white paint were portrayed the words "Overland Stage Company, Santa Fé.” As soon as the driver mounted the box, there began a series of equine quadrilles, swingle-tree, and bar exercises, with an enlivening admixture of feathery and fantastic aerial performances of the nether hoofs. The driver with great ceremony from his seat, bade "good-bye" to all the crowd of persons who had gathered around, probably having in his mind, not only the usual interchange of courtesies, but the uncertainties of stagedriving in that exciting country. He evidently felt relieved after complying with this last act of friendship, and seemed to feel little anxiety as to whether he should ever greet the familiar and expectant faces awaiting him at the other extremity of his perilous journey. The silent and lamb-like passengers within the coach were seriously disconcerted at the cool formality. It shivered four frames with dreadful visions of reeking scalping knives, tomahawks, spears, and all sorts of implements of savage greeting on the plains. The conversation immediately turned upon the latest barbarities, with refreshing details. The government surveyor, who "had been on the plains before," was the oracle and cyclopedia of information combined. He graphically narrated a few of the peculiar customs of the wild tribes, for instance, the Apaches, when they took a prisoner tied him up to a tree by the heels and built a slow fire under his head, in which tedious manner the fires of life were choked, smoked, and burnt out. He also stated, that generally the women, probably under the direction of one of that lovesighing, poetized maiden class, did the torturing, such as throwing spears, and shooting arrows into the carcases of their victims and otherwise entertained them, while the warriors sat around and admired the ingenuity of the partners of their wigwams. It was not with sentiments of the highest appreciation that these illustrations of savage customs were contemplated. The portable arsenal which each one of our party represented, was re-examined and suggestions were interchanged as to the best mode of defence. Each one made up his mind precisely what he would do in event of attack, all of which were human impossibilities. While this serious and contemplative state of affairs existed inside the coach, the driver on the outside preserved his outward hilarity. Whether the same feelings penetrated his interior, could not be detected. These brave, reckless, rollicking men, so inured to every danger, accept the situation philosophically, and instead of consuming the peace of mind in endless anxiety, look confidently upon the future. The moment of actual danger is sufficient for them. The past is forgotten, the present is their immediate concern. of hope. They live the philosopher, and meet their often fearful fate under the same rigid teaching which the severe lessons of their lives afford them. The future beams full Whack! whack! the huge strip of "raw-hide" used as a whip, descended upon the impatient and expectant quadrupeds, literally "making the fur fly." Hi! hi! ejaculated the driver, who was responded to with fit vocal demonstrations by the citizens, by way of a parting and enthusiastic pereoration. The uproar, as well as the smarting influence of the lash, was electric. The animals set off with a bound. The sudden impetus of the start was met by an adverse motion, causing the occupants of the front seats inside to lose their equilibrium and the whole contents of the coach were suddenly deposited with considerable emphasis towards the rear. The horses dashed wildly out of the town, accomplishing that feat literally in about four jumps and in a few moments were ascending the gradually rising plain in the direction of the Smoky Hill. Having exhausted our powers of imagination in portraying for our own benefit and mental preparation for emergencies, such lively pictures of the hazards of "staging it" in the savage countries, the least we expected was a distant view of the noble warrior of the plain, say upon some remote swell in the vast expanse, from which stand-point he was known to possess many features for interesting and vigilant observation. Such however, was not our fortune. The horses galloped along at a lively gait. The coaches or "prairie clippers," as they are called by the denizens of the country, pitched and jolted. The broad plain spread around. Not a sign of life was visible. But two days before the trail was watched by a large party of lurking warriors. The eye now wandered to the utmost limits of vision in vain. Alarmed at the activity of the troops, the war parties had evidently withdrawn to a safer distance, thus dissipating our anticipations of a cordial and warm reception into the "wild country." The arrival of the coach at the fort was the occasion of a general turn-out of the officers of the garrison. The first inquiry was after the mail and while that was being assorted, in the sutler's store, a group assembled around asking after every item of news from Sheridan, as if that enterprising "city" were in the heart of business, trade, and fashion. Fortified with a etter of introduction from General Sheridan to Colonel Banknead, commandant, at the earliest moment I singled out that gentleman and presented the document. Fort Wallace resembled Fort Hays in design, but was greatly inferior in construction. The site occupied a swell in the plain, which gave it a commanding view of the country for miles in every direction. It was exclusively a military post. Several companies of infantry and a squadron of cavalry, commanded by Colonel Carpenter, constituted the garrison. The nearest settlement was Pond City, quite an extravagant appellation for a relay station with a community of about a half a dozen semibarbarous inhabitants. Exclusive of this frontier emporium and Sheridan, about fifteen miles distant, there was not a settlement within a hundred miles of the fort. As may be imagined, the arrival of a stranger, and particularly a visitor so recently from "the States," was a rare and important event in the daily routine of the garrison. It was, therefore, not many moments before the writer found himself, and most readily too, the target of a diversity of interrogatories embracing a bewildering range of topics. |