By: Stan Jordan
We are still at the Loup River Tribe Village. All of the gardening is done and all of the seeds are up. Lt. Morgan and the engineer boys from Fort Kearney have put in some long days building that two span bridge over the Loup River, right here in the village. They have a mud sled, a dump scraper pulled by a team, some saws and shovel from the fort. The timbers are long and heavy, but the natives also help. This bridge will last for a long time—for two or three generations anyhow.
We are into August now. The general went back to the fort along with Rooster, the runner, a long time ago. We are eating some of the vegetables out of the tribe’s garden. The Mess Sgt. went back to the fort some time ago with the Gen.
Rooster rode in today, that is quite a trip to make all in one day. I can tell all is not good in our nation from Gen. Kearney’s writing. He says that in the Kansas territory, to the south of us, the feelings are very high. They even kill each other over the slave question. That whole area is like an armed camp. This is the fall of 1858. Rooster said that the General is all worked up because the War of 1812 wasn’t long ago.
The battle with Santa Anna was just a few years ago. He said that the southern folks want to keep slaves and the leaders in Washington D.C. say that is illegal and war is inevitable.
Rooster said for the engineers to finish the bridge as soon as possible and to return to the fort. We might not get back here for a while. Try to explain to their chief and shaman that we might not be able to help like we have been…
I haven’t written for a long time. The boys finished the bridge at the Loup River Village, and then helped them get in their meat for the winter. The tribe had already gathered in all the garden produce.
The soldiers all returned to the fort except Slim, Hunter, and Farmer. We stopped at the Calamus River Village and helped them with their garden and getting their meat in for the winter.
We talked a lot with Chief Limping Buffalo and the shaman, Pony That Walks. Over the five years these people have learned a lot about the white man and we want them to continue to be friends with the whites. Those two leaders realize that the whites might have a battle among themselves. Something like a war between the tribes.
We returned to the agency and took in the vegetables and got in our meat supplies for winter.
We have now settled down for the cold weather as it is almost Thanksgiving in 1858.
Rooster, the runner from the fort, came in today. We are glad to see him and hear the news. But he doesn’t bring in good news just rumblings between troubles of the states.
See ya!
