| Show december 25 1866 marked the end of an heroic herdic ride and it halted a gay christmas ball at old fort laramie am 5 mv A wa to 80 V ik 21 21 abir r s 7 A barracks and officers quarters at fort laramie bedlam where the christmas ball on december 25 1866 was dramatically interrupted by the arrival of john ll phillips with his message of disaster alfort at fort phil kearney is the two story frame structure at the extreme left in m the picture by ELMO SCOTT WATSON released by western newspaper union night 1866 at historic fort laramie on the old oregon trail v A christmas ball was in progress in the two story frame building where all the social activities of the post were held bedlam they called it because it was where the unmarried officers were quartered in sharp contrast to the cheery scene inside the warmth the music and the soft light of candles and kerosene lamps was the darkness out side made more desolate by the whistling wind Aind and the biting cold while the festivities were at their height across the snow blanketed parade ground a horse staggered its rider reeled in his saddle as he ur urged ged the weary beast forward when atlant at last he drew rein before the lighted building and painfully dismounted the horse dropped in its tracks A moment later a huge figure clad in a heavy buffalo overcoat leggings moccasins and fur cap lunged through the door of bedlam and tottered out to the middle of th the e dance floor the music stopp edwith a crash and several of the women screamed at the sight of the strange figure which stood there swaying from side to side like a great brown bear As several officers rushed for ward the man in the buffalo coat lifted his hand wearily pulled off his cap and gasped fetterman and 80 men have been wiped out by the sioux at phil kearnell Kear neyl carrington must have help at oncel once then he dropped in a dead faint at their feet this messenger of disaster was phillips phillps Phi lUps and his mile ride from fort phil kearney to fort laramie in the dead ot of winter and through a country swarming with hostile indians was one of the most remarkable exploits in the annals of america compared to it the historic rides of paul revere and phil sheridan sink into significance the reason for his heroic ride was the now famous fetterman massacre in which the sioux and on the morning qa of december 21 killed a force of 76 soldiers and two civilians led by capt W J fetterman capt P F H brown and G W grummond that afternoon another detachment went out from the fort and recovered their mutilated bodies soon afterwards the weather changed the thermometer dropped to 25 degrees below zero and a blizzard came howling down own upon the grief stricken garrison who fully expected the indians to follow up their victory over fetterman with an at attack tack on the fort the buzzard blizzard piled snow against the stockade so rapidly that forces of men working in shifts of only 15 minutes because of the bitter cold were kept busy shoveling it away lest the drifts should beco become meso so high that the indians could use them to climb over the palisades ded wells walls in this crisis carrington decided that the only hope of saving the remainder of his command was to secure reinforcements from fort laramie miles sivay away the reinforcements for which he had been bean vainly aching tor for several weeks but there was no telegraph line nearer than the station at horse shoe Creek eL k 40 miles fro from m laramie and the only hope of getting a message through was by courier so the commander called for volunteers un but none non e of the soldiers were willing to take the risk then john phillips a civilian stepped forward phillips they called him because e of his portuguese parentage he would go he said before leaving phillips asked if he see mrs griman ond and a bride of little more than a year and already a widow whom mrs carrington had taken into her home when the news was brought back to the fort that the lieutenant was among the slain of fetter mans command several years later after the death of mrs carrington ring ton mrs grummond became the second wife of colonel carrington ring ton and in her book arm army y life on the plains she tells of that interview as follows A knock at my door brought me to my feet an orderly brave and faithful semple announced that a man was waiting in the adjoining room wishing especially to see mrs grummond there I 1 was met by an entire stranger john phillips by name a miner mm i er and frontiersman in the employ of the quartermaster clad in the dress of a scout who had something to communicate so impressed was he by the gravity of the situation of the garrison that he extended his hand to ta me with tears in his eyes and in brief but pathetic language said 11 1 I am going to laramie for help with dispatches des patches as special messenger I 1 if it costs me my life I 1 am going for your sake I 1 here is m my PHILLIPS wolf robe I 1 brought it for you to keep and remember me by if you never see mi ane again 1 there was no price put upon john phillips services he asked no reward the only condition he imposed was that he be allowed to choose his own horse that choice promptly conceded by its owner was a fine thoroughbred belonging to the colonel at midnight carrington himself unbarred a little side gate in the stockade and phillips philips led his horse through it he carried only a few crackers for himself and a hatful of feed for his bis mount tor for in his race with death every ounce of weight would count As he be swung into the saddle carrington reached out his hand and murmured god bless you and keep you on this journeys jour neyl then as horse and rider faced the howling blizzard the colonel re locked the gate and with heavy beavy heart returned to his a all night vigil in his quarters the most dangerous part of phillips journey was the stretch of country from phil kearney to fort reno for it was likely that the indians would be watching for a courier from thi the e belea gueren fort and would tty try to cut him off but it there were phillips 19 outwitted them for lie he steered clear of the trail riding parallel to it but at some distance away by doing this he lessened the chances of discovery but he increased the peril of losing his way ay or dropping into some deep ravine partly filled with drifting snow J the ground from three to ati alv feet by some miracle of good luck lie e pursued his journey in safety during the night when morning came he rode into a thicket and lay there all day for he dared not risk traveling while it was light I 1 and n d being discovered by some keen eyed indian scout that night he reached fort reno commanded by col H W of the eighteenth infantry who had recently taken charge of that post after a hasty meal and a brief rest at reno phillips set out on the longest part of the journey but presumably least dangerous so far as indian attack was concerned but before he reached horseshoe creek telegraph station he was pursued by a band of indians indian mounted on ponies thanks to the speed of colonel ons thoroughbred howver however e phillips was able to outdistance them and gain a high hill where he prepared to make a last stand but the savages had rl no st stomach om for charging up the hill and did not attack all through the night the courier stood at bay there keeping a constant lookout look out against attack and r ready eady to mount and ride for his life if necessary at the first streak of dawn he made a run lor for it and reached horseshoe creek station a short time before it was attacked and burned by the indians there he gave the telegraph operator dispatches one to the commander at fort laramie and one to the department commander at omaha which had entrusted to him at reno but according to mrs barring tons book the operator at horseshoe creek station was unwilling to risk so long a dispatch as that of colonel carrington so phillips pressed on with his dispatch reaching fort laramie at 11 with icicles hanging from his clothing and both beard ao and hair matted with snow and ice he delivered the dispatch and relieved of that responsibility he fell exhausted and unconscious 11 when he be was revived he learned that the message from the telegraph station at horseshoe creek had reached laramie at two that afternoon and preparations were already under way to send reinforcements to phil kearney Kc arney it was a sad christmas day at that that post for it was devoted to the burial of the victims of the disaster on OB december 21 and in the days that followed there was the ever present fear that the indians might attack and that barring tons decimated garrison might not be able to repulse the savage assault would the attack come collie before reinforcements from laramie arrived that is it if indeed reinforcements were on the way for there was no way of kno knowing wing wh whether ether or not phillips had reached his apal that he might not have was a specter which haunted the minds of every man woman and child in phil kearney during the next week new years day came and passed and still no word from laramie then chronicles pran fran ces C carrington one day there was a sudden almost a tumultuous hurrying out of quarters with excitement and bustle as intense as if we were called to arms against an advancing foe first the pilot hill picket and then the sentry before headquarters and the lookout on the headquarters tower announced the unmistakable appearance pe arance of troops five miles distant the bugle call and the long roll were never more gladly echoed in hearts our spontaneous cry was open wide the gat gates ca and d admit our deliverers we hardly had patience to don p protective ro outer garments because of the glow of our quickened lood blood and our common outbreak ot of joy was simply at last I 1 at lasu we are saved we are saved 1 philil philips Ps was saved 1 sayed saved for us I 1 the story of the subsequent career of phillips is an all too familiar story of the proverbial ingratitude of republics toward men who have served them well in the years that followed his kierol heroic c ride he was employed in various capacities around the frontier posts iq in wyoming but 1 he was continual ly hunted and harassed by the sioux who looked upon him as the man who had prevented th their following up their victory over fetterman by destroying the whole garrison at fort phil kearney they drove off or killed his cattle and when he tried to get com compensation sensation pensa tion from the government for his losses the court 0 of claims gave him a judge judgment ent for the sum of 2210 then it was discovered that phillips born bom of portuguese parents on the pacific coast a naturalized citizen of the united states at the time of the ind indian ian depredations on his hie property so the claim was not allo allowed wedi 1 later he became a naturalized citizen but still the claim was not paid broken in health by the exposure and strain of his perilous ride and his treatment at the hands of the revengeful indians phillips died in cheyenne november 18 1883 at the age of 51 leaving a widow and a child in straightened circumstances it was not until 33 years later that the government took official rec recognition on of his heroic ride in 1899 senator F E warren and congressman F W mondell of wyoming aided by affidavits provided by carrington now a brig a dier adier general and mrs carrington his second wife succeeded in obtaining the sum of for mrs phillips in partial recognition of her husbands services in 1866 and his losses at the hands of the indians 9 e r J 1 fj liJA iLiS monument to Port ngee ll phillips near the site of fort phil kearney Kea raey among the tributes that have been paid to phillips is this poem written by griff crawford and printed in the kansas city times on march 3 1028 1929 IM RIDIN fon FOH im goin to laramie down the divide A headon for laramie laralle goin to ride the trail as I 1 find it and gaugin the breath that blows from the big horn a with death im hopin for luck when im haidn it through the brakes that are hadin the clan of el the sioux waltin out arut there in the coulees coultes cou lees I 1 know but its s death it I 1 stay and a chance if 1 I go so heres a goody bye to t the bards at my side im bryin for laralle dowa the divide im tryla tor for laramie Laram lc no one can tell the cunnin that lurks to in the minions 0 ol 01 f hell that wait lust just beyond where the writ spent bullets fall fail nor measure the storm that is king over all all with its cold bitin sting and the drifts kayin deep and the wild darivin wind that comes down with a sweep im knowin 0 win the trail will be long at the best im knowin the risk and im talan the test and hopin and brayla that guide me straight into Lar laralle arnie down dowa the divide im tryan tor for laramie crawlin crawl ln it tamn through the scalp ralson batsin ring and im boolin the sioux im free zin ln a bit but im warmer inside and soon ill be out where ru FU chance it and ride the wind has a sting and the goin la is rough but rm out and away and my broncho Is tough the trail may be long but its worth it to t know I 1 am fight figh tin ln the miles and im beckw the snow for help and rm brinnin grinnin grin nin fr for makin it through that circle of leathand deat hand im the sioux rm im aldin lor for La Laram ramiel lel somehow the creep of cold in my reins wants to put me aie to te sleep and the hours and the days and the weeks and the years and the drummon drumm ln that soun ds eke a knell in my ears and the eyelids froze to my cheeks sorts sorta seem like a antom dream phantom of night or the hen hell of rm fre ta I 1 know knew but r im rift it out from kearney to t laralle owayon abut about rd id grin if I 1 could tor for im haidn it through from kearney earney to laramie boolin the UX were here little hoss and our journey ts is done the angles ongles bugles are am bingin weve were made it and woo the sting tat that Is bilan my biesh count im watch tn tit the he soldiers old lera atte wd as s they mount A beadia for r kearney rd ra cry it I 1 could heafy tor for kearney I 1 knew that they would id like to be riden the ice fee belted pelted track ack be for or kearney a leaden them book and wat batchin watch chin ln the fight as a beatin it through that hair liftin circle and the th sioux |
