Col. Brodie's Two Wounds

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 359, 26 March 1903, Page 8

Col. Brodie's Two Wounds

• r»mon« ROOK* R!d»r> ««r» nt T-o Tlinllfn J • • Kptootfea >n Ui» fctentfulC»rwr. •

**TT WAS a strange coincidence," 1 said Col. Brooie. the second in command of the famous rough riders, Ihe other day. as he with a few of that •catti ;< J band of famous fighters were waiting for a train to Williams. "It's a Strang-.- coincidence that I was wounded when I was n Keutcnant, just fresh from West Point, on the 24th daj of Jtine, by Apache* out here, and it was the Wtb liar of June, over 20 years later. 1 «as wounded at Los Guaymas. in Cubs, and nearly in the same place." "I was nothing but a kid then, and was stationed at Fort Grant. A short time afterward I was sent to Fort Apache during the outbreak in '73, built up the place, and was helping to keep the red cusses in shape there with a law men. T rode into the country on baaJKback, over 700 miles, and you'd to ride 750 more miles to get tc the nearest point on the railroad to the north.

"We had • been cooped up at For* Apache for over lour months without any mail: the men were getting restless —guess it was enough to make them restless, too. for we expected the whole herd of Apachet down on ue at any time. Yoo never could tell what old Geronimo would do. One day the captain gave me a detail of 15 men and told me to go to Fort Grant for mail and a few supplies. It was otcx 100 miles and through the Indian country all the way, hills and desert where a jackrabbit would haTe trouble to keep on a trail. About half way out. •ight of my troopers deserted. There was no use in my trying to get then: back again, for you couldn't find them in the first place to get them back again, rvnd I couldn't have took 'en: back with me if I had found them, because I didn't have enough men to doit.

"We had been dodging hoatil» band* of Indians for some time before wi had a brush with them. Coming ur. throtfarh a long draw we jumped up a band of about 15 or 20 and the musk commenced. There wa« no way of getting in any fancy moves on them, —w« were in the bottom of a long draw, 01 cauyon. just about wide enough for an ordinary road. It was either gc ahead, retreat or climb a side of th« •anyon. There wasn't much to hesitate over; we would have had a long retreat down that draw and been potted if we attempted to climb the sides of the canyon. My sergeant was an oldtimer, as were a number of my little band. They knew a? well as I did that the only thing that would save ni was a «juick dash right into them—something that the Indian can't stand a little bit unless they outnumber you ten to one. We gave them a volley tc stir them up, and let them know we were coming, and had the satisfaction of seeinfr three or fonr of them drop, then. yel!in*r like a lot of hyenas, w* started down the draw on a dead run headed straight into them. Each trooper swung out his six-«bootei ready for a snap-shot at the first Indian he could reach. The old sergeant was clcFe at my heels, with every fellow hushing down close to the saddle. I turned half around in my saddle just before we struck them # aud as I did s<" a ballet broke through my saddle horn and another cut through my vest and ripped me across the stomach about a half-inch deep.

"The Paches couldn t stand the rush. We run them up the canyon about a mile before they could find any side breaks to get out of and scatter. We lost three troopers in the fight. After ft wus over we went back to where they were, rolled them in their blanket* and buried tbem among the rocks as best we could. There wasn't much ceremony or tears for the poor fellows—we hadn't time for it; we all expected the iame thing all the time;- besides there wai a splendid possibility of the whole bunch of us going the same way before we got through, without anyone left to roll us in a blanket. If the 'poor'lndian gathered in a band of blue-coats, he also gathered up their hair, and left a flock of buzzards to do the rest.

"After burying the troopers we struck a trail up the canyon side and camped in a clearing where we could command a riew of the country surrounding, and doctored up our wounds as best we could; mine was painful, but only a flesh wound. I think I was sorer oTer my ruined new coat and Test than from tlie wound. "The band of Tndians circled around our rami) again that afternoon, and we exchanged long shots with them, without doing any dnmage to either aide. As soon as night came we struck out for Fort Grant as fast as we could make it through the night, and eluded them. An Indian won't fight at night, anyway, unless you force him to.

"We reached the fort late the next day. The closer we came to it the less danger there was, for troops from the fortkept the country 'round pretty "well cleaned up and quiet. "We stayed at- toe fort for several days, until our wounds healed, before making a return trip. The colonel in command of the fort insisted on my staying there for a time, as there were over 200 hostile Indians on the warpath scattered all over that country. He told me that it was foolish to make the attempt, and never expected to see me alive amin, but I was young, and had told the captain I'd be back as soon as I could make the trip with the mail and supplies, and wouldn't stay. "I didn't know it at the time, but learned afterward, that the Indians I had the running fight with coming over belonged to a sub-chief and a relative of olii Gerommo, but I found it out coming back We hadn't been out two days when they sighted us; luckily, U bn-v v.rA juvt ahciil sundown. Thev

ruok a few shots at us, then went into camp just over a hill from where we were camped. Wo could hear them holding powwows and singing while making preparations to dangle our scalps in their belts the next day. "I remember I sat looking into the campfire that night, wishing I was back home and wondering what in thunder to do, when the old sergeant came over to me and asked:

"Lieutenant, you don't think !ft<a Baa liek thet hull outfit, do you?** "'No, sergeant; Idon't flyhatdoycti think we'd better do?' " 'Well, I think we hed better build up a big fire, so they kin see it, then drift out of this.' "And we did. We struck a trail and followed it all that night. About daylight we found ourselves on a hill top and right in the center of an old, deserted Indian Tillage. It was that night's trip that first gave me my high appreciation of the much maligned old government mule. Every mule in that pack train seemed to understand the situation and there wasn't a whimper or a bray from any one of the lot until w© had put a good night's travel between us and that gang of redskins. "We didn't have any more trouble in getting back to the fort, though we crossed a number of warm trails of bands. I mtt the chief when he came into the fort a long time after to make peace, and he told me how many timet he had shot at me on that trip and couldn't understand how it was that he never got me. "The wound that I got at Los Quaymas, in Cuba, was another lucky one. too. You remember, Sellers, how A and B troops of the regiment were lined up that day at the foot of the hill, and ws were getting a perfect hell of fire from the Spanish entrenched up on lop of the hill? Well, I was walking up and down before my battalion, and had orders to hold them fast to protect our right flank from the enfilade Are on the right. I had just turned around and waved my glove at them to hold fast, and dropped my hand to my side again, when a Mauser struck me in the arm. If I hadn't dropped my arm just as I did, the ball would have cut me straight through the center. It turned me around and knocked mc down, but in a short time I gathered myself up, went to the rear to see how badly I was hit, and found that the bone was badly shattered. It was thrse days before I had the wound- attended to. There was a lump on the inside of my arm, and when the surgeon examined it he said it was apiece of bone sticking out, and that he would have to cut it out. He made a cut across the lump and out popped the bullet, wrong end first. If it had come straight. as most of them do, it would never have stopped in the arm, but went on straight through me. "The following day T wandered around back of the firing line trying tc help the poor fellows that were worse off than I was, and I remember seeing one of the A troop boys—-Buck O'Niell'a company, coming down the road with tears running down his cheeks and 1 thought he must be wounded badly. He saw me and veiled:

" 'Hello, major, where is the firing line!' I told him it was away on ahead in the other direction, but the fight fjas over. "Then he aeemed to feel worse than eYer s and broke out with as choice a lot of ornamental cuss words as I ever heard a mule driver get rid of, and wound up by saying:

'" 'lt's a ahame that a feller cornea all the way here from Arizona to fight and then gets knocked out by the climate within a few yards of the firing line.' "That forced march was the hardest I ever saw. Packed down with about 50 pounds of blankets, rations and other stuff in that hot country, we doublequicked right by the regulars, that were coming up at a good si iff gait, too. right straight iDto trouble. Fellows would drop out of the ranks along the line of march like they were shot, some of 'em wouldn't come to for a day or two after and some never were right afterwards.

"Teddy Roosevelt came over to my tent at four o'clock in the morning after the fight and -woke me up to tell me that the Arizona boys made his regiment. He said he knew that I knew it, but wanted to tell me that he knew it and wanted to tell it first.

"There's a fellow, that Teddy; full of life, vigor and energy, that enjoys living and fighting. I was in New York after he was elected governor and went over to Albany to call on him at the capitol. I hardly expected to see him, as he was busy, but thought I'd just tend in my card to let him know I was in town. .1 met the secretary at the door and asked him to take in my card to the governor. He told me there was no use, the governor was busy on some important case or Other, and there were several delegations of lawyers arguing something before him. I insisted that tie take ia> the card, anyway, and handed it to, him. He took a look at it and went in.. In a minute he came back with a smile on his face and said that the governor wanted me to come right in. "When I went in he squinted across the room to see who it was, held up his hands at the fellows talking, and rushed across the room to me with both hands stuck out—the same old Teddy I knew in Cuba. After he talked a tew minutes he turned, waved his hand at the waiting lawyers with a look on his face as much as to say: 'See what rot I have to stand all the time,' then said: 'lt's fun being gov* ernor, though, and I rather like it.'

' A third shot I guess would get sue, but I've got enough of it. All I want now is for that mine of mine near Wiclc« >rberg- to pan out- and I'll be satisfied/' —Globe-Democrat.