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had been sent to preserve law and order and hold military court pending the passing of the country into the hands of the civil administration, and the arrival at Council of the United States commissioner, as provided by law. They camped in their round tents near the river and beyond the reservation, in our plain view, whence the various bugle-calls came to us very clearly and marked the time of day. The world is very small. It soon developed that, after the Cuban campaign, Lieutenant Offley and my brother, by chance, had traveled together in the same train from Montauk Point, in the same seat, and the lieutenant, weak from Cuban fever, had been assisted over the ferry to New York by my brother. Neither knowing the name of the other, they next met at this jumping-off place. Throughout his stay at Council the lieutenant performed his duties with an ability and conscientiousness which commanded the respect of the community; and there was much for him to do which was both novel and perplexing--for instance, the assumption of the judicial role. One of the things which tried him sorely was the case of a woman physician, who had wandered down from the Klondike country and squatted with her tent on a lot which somebody else claimed. The case was argued before the lieutenant, and the decision went against her, and very properly. She refused absolutely to vacate, insisting upon being a martyr; and, though the duty was unpleasant, for the sake of example at least, she was put under arrest, with generous jail liberties. Finally she was sent down the river with a corporal's guard to the higher authorities at St. Michaels. Within a short time we had as much law work as we could do, and very interesting and novel, and frequently fatiguing, it was. In addition to drawing agreements and deeds, it consisted of preliminary interviews in that stately office, followed by long and laborious walks for many miles through the timber, up and down mountainous hills, over tundra, and through streams, to the mines on the creeks beyond, there to examine stakes, witnesses, and liars. Frequently, before starting back, we would be invited to eat with the men, and a fine lot they were as a rule. Then the case had to be presented before the lieutenant and argued, with the assistance of mining-law quotations and diagrams. In many instances the lieutenant would make a personal inspection of the property in dispute. If one side appeared to be clearly
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