Sword and Pen Part 33

"Captain Glazier served under Generals Kilpatrick and Custer during the late war, since which time he has devoted much labor to writing, and is now making the attempt to cross the continent from Boston to San Francisco on horseback, for the purpose of collecting material for another work. He left Boston in the early part of May, and will endeavor to reach the Sacramento Valley before the fall of the deep snow. His horse, 'Paul Revere,' is a magnificent animal, black as a raven, with the exception of four white feet. He was bred in Kentucky, of Black Hawk stock, has turned a mile in 2.33, but owing to his inclination to run away on certain occasions, was not considered a safe horse for the track. The captain, however, has broke him to the saddle, and also convinced him that running away is foolish business; consequently he and the captain have become fast friends, and with 'Paul' for his only companion, the gallant cavalryman proposes to cross the continent. Success attend him!"

Having heard at La Salle that he would find no difficulty in securing a night's lodging at a village named Hollowayville, Captain Glazier pushed on for that point, but on applying at the only place of accommodation for travellers, was looked upon suspiciously by the German host and his _frau_, who politely intimated their belief that he was either a highwayman or a horse-thief! These latter gentry had for some time infested that section of Illinois, and Glazier inferred from the manner of the people that they more than half suspected him to be one of the James or Younger brothers, whose exploits they had probably read of.

Turning his back on the "Grand Pacific Hotel," he at length succeeded by dint of much perseverance, in lodging himself and "Paul" at a farm-house for the night, but not before he had fully satisfied the worthy farmer and his wife that he had no evil designs in desiring to spend the night with them.

On the following day, September twenty-fifth, the captain rode through a rich farming country, replete with "corn-fields, fine stock and oceans of fruit."

Pa.s.sed through Wyanet, Annawan, and across the prairie--smiling corn-fields and ripe orchards occasionally relieving the seemingly interminable ocean of gra.s.s--and arrived at Milan, Illinois, on the evening of the twenty-seventh, remaining for the night.

Here he met a Mr. Pullman, an old and intelligent miner who had recently arrived from the Pacific coast, from whom he obtained valuable information concerning the country between Omaha and Sacramento. He also found a number of congenial spirits at Milan, chiefly New Yorkers, who had spent some years in the Far West, and their conversation partook of a practical nature bearing on his journey.

Leaving Milan on the following day, he crossed the Government Bridge, which unites Rock Island with the fine city of Davenport, Iowa, and registered at the Burtis House--the rider and his horse continuing in the best of health.

The lecture at Davenport was delivered at the usual hour at Moore's Hall to a very large and applauding audience, General Sanders presenting him.

The bra.s.s band of the place volunteered their services, and appeared in full uniform. The Davenport _Gazette_ of October fourth said:

"The lecture of Captain Willard Glazier at Moore's Hall last evening was attended by a large and appreciative audience. The captain was introduced by our worthy fellow-citizen, General Sanders, who spoke of the lecturer's career as a soldier and an author, and said he was _en route_ for the Pacific coast on horseback, and lecturing for the benefit of the Custer Monument Fund...."

The following notice is taken from the _Democrat_ of the same city:

"We had the pleasure of meeting Captain Glazier this morning, who arrived here on horseback from La Salle on Sat.u.r.day evening. He is making the journey from Boston to San Francisco on horseback, and alone, for the purpose of seeing the country, studying the people, and gathering materials for a new work he is engaged upon. Captain Glazier is well known to fame as a writer, having published several valuable works, among them a war-record ent.i.tled, 'Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape.'

"At the breaking out of the war, Willard Glazier, then a mere youth, entered the Harris Light Cavalry, under Colonel Judson Kilpatrick, and remained in the service until the close of the rebellion, his career being marked by many adventures and hair-breadth escapes. His feat of riding on horseback across the continent, unattended, to gather materials for a book, is certainly without a precedent, and shows a brave and intrepid spirit. His horse 'Paul' was an object of great curiosity and interest."

Leaving Davenport, our traveller pa.s.sed through Moscow and reached Iowa City October fifth. The weather was now becoming very cold, and he found it necessary to dismount occasionally and walk some warmth into his limbs.

Registering at the St. James Hotel, Iowa City, Captain Glazier lectured in the evening to a very full house, a profusion of cheers greeting him on his arrival upon the platform, whither he was escorted by George B.

Edmunds, Esq.

Continuing his journey through Tiffin and Brooklyn to Kellogg, all in the State of Iowa, he witnessed, he says, some of the finest landscapes and grandest farms he had yet encountered during his journey. He rode into Colfax, October twelfth, and Des Moines on the following day.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Night Among Wolves.]

"I have not seen a brighter or more stirring city in my line of march than Des Moines," writes Captain Glazier in his Journal. He wandered over the city in company with two or three of the leading citizens, admiring its numerous fine buildings and the evidences of its rapid progress; and the next day the Des Moines _Leader_ came out with the following notice of his visit:

"Captain Willard Glazier, the horseback traveler across the continent, took in the Exposition on Sat.u.r.day evening with intense gratification. He says he has seen no place, on his route from Boston, more promising than Des Moines. Among the calls he received at the Jones House was one from Captain Conrad, a prominent attorney from Missouri, and now settled in his profession in this city, who was a fellow-captive with Captain Glazier in Libby Prison during the rebellion. He continued his journey westward yesterday, with the best wishes of the friends he has made during his short stay here."

Captain Glazier speaks very highly of the extremely courteous treatment he received while at Des Moines.

Adel, and Dale City, and Minden were pa.s.sed, and arriving at Neola, we find the following entry in the journal: "Weather most disagreeable. A drizzling rain made my ride to this place decidedly gloomy. My journey to-day, as usual, since entering Iowa, has been over the boundless, never-ending prairie. I have never in my life beheld a grander sight than this afternoon, when I reached the summit of an immense tableland between Avoca and Minden."

Wishing to reach Anita before halting for the night, he ventured to continue on the road after dark, although for some time before sunset he had been unable to see a farm-house or even a tree as far as the eye could reach. Giving "Paul" the rein, he followed a blind road, after crossing a sluice-way, which ultimately led them to a haystack on the prairie, where the captain decided to spend the night. A pack of prairie wolves, or coyotes, soon came upon the scene, several of which he shot, but he was shortly after reinforced by a friendly dog, who came to his rescue and kept the coyotes at bay for the remainder of the night. In the morning at daybreak he was glad enough to say adieu to the haystack where he had pa.s.sed one of the most unpleasant nights of his journey.

It may here be mentioned that the _coyote_ partakes of the natures of the dog and the wolf, and is less dangerous to encounter in the summer than in the winter, which is a characteristic of its wolfish nature. In the winter, when food is scarce, these animals will attack man, but if a bold resistance is offered, they speedily decamp.

Hastening forward on his journey through various small and more or less enterprising cities of the prairie, our traveler reached Council Bluffs at eight o'clock in the evening of October twentieth. This promising city is located three miles east from the Missouri River, and contains an enterprising population of some 20,000; its history dating from 1804.

The locality is surrounded by high bluffs, and hence the name given to the city.

Striking the Missouri opposite Omaha, our horseman found he would be compelled to ride up the bank of the river and cross by ferry to the northern section of the city. On reaching the boat, "Paul" declined to embark, but with some encouragement and a.s.sistance he was at length made to understand that when rivers cannot be bridged or forded, they can sometimes be ferried, and so yielded to necessity.

Omaha is almost equidistant between the Atlantic and Pacific, and has sprung up, flourished and waxed great in the twinkling of an eye. It is now the grand gateway through which the western tide of travel and emigration is pa.s.sing. The first house was erected here in 1853, and the population now numbers in the neighborhood of 30,000. Omaha can boast of as fine business blocks, hotels, school-buildings and churches as can be found in many older and more pretentious cities in the East. There are also numerous elegant private residences, with grounds beautifully ornamented with trees and shrubbery, which sufficiently attest the solid prosperity of Omaha's business men.

A story is told of the postmaster of Omaha which ill.u.s.trates the changes made during the past few years. Mr. Jones, one of the first pioneers, was appointed to the office of postmaster in the autumn of 1854. At that time there was no office, while letters were rarities. The few letters that did come were kept by the postmaster in the crown of his hat till he met their owners. Only a few years have elapsed since this primitive state of things, and the post-office of Omaha has expanded from a hat into a handsome stone building, worth $350,000, in which some twenty clerks find full employment.

Hearing of the impossibility of riding his valuable horse across the Alkali Plains, he resolved to leave him at Omaha until his return from San Francisco, and to continue his journey on a mustang. In these plains the soil for two or three feet seems saturated with soda, and so poisons the water that if drunk by man or beast, after a fall of rain, is sure to be fatal. "Paul" was therefore turned over by his master to the care of G. W. Homan, proprietor of the Omaha Livery Stable; and a good serviceable mustang purchased of a p.a.w.nee Indian, to replace him.

CHAPTER x.x.xIV.

CAPTURED BY INDIANS.

Captain Glazier as a horseman.--Cheyenne.--Two herders.--Captured by Indians.--Torture and death of a herder.--Escape.--Ogden.-- Letter to Major Hessler.--Kelton.--Terrace.--Wells.--Halleck.-- Elko.--Palisade.--Argenta.--Battle Mountain.--Golconda.-- Humboldt.--"The majesty of the law."--Lovelock's.--White Plains.--Desert.--Wadsworth.--Truckee.--Summit.--Sacramento.-- Brighton.--Stockton.--SAN FRANCISCO.

Having made several friends in Omaha, and obtained all the information within his reach concerning the remaining half of the journey, Captain Glazier mounted his mustang and proceeded on his route across the State of Nebraska. Over the great plains that lie between the Missouri River and the mountains, his nerve as a horseman was most thoroughly tested, and not less so, the mettle of his mustang, which carried him a distance of five hundred and twenty-two miles in six days. The approach of winter suggested the importance of reaching his destination at the earliest possible date; therefore on riding into Cheyenne October twenty-eighth, he lost no time in arranging to continue his journey.

The weather now became intensely cold, as he neared the highest point in his line of march. Since leaving Omaha, the ascent had been gradual but continuous, and the point now reached was eight thousand feet above the sea-level.

Cheyenne, the "Magic City of the Plains," about five hundred and twenty miles west of Omaha, stands at an elevation of six thousand feet above the level of the sea, and is perhaps the most progressive city west of Chicago. It is the capital of Wyoming Territory, the county-seat of Laramie County, and is the largest town between Omaha and Salt Lake City. The gold discoveries in the Black Hills of Dakota added greatly to its prosperity. In proportion to its population, Cheyenne has more elegant and substantial business houses than most any other western city. This is a wonderful change from a place known the world over by its fearful sobriquet of "h.e.l.l on Wheels." Churches have risen where gamblers once reigned, and many other edifices for religious and educational purposes have been erected. Cheyenne is the trading-post for the thousands of ranchemen and stock-raisers of the plains at the base of the Black Hills, and like all other frontier cities, has a history.

It was once a very fast town, and it is not very slow now.

On leaving Cheyenne he was accompanied by two herders, who were on their way to Salt Lake City with a few mustangs and ponies. It was the custom of Captain Glazier to have company in his rides through this wild region whenever he could do so, and having made the acquaintance of these men in the city, it was arranged that they should journey together as far as their respective routes led them. The men were of the usual stamp of herders, rough in exterior and plain of speech, but apparently worthy of trust. The captain was not wanting in discernment, and his cordial manner won their confidence.

Sherman having afforded them a night's shelter and refreshment, their course lay in the direction of the Skull Rocks, a huge ma.s.s of granite on the Great Laramie Plains, and so called from the resemblance of the rocks to human skulls.

The Skull Rocks being in front of them at no great distance, the conversation of the party turned upon their peculiar configuration, and opinions were advanced by each of a more or less intelligent character; the herders insisting on the probability of their having plenty of gold in them. Suddenly, over a slight elevation in the land, appeared a body of Indians, in number about thirteen or fourteen. Glazier and his companions were not at first surprised, as Indians are often found on these plains--some friendly and some hostile--but mostly those of the friendly tribes. The Indians now advancing upon them were clearly not on a friendly errand, and were p.r.o.nounced by the herders to be a detachment of the Arrapahoes. They were decked in their war-paint, and on seeing the white men immediately raised their war-shout, which, as travellers on the plains are aware, always indicates an intention to attack.

The herders, knowing that they were in the presence of an enemy who would speedily relieve them of their merchandise, made conciliatory signs, by raising their hands, a signal which is equivalent to a flag of truce, and is so understood on the plains. The signal of truce was, however, ignored by the red-skins, who continued to advance at a rapid pace, gradually forming a circle around Glazier and his companions. This is the usual Indian form of attack. The circle is kept constantly in rapid motion, the Indians concentrating their fire upon a stationary object in the centre of the circle, while they render themselves a constantly shifting target, and are thus comparatively safe from the fire of the centre.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Captain Glazier Captured By Indians Near Skull Rocks, Wyoming Territory.]

Riding around, and firing at intervals of a minute or two at Glazier and his companions, the latter did their best to defend themselves, and fired in return upon their cowardly a.s.sailants, who showed no desire for a parley. The firing from the centre was made over the backs of the ponies and mustangs, who in such emergencies are made to do duty as a breastwork. The circle of red-skins gradually lessened in diameter, as the firing on both sides continued, when a shot from the carbine of the Mexican herder killed one of the Indians.

The circle continued to grow less, until the Indians in a ma.s.s rushed on the three whites, disarmed them, secured them to each other with thongs at the wrists, and appropriated as their own the mustangs and ponies, which had been their primary object.

Before yielding, Captain Glazier and his little squad had nearly exhausted their ammunition, and felt that further resistance was not only useless, but would certainly cost them their lives. Without loss of time, the prisoners were compelled to mount, and the entire party--less one Indian killed--started off in a northerly direction.

Ignorant of their destination, the herders expressed their belief that they would in a few days find themselves in the presence of Sitting Bull, when their fate would be decided. They continued to ride at a full trot till about ten o'clock, when the whole party dismounted and camped for the night. A fire was speedily built, and some antelope beef partially roasted for their supper, of which the prisoners also partook.

The supper over, an animated conversation ensued among the Indians, while sundry furtive glances were cast in the direction of the Mexican who had killed one of their party during the attack in the morning. For a time they shouted and violently gesticulated, while one of them was observed driving a thick pole into the ground, at about fifty yards from the fire, around which the party and the prisoners squatted. Presently, at a sign from one of the Indians, supposed to be a chief named "Dull-Knife," four of the red-skins seized the Mexican and forced him towards the stake, where they stripped him to the skin, and then bound him to it with thick cords. The whole party then, without further ceremony, proceeded to torture the wretched man to death, as a punishment for his presumption in killing one of their party while defending himself from their murderous attack near the Skull Rocks. They heated their arrow-shafts in the fire, and held them in contact with his naked flesh, while others, at a distance of a few feet from their victim, cast at him their sharp-pointed knives, which, penetrating the body, remained embedded in the flesh, until he nearly died from the agony. One of the party now advanced with a revolver, and shot him in the head, thus ending his sufferings.

While the torture was proceeding, Captain Glazier and the remaining herder lay on the ground bound together by thick cords, and could offer no a.s.sistance to their tortured companion. The Mexican being dead, one of the party removed his scalp and fastened it to his waist, after which all sat down around the fire and seemed in high glee for the remainder of the evening, for the most part shouting and speech-making.

Willard Glazier had never before witnessed a case of torture by the Indians. It is true it was of a different character from that he and many of his old comrades had endured in Southern prisons; but in one respect was more merciful, as the sufferings of their victim were soon ended, while his own and his comrades extended over many months; in the one case the body was burnt and lacerated--in the other it was starved and emaciated.