We have seen none of those
things during the past two years, and for the sake of those who have
worked so hard for law and order, we hope the desperado element has
passed on.
FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY,
May, 1885.
IT is nice to be once more at this dear old post, particularly under
such very pleasant circumstances. The winter East was enjoyable and
refreshing from first to last, but citizens and army people have so
little in common, and this one feels after being with them a while, no
matter how near and dear the relationship may be. Why, one half of
them do not know the uniform, and could not distinguish an officer of
the Army from a policeman! I love army life here in the West, and I
love all the things that it brings to me - the grand mountains, the
plains, and the fine hunting. The buffalo are no longer seen; every
one has been killed off, and back of Square Butte in a rolling valley,
hundreds of skeletons are bleaching even now. The valley is about two
miles from the post.
We are with the commanding officer and his wife, and Hulda is here
also. She was in Helena during the winter and came from there with us.
I am so glad to have her. She is so competent, and will be such a
comfort a little later on, when there will be much entertaining for us
to do. We stopped at Fort Ellis two days to see to the crating of the
furniture and to get all things in readiness to be shipped here, this
time by the cars instead of by wagon, through mud and water. We were
guests of Captain and Mrs. Spencer, and enjoyed the visit so much.
Doctor and Mrs. Lawton gave an informal dinner for us, and that was
charming too.
But the grand event of the stop-over was the champagne supper that
Captain Martin gave in our honor - that is, in honor of the new
adjutant of the regiment. He is the very oldest bachelor and one of
the oldest officers in the regiment - a very jolly Irishman. The supper
was old-fashioned, with many good things to eat, and the champagne
frappe was perfect. I do believe that the generous-hearted man had
prepared at least two bottles for each one of us. Every member of the
small garrison was there, and each officer proposed something pleasant
in life for Faye, and often I was included. There was not the least
harm done to anyone, however, and not a touch of headache the next
day.
As usual, we are waiting for quarters to avoid turning some one out.
But for a few days this does not matter much, as our household goods
are not here, except the rugs and things we sent out from
Philadelphia. Faye entered upon his new duties at guard mounting this
morning, and I scarcely breathed until the whole thing was over and
the guard was on its way to the guardhouse! It was so silly, I knew,
to be afraid that Faye might make a mistake, for he has mounted the
guard hundreds of times while post adjutant. But here it was
different. I knew that from almost every window that looked out on the
parade ground, eyes friendly and eyes envious were peering to see how
the new regimental adjutant conducted himself, and I knew that there
was one pair of eyes green from envy and pique, and that the least
faux-pas by Faye would be sneered at and made much of by their owner.
But Faye made no mistake, of course. I knew all the time that it was
quite impossible for him to do so, as he is one of the very best
tacticians in the regiment - still, it is the unexpected that so often
happens.
The band and the magnificent drum major, watching their new commander
with critical eyes, were quite enough in themselves to disconcert any
man. I never told you what happened to that band once upon a time! It
was before we came to the regiment, and when headquarters were at Fort
Dodge, Kansas. Colonel Mills, at that time a captain, was in command.
It had been customary to send down to the river every winter a detail
of men from each company to cut ice for their use during the coming
year. Colonel Mills ordered the detail down as usual, and also ordered
the band down. It seems that Colonel Fitz-James, who had been colonel
of the regiment for some time, had babied the bandsmen, one and all,
until they had quite forgotten the fact of their being enlisted men.
So over to Colonel Mills went the first sergeant with a protest
against cutting ice, saying that they were musicians and could not be
expected to do such work, that it would chap their lips and ruin their
delicate touch on the instruments. Colonel Mills listened patiently
and then said, "But you like ice during the summer, don't you?" The
sergeant said, "Yes, sir, but they could not do such hard work as the
cutting of ice." Colonel Mills said, "You are musicians, you say?" The
unsuspicious sergeant, thinking he had gained his point, smilingly
said, "Yes, sir!" But there must have been an awful weakness in his
knees when Colonel Mills said, "Very well, since you are musicians and
cannot cut ice, you will go to the river and play for the other men
while they cut it for you!" The weather was freezing cold, and the
playing of brass instruments in the open air over two feet of solid
ice, would have been painful and difficult, so it was soon decided
that it would be better to cut ice, after all, and in a body the band
went down with the other men to the river without further complaint or
protest.
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