PREFACE
PERHAPS it is not necessary to say that the events mentioned in the
letters are not imaginary - perhaps the letters themselves tell that!
They are truthful accounts of experiences that came into my own life
with the Army in the far West, whether they be about Indians,
desperadoes, or hunting - not one little thing has been stolen. They
are of a life that has passed - as has passed the buffalo and the
antelope - yes, and the log and adobe quarters for the Army. All
flowery descriptions have been omitted, as it seemed that a simple,
concise narration of events as they actually occurred, was more in
keeping with the life, and that which came into it.
FRANCES M. A. ROE.
ARMY LETTERS FROM AN OFFICER'S WIFE
KIT CARSON, COLORADO TERRITORY,
October, 1871.
IT is late, so this can be only a note - to tell you that we arrived
here safely, and will take the stage for Fort Lyon to-morrow morning
at six o'clock. I am thankful enough that our stay is short at this
terrible place, where one feels there is danger of being murdered any
minute. Not one woman have I seen here, but there are men - any number
of dreadful-looking men - each one armed with big pistols, and leather
belts full of cartridges. But the houses we saw as we came from the
station were worse even than the men. They looked, in the moonlight,
like huge cakes of clay, where spooks and creepy things might be
found.
