes for whom
18:34
Speaker 1: the German was given. The figures were very pretty, some
18:38
Speaker 1: of them new, and the supper was good. To serve
18:41
Speaker 1: refreshments of any kind at the hall means much work,
18:45
Speaker 1: for everything has to be prepared at the house. Even
18:48
Speaker 1: coffee must be sent over hot, and every piece of
18:52
Speaker 1: china and silver needed must be sent over. Also. Missus
18:56
Speaker 1: Hughes came from Helena on Saturday and remained with me
18:59
Speaker 1: until yesterday to day. You know something of the awful
19:03
Speaker 1: times I have had with servants since Hullo went away.
19:06
Speaker 1: First came the lady tourist, who did us the honor
19:10
Speaker 1: to consent to our pain her expenses from Saint Paul,
19:13
Speaker 1: and who informed me upon her arrival that she was
19:17
Speaker 1: not obliged to work out no indeed that her own
19:21
Speaker 1: home was much nicer than our house, that she had
19:24
Speaker 1: come up to see the country, and so forth. We
19:27
Speaker 1: found her presence too great a burden, particularly as she
19:30
Speaker 1: could not prepare the simplest meal, and so invited her
19:34
Speaker 1: to return to her elegant home. Then came the two women,
19:39
Speaker 1: the mother to Missus Todd the daughter to me, who
19:43
Speaker 1: were insulted because they were expected to occupy servants rooms
19:47
Speaker 1: and could not eat with the family, so missus Todd
19:51
Speaker 1: and I gave them cordial invitations to depart. Then came
19:55
Speaker 1: my Russian treasure, a splendid cook, but who could not
20:00
Speaker 1: He taught that a breakfast or dinner an hour late
20:03
Speaker 1: mattered to a regimental adjutant, and wondered why guard bounding
20:07
Speaker 1: could not be held back while she prepared an early
20:10
Speaker 1: breakfast for fey. After a struggle of two months, she
20:14
Speaker 1: was passed on. A tall, angular woman with dull red
20:18
Speaker 1: hair drawn up tight and twisted in a knot as
20:21
Speaker 1: hard as her head was My next trial. She was
20:24
Speaker 1: the wife of a gambler of the lowest type, but
20:27
Speaker 1: that I did not know while she was here. One
20:31
Speaker 1: day I told her to do something that she objected to,
20:34
Speaker 1: and with her hands clinched tight, she came up close
20:37
Speaker 1: as if to strike me. I stood still, of course,
20:40
Speaker 1: and quietly said, you mustn't strike me. She looked like
20:45
Speaker 1: a fury and screamed, I will if I want to.
20:48
Speaker 1: She was inches taller than I, but I said, if
20:52
Speaker 1: you do, I will have you locked in the guard house.
20:55
Speaker 1: She became very white and fairly hissed at me. You
20:59
Speaker 1: can't do that. I ain't a soldier. I told her, no,
21:03
Speaker 1: if you were a soldier, you would soon be taught
21:05
Speaker 1: to behave yourself. And I continued, you are in an
21:10
Speaker 1: army post, however, and if you do me violence, I
21:13
Speaker 1: will certainly call the guard. Before I turned to go
21:17
Speaker 1: from the room, I looked up at her and said,
21:20
Speaker 1: now I expect you to do what I have told
21:23
Speaker 1: you to do. I fully expected a strike on my
21:26
Speaker 1: head before I got very far, but she controlled herself.
21:30
Speaker 1: I went out of the house, hoping she would do
21:33
Speaker 1: the same and never return, but she was there still,
21:36
Speaker 1: and we had to tell her to go. After all.
21:39
Speaker 1: I must confess, though, that the work she had objected
21:42
Speaker 1: to doing she did nicely. While I was out, Miller
21:45
Speaker 1: told me that she had three pistols and two large
21:49
Speaker 1: watches in her satchel when she went away. Then came
21:53
Speaker 1: a real treasure, scotch Ellen, who has been with us
21:57
Speaker 1: six months and has been very sad factory every way.
22:01
Speaker 1: To be sure, she has had awful headaches, and often
22:05
Speaker 1: it has been necessary for someone to do her work.
22:08
Speaker 1: She and the sergeant's wife prepared the supper for the
22:11
Speaker 1: German and everything was sent to the hall in a
22:13
Speaker 1: most satisfactory way, much to my delight. Nothing wrong was
22:18
Speaker 1: noticed the next morning, either until she carried chocolate to
22:22
Speaker 1: Missus Hughes, when I saw with mortification that she looked untidy,
22:27
Speaker 1: But thinking of the confusion in her part of the house,
22:30
Speaker 1: I said nothing about it. Our breakfast hour is twelve o'clock,
22:35
Speaker 1: and about eleven, Missus Hughes and I went out for
22:37
Speaker 1: a little walk. In a short time Faye joined us,
22:41
Speaker 1: and just before twelve I came in to see if
22:43
Speaker 1: everything was in its proper place on the table. As
22:47
Speaker 1: I went down the hall, I saw a sight in
22:49
Speaker 1: the dining room that sent shivers down my back. On
22:53
Speaker 1: the table were one or two doilies, and one or
22:57
Speaker 1: two of various other things, and at one side stood
23:00
Speaker 1: the Scotch treasure with a plate in one hand, upon
23:04
Speaker 1: which were a few butter balls, and in the other
23:08
Speaker 1: she held a butter pick. The doors leading through pantry
23:12
Speaker 1: into the kitchen were open, and all along the floor
23:15
Speaker 1: I could see here and there a little golden ball
23:19
Speaker 1: that had evidently rolled off the plate. I could also
23:23
Speaker 1: see the range that looked black and cold, and without
23:27
Speaker 1: one spark of fire, going to the side of the table.
23:32
Speaker 1: Opposite Ellen, I said, Ellen, what is the matter with you?
23:36
Speaker 1: And looking at me with dull, heavy eyes, she said,
23:39
Speaker 1: and what is the matter with you? Then I saw
23:43
Speaker 1: that she was drunk, horribly drunk, and told her so,
23:48
Speaker 1: but she could only say, I'm drunk, am I. I
23:52
Speaker 1: ran outside for Faye, but he and Missus Hughes had
23:55
Speaker 1: walked to the further end of the officer's line, and
23:58
Speaker 1: I was compelled to go all that dist before I
24:00
Speaker 1: could overtake them and tell of my woes. I wanted
24:04
Speaker 1: the woman out of the house as quickly as possible
24:07
Speaker 1: so that Miller, who is a very good cook, and
24:10
Speaker 1: I could prepare some sort of breakfast. Fay went to
24:13
Speaker 1: the house with his longest strides and told the woman
24:15
Speaker 1: to go at once, and I saw no more of her.
24:19
Speaker 1: Missus Hughes was most lovely about the whole affair, said
24:23
Speaker 1: that not long ago she had tried a different cook
24:25
Speaker 1: each week for six in succession. That was comforting, but
24:30
Speaker 1: did not go far toward providing a breakfast for us.
24:34
Speaker 1: Miller proved to be a genuine treasure, however, and the
24:37
Speaker 1: sergeant's wife, who is ever a friend, indeed came to
24:41
Speaker 1: our assistance so soon we scarcely missed the Scotch creature. Still,
24:46
Speaker 1: it was most exasperating to have such an unnecessary upheaval
24:51
Speaker 1: just at the very time we had a guest in
24:53
Speaker 1: the house, a dainty, fastidious little woman too, and wanted
24:57
Speaker 1: things to move along smoothly. I wonder of what nationality
25:01
Speaker 1: the next trial will be. If one gets a good
25:05
Speaker 1: mate out here, the chances are that she will soon
25:07
Speaker 1: marry a soldier or quarrel with one, as was the
25:10
Speaker 1: case with Hulda. For some unaccountable reason, a Chinese laundry
25:15
Speaker 1: at Sun River has been the cause of all the
25:17
Speaker 1: Chinamen leaving the post. Now, I must tell of something
25:22
Speaker 1: funny that happened to me. The morning before Missus Hughes arrived,
25:26
Speaker 1: I went out for a little ride, and about two
25:29
Speaker 1: miles up the river, I left the road to follow
25:32
Speaker 1: a narrow trail that leads to a bluff called Crown Butte.
25:36
Speaker 1: I had to go through a large field of wild
25:39
Speaker 1: rose bushes, then across an alkali bed, and then through
25:43
Speaker 1: more bushes. I had passed the first bushes and was
25:47
Speaker 1: more than half way across the alkali Rollo's feet sinking
25:50
Speaker 1: down in the sticky mud at every step, when there
25:54
Speaker 1: appeared from the bushes in front of me and right
25:58
Speaker 1: in the path, two immense gray wolves. If they had
26:03
Speaker 1: studied to surprise me in the worst place possible, they
26:07
Speaker 1: could not have succeeded better. Rollo saw them, of course,
26:11
Speaker 1: and stopped instantly, giving deep sighs, preparing to snort. I
26:16
Speaker 1: knew to give myself courage. I talked to the horse,
26:20
Speaker 1: slowly turning him around so as not to excite him
26:23
Speaker 1: or let the timber wolf see that I was running
26:26
Speaker 1: from them. But the horse I could not deceive, for
26:30
Speaker 1: as soon as his back was toward them, head and
26:33
Speaker 1: tail went up, and there was snort after snort. He
26:37
Speaker 1: could not run. As we were still in the Alkali lick.
26:41
Speaker 1: I looked back and saw that the big gray beasts
26:44
Speaker 1: were slowly moving toward us, and I recognized the fact
26:48
Speaker 1: that the mud would not stop them if they chose
26:51
Speaker 1: to cross it. Once free of the awful stickiness, I
26:55
Speaker 1: knew that we would be out of danger, as the
26:57
Speaker 1: swiftest wolf could never overtake the horse. But it seemed
27:02
Speaker 1: as if it were miles across that white mud. But
27:06
Speaker 1: at last we got up on solid ground and were
27:09
Speaker 1: starting off at Rollo's best pace, when from out of
27:14
Speaker 1: the bushes in front of us there came a third wolf.
27:19
Speaker 1: The horse stopped so suddenly. It is a wonder I
27:21
Speaker 1: was not pitched over his head, but I did not
27:24
Speaker 1: think of that at the time. The poor horse was
27:29
Speaker 1: terribly frightened, and I could feel him tremble, which made
27:33
Speaker 1: me all the more afraid. The situation was not pleasant,
27:38
Speaker 1: and without stopping to think, I said, Rollo, we must
27:41
Speaker 1: run him down. Now do your best, and taking a
27:45
Speaker 1: firm hold of the bridle and bracing myself in the saddle,
27:49
Speaker 1: I struck the horse hard with my whip and gave
27:52
Speaker 1: an awful scream. I never use a whip on him,
27:57
Speaker 1: so the sting on his side and yell in his
27:59
Speaker 1: ears frightened him more than the wolf had, and he
28:02
Speaker 1: started on again with a rush. But the wolf stood still.
28:07
Speaker 1: So did my heart, for the beast looked savage. When
28:12
Speaker 1: it seemed as though we were actually upon him, I
28:15
Speaker 1: struck the horse again and gave scream after scream as
28:19
Speaker 1: fast as my lungs would allow me. The big gray
28:23
Speaker 1: thing must have thought something evil was coming, for he
28:26
Speaker 1: sprang back and then jumped over in the bushes and
28:29
Speaker 1: did not show himself again. Rollo came home at an
28:34
Speaker 1: awful pace. But I looked back once and saw standing
28:38
Speaker 1: in the road near the bushes, five timber wolves, evidently
28:43
Speaker 1: watching us, just where the other two had been. I
28:47
Speaker 1: will never know. Of course, we have ridden and driven
28:51
Speaker 1: up that road many many times, and I have often
28:55
Speaker 1: ridden through those rose bushes, but I have never seen
28:59
Speaker 1: wolves or coyotes. Down in the lowland on the other
29:03
Speaker 1: side of the post, we frequently see a coyote that
29:06
Speaker 1: will greet us with the most unearthly howls, and will
29:09
Speaker 1: sometimes follow carriages, howling all the time, but everyone looks
29:14
Speaker 1: upon him as a pet. Those big gray timberwolves are
29:18
Speaker 1: quite another animal, fierce and savage. Someone asked me why
29:23
Speaker 1: I screamed, but I could not tell why. Perhaps it
29:27
Speaker 1: was to urge the horse, perhaps to frighten the wolf,
29:31
Speaker 1: perhaps to relieve the strain on my nerves. Possibly it
29:35
Speaker 1: was just because I was frightened and could not help it.
29:39
Speaker 1: End of letter, end of section nineteen