Made an
untimely plucking of somebody's turkey, for in this country a turkey
is something rare and valuable.
Hal came trotting back with his loftiest steps and tail high in the
air, evidently much pleased with his part in the entertainment. He is
very tall now, and ran by the ambulance all the way up, and has been
following me on my rides for some time.
CIMARRON REDOUBT, KANSAS,
January, 1873.
WHEN Faye was ordered here I said at once that I would come, too, and
so I came! We are at a mail station - that is, where the relay mules
are kept and where the mail wagon and escort remain overnight on their
weekly trips from Camp Supply to Fort Dodge. A non-commissioned
officer and ten privates are here all the time.
The cause of Faye's being here is, the contractor is sending big
trains of grain down to Camp Supply for the cavalry horses and other
animals, and it was discovered that whisky was being smuggled to the
Indians in the sacks of oats. So General Dickinson sent an officer to
the redoubt to inspect each sack as it is carried past by the ox
trains. Lieutenant Cole was the first officer to be ordered up, but
the place did not agree with him, and at the end of three weeks he
appeared at the post on a mail wagon, a very sick man - very sick
indeed! In less than half an hour Faye was ordered to relieve him, to
finish Lieutenant Cole's tour in addition to his own detail of thirty
days, which will give us a stay here of over five weeks.
As soon as I heard of the order I announced that I was coming, but it
was necessary to obtain the commanding officer's permission first.
This seemed rather hopeless for a time, the general declaring I would
"die in such a hole," where I could have no comforts, but he did not
say I should not come. Faye did not want to leave me alone at the
post, but was afraid the life here would be too rough for me, so I
decided the matter for myself and began to make preparations to come
away, and that settled all discussion. We were obliged to start early
the next morning, and there were only a few hours in which to get
ready. Packing the mess chest and getting commissary stores occupied
the most time, for after our clothing was put away the closing of the
house was a farce, "Peu de bien, peu de soin!" Farrar was permitted to
come, and we brought Hal and the horse, so the family is still
together.
The redoubt is made of gunny sacks filled with sand, and is built on
the principle of a permanent fortification in miniature, with
bastions, flanks, curtains, and ditch, and has two pieces of
artillery.
