During Lieutenant Lockwood’s absence on leave, his regiment was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, and there we find him early in 1877, and for about two years thereafter. Of course, the garrison life of an officer, in times of peace, is somewhat monotonous; but the letters which the lieutenant wrote from this station contain some passages which are interesting and illustrate his character, as will be seen in the following pages. Here it should be stated that, during his sojourn at Fort Leavenworth, he made many pleasant acquaintances, which ripened into friendship; among them being the widow of an officer, with whom he boarded for some time, and whose friendship he particularly valued. At a time when there was quite a rage at the garrison for private theatricals, one of the superior officers took the liberty, without previous consultation, of putting Lockwood on the list of performers, whereupon he declined the honor, as he thought Nature never intended him for a star. In speaking of a little difficulty between two of his friends, he manifests his love of fun by stating that one of them had denied the allegation and defied the alligator. When commenting As if never satisfied with his acquirements, he writes in one of his letters as follows: “My latest hobby is telegraphing. The signal officer of the department has loaned me a small battery and an instrument. We have put up the wires and are progressing well. Telegraphy, like phonography, is easy to transmit after some little practice; but it is difficult to recognize the sounds as they come over the wire, and it requires as much practice as it does to recognize the phonographic characters. I have the instrument on the table before me, and can not fail to gain some proficiency at any rate.” In July, 1877, when the strikers and rioters were making trouble in St. Louis, Mo., Lieutenant Lockwood’s company and five others were ordered to that city on duty. After their arrival, they waited in daily expectation of mowing down the mob, but there was little fighting, as the police and militia were found to be amply sufficient to subdue all disturbance. He was greatly pleased with the city and military quarters of St. Louis, and felt that he would like to remain there on permanent duty. The feature which pleased him more than any other at St. Louis was a private garden of about fifty acres, exquisitely planned, and It was about this time that a specimen of American royalty visited Fort Leavenworth with his daughter, to whom young Lockwood had an opportunity of being polite. This was a great cattle-man from Texas, who was said to have fenced in a grazing-farm of a million of acres, and who numbered his cattle by tens of thousands. His name was King, and his title in all the West was the “Cattle King of Texas.” The father and daughter were much interested in an inspection of the fort, where they were hospitably entertained. From that time onward for several months, the dullness of garrison-life was only relieved by parties, dinners, and theatrical amusements in the While going from the fort into town one day, he witnessed what he called an awful spectacle—three little boys in a state of intoxication. This recalled the fate of one of his former companions in the East, who had become a drunkard, and in a letter to his father he recorded the following: “Liquor is certainly a terrible curse; one constantly sees illustrations of this in the army. You rather startled me in a recent letter by telling me you had taken the pledge. Had you departed from your abstemious habits in this respect? was my first thought, but I was at once relieved by seeing that your allusion was to something else. A rule that I have had for a long time and seldom depart from, is not to drink before sunset and never to do so in a saloon. It is rather superfluous in me to have any such rules, as it is very seldom that I have a desire to touch spirituous drinks, and then I partake only for the sake of not appearing to be rude in social matters.” On one occasion, after describing a splendid dinner which he had attended, he branches off upon his own experiences in that line, stating that he had been caterer for the “Bachelors’ Club” during the current month, and playing housekeeper for the first time in his life. He was striving to feed the mess well and to reduce expenses, the individual assessments amounting to twenty-four dollars. “We have a good deal of fun,” he says, “at the mess; among other ways, by a resolution of the officers that I shall keep a record of the puns, jokes, profane expressions, etc. Any one indulging in these is put back or set forward on a regular motion and vote by the members, and any one getting a record of fifteen has to send to the store for a supply of cigars. One of the mess, having the bad habit of saying, ‘O Lord!’ and ‘Damn it!’ when excited, gets a great many bad marks, and is made unhappy. The standard of wit being very high, one seldom ‘goes ahead.’” In May, 1878, when it was doubtful what Congress would do about reducing the army, and Lieutenant Lockwood thought that he might decide to leave the service, he discussed with his father the question of future employment. He thought favorably of a position in some telegraph company, thereby proving that, in all his studies and leisurely occupations, he was practical, and no visionary. Another idea that he had was that he might play Cincinnatus, and again go upon the farm. He also thought of a position in connection with the Signal Service as one that would suit him should he, from any cause, be compelled to On one occasion, after alluding to the possibility of his being transferred for duty to some other place, he says that it might be a good thing for him, as he could not remain at Leavenworth always, and yet he dreaded to be sent to some “far-distant and isolated post.” When he wrote those words, how little did he imagine that he would eventually close his earthly career in a land of supreme desolation within the Arctic Circle! Subsequently—July, 1878—he resumed with special earnestness the consideration of being detailed for duty in the Signal Service, and, with his father’s approbation, made the proper application. He thought the proposed transfer would be of benefit to him in many ways, and if he failed to make it so, he would very quickly be ordered back to his regiment. In September he was ordered to St. Louis for the purpose of conducting some recruits westward, and for a short time it was uncertain whether he would have to go to Texas or the Territory of Wyoming, whereby were shown the uncertainties which attend life in the army. He took the recruits to Fort Laramie, and, on his way, was in danger of being embroiled with the Cheyenne Indians under Sitting Bull, but returned in safety, by way of his old camp at Omaha, In a letter to one of his sisters, in October, he speaks of his return from this chase after Cheyenne Indians, and then goes on to mention some amusing incidents that had occurred at the post, and gives her this bit of artistic advice: “I hope you will profit by your talent for painting, not bury it in the ground, That the heart of this young man was as pure as his mind was bright, may be seen by reading the following remarks concerning the death of a little niece: “I learn with deep regret the death of poor little In December, 1878, the Twenty-third Regiment received orders for service in the Indian Territory, and a few weeks afterward entered upon its line of march. In the mean time, the lieutenant made himself useful in performing the duties of an engineer for the sanitary benefit of the Leavenworth garrison. After some appropriate studying, he soon got the knack of running the levels and measuring angles with the theodolite. He found these new duties interesting, preferring the field-work to the making of the necessary profiles and other drawings, involving measurements to the ¹/1000 of an inch—rather a confining employment. |