sinewy, straight as an arrow--an athlete--one of the
best riders, shots and hunters, and all round soldiers in the regiment--
He had a straight nose--strong chin and steel-blue eyes, the glint
of which, when he was aroused--looked dangerous when squinting down
the sights of our old Spencer Carbines-- He reminded me of that
free, rollicksome--"devil-may-care" d'Artagnan, one of the "Three
Musketeers"-- He probably had a past like many other enlisted men who
entered the regular army after the Civil War-- If so, for obvious
reasons, we never pried into that past. He entered into the spirit and
novelty of this new adventure with commendable zeal, energy, spirit and
enthusiasm-- I felt that I knew my man perfectly, and that, under all
circumstances, he would prove absolutely loyal to all duty and be
faithful to whatever trust I reposed in him--

We were all well mounted, well armed, and had one good, well trained
pack mule to carry our grub-- We both had guides, the one assigned to
the writer being William Rhodes, a rancher, who had been driven in to
the shelter of the post by Indians, a very quiet, sturdy, honest and
reliable man who knew the country fairly well within a radius of 40
miles, but beyond that his knowledge was no better than my own or any
other man in the detachment, besides being one more man to feed and care
for after he had got beyond his bailiwick as a post guide-- I never took
another guide beyond a 50 mile radius.

The Pursuit--A Howling "Norther"

At 7:15 we made the start--the writer taking the Weatherford stage road
across the prairie, a mere trail-- The "Norther" broke with full force,
with alternate snow, rain, hail and sleet--a heavy gale driving it into
our faces-- We left the trail and rode into several freighters' camps,
where they had sought shelter in the timber, at great risk to our
lives--to search for the missing men but without learning anything--
They had immense roaring fires which could be seen for a long distance,
but so great was their fear of Indians, that we found them up and ready,
rifle in hand--and behind their wagon bodies--determined to sell their
lives as dearly as possible-- It was hard to tear ourselves away from
these huge fires--and plunge across the interminable prairies in the
teeth of the increasing gale-- We were none too warmly clothed-- The men
and horses--hardly recovered from their year's hard work--were beginning
to show the effects and wear and tear of such