“Oh, dear!” Ludlow exclaimed, shocked at both the embarrassment of the situation and his first sight of a woman’s private parts. “I am so sorry, madam, please forgive me!”
The young man turned away and walked rapidly toward his tent with a red face. As he stepped around the corner, he almost stumbled over another Indian woman, sitting down and leaning against his tent. She had fully opened the top of her calico dress, exposing her breasts as she nursed her baby in the shade. She merely looked up at him slightly annoyed, making no move to cover herself.
“Goodness!” Ludlow said. He quickly turned around and raced toward the other side.
“Hey!” a feminine voice shrilled.
Ludlow spun around again, and saw the woman who had been using the outhouse. She pointed to it to let him know it was free, then she went on her way.
Ludlow stopped, taking a deep breath to steady himself. “I must become very adaptable,” he declared aloud. “This is going to be a most important requirement if I am to succeed here.”
But he had to admit to himself that if this was just the start of his service with the U.S. Scouts, there obviously existed the chance of many more disturbing incidents. And, if Captain Hawkins was speaking the truth, that would not exclude situations that were extremely hazardous as well.
Chapter Six
At department headquarters in Fort Sill, Major Edward Whitaker the adjutant general was in a solemn conference with the inspector general Major Thomas Johnston. This meeting in Major Whitaker’s office was the result of an official letter that had come through the military mail from Colonel John Bennington the commanding officer at Fort Lone Wolf, Indian Territory. It was a strongly worded missive that recommended the immediate cashiering of Captain Mack Hawkins from the United States Army with extreme prejudice.
The correspondence also contained a scathing accusation in regards to Miss Kristina Halverson who taught school at the Kiowa-Comanche Agency. Colonel Bennington’s wife, in a special disposition, portrayed the young woman as immoral, promiscuous and not worthy as a teacher. She further stated that Miss Halverson and Hawkins were engaged in lascivious, debauched conduct together. An attached affidavit from Elmer Jordon the agent for the Kiowas and Comanches backed up her accusations.
The adjutant general perused the documents for the second time, then laid them down on his desk. “There is no doubt that Captain Hawkins has a reputation for wild behavior.”
Major Johnston nodded his agreement. “There’s still hell to pay about him burning down a portion of the town of Clayville, Oklahoma Territory. The territorial government has gotten into the mess and they’re not only demanding full payment for damages, they want the officer-in-charge punished.”
“The Army has made a counter-charge,” the adjutant reminded him. “It would seem the certain citizens of the town were harboring three known deserters. But that is a separate matter altogether.”
“What is Hawkins doing now?” Johnston asked.
“He’s been banished to the U.S. Scouts. A detachment has been activated at Fort Lone Wolf. I counter-signed the order myself.”
“Oh, hell!” Johnston said, irritated. “I guess I’m going to have to go over there and investigate this case.” He indicated Bennington’s letter in the adjutant general’s hands. “It would seem the colonel has a damn good case against Hawkins.”
“Let’s consider Miss Halverson,” Major Whitaker said. “You’ll have to examine her behavior as well since she’s involved in indecent conduct with an army officer.”
“Yes,” Johnston agreed. “If what Mrs. Bennington and Agent Jordon say about her is true, we’ll have to send a report to the Department of the Interior.” He stood up. “Well, all the first lieutenants should be rejoicing about this sad situation. When the captain is cashiered, there’ll be an opening for promotion.”
He left the office to pack for the trip across the prairie.
~*~
During the two weeks that followed Ludlow Dooley’s arrival at the U.S. Scouts Detachment, the lieutenant and the Indians were heavily involved in the introduction to army life under Captain Mack Hawkins’s supervision.
Because of the lack of time, and the possibility of being quickly summoned to a mission, Mack Hawkins kept the pressure on his new command. But after maintaining a rigorous schedule that was made up of hard concentrated work and little rest, Hawkins finally gave everyone a breather from the ordeal. The captain realized that both the lieutenant and the Indians had reached the limit of their enthusiasm. They had begun to slow down and show a lack of interest. Even Sergeant Eagle Heart was surly at times.
Hawkins gave them all a day off from the drill but he had to get Ludlow Dooley fully prepared for duty as a scout officer. The captain took the young lieutenant over to the trading post to purchase a few items he would need that the Army didn’t provide. They had to use the agency store since the nearest post trader was over at Fort Sill.
The main things that Hawkins recommended Ludlow to purchase were canned fruits and vegetables. This was done to augment the dreary diet of hardtack and salt pork the detachment was forced to eat since the scouts hadn’t had the time to hunt fresh game. Hawkins also saw to it that Ludlow bought some civilian clothing suitable for wearing in the field.
The younger officer objected at first, fearing that wearing a mixture of military and civil garb would be against regulations. But Hawkins assured him the Indian-fighting Army had been doing exactly that out west since before the Civil War. Then, as in the 1890s, the quartermaster’s issue items didn’t meet all the demands of soldiering in the wilderness. Ludlow took his captain’s advice and purchased a pair of buckskin britches with a reinforced crotch, neck kerchiefs and a wide-brimmed hat.
The next item of business was a trip to go to Fort Lone Wolf to visit the post quartermaster stores so the recent West Point graduate could draw a complete set of field equipment, including compass, mess kit, rubberized poncho, haversack, canteen and other gear he would need during activate campaigning. Additionally Hawkins turned in a requisition for handcuffs and leg irons to be used as restraints for any potential prisoners arrested during scout missions.
With the business at the agency and garrison completed, Ludlow integrated the new clothing and equipment into his belongings. Then the lieutenant spent the rest of the day like Captain Hawkins; he relaxed on his bunk for a few hours.
But both officers were back at work early the next morning, renewing the training of their charges. It was important that the Indians became thoroughly acquainted with customs and traditions of the parade ground. While this wasn’t essential in their main job of pursuing their duties in the field, it was necessary for them to be able to march in parades. This would happen periodically when they were in the proximity of regular troops or temporarily assigned to a conventional army garrison.
Mack Hawkins realized the importance of the Indians making a good appearance at such times. He had recognized from the start that the U.S. Scouts would be facing prejudicial attitudes because of being former enemies. The detachment was also a bastard unit that really didn’t belong to anyone except the department commander who was at Fort Sill.
For those reasons, and the fact it built a spirit of teamwork and cooperation, Captain Mack Hawkins continued his training program, taking the Indians from the intricacies of dismounted drill to the more demanding discipline of doing the activity on horseback.
The Indians, all expert riders, caught on quickly and learned to respond quickly and correctly to the commands. Although Ludlow already knew the proper procedures, he did not sit well in a saddle. On several occasions, the lieutenant and his horse parted company leaving the animal looking back at the rider who would scramble to his feet and beat the dust out of his britches before remounting. During one quick flanking movement, Ludlow went one way while his mount went in the opposite direction. The lieutenant slipped and made a futile grab for the animal’s neck before going to the dirt once more.
“Anticip
ate the horse’s movements,” Hawkins counseled him while the Indians grinned in amusement.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Ludlow Dooley said. “It’s like I told you when I first arrived. I am not an expert horseman and I had a terrible time in the riding hall at West Point.”
“Mr. Dooley, riding a horse out here isn’t for sport or to meet some requirement of the regulations. Your life is gonna depend on you being able to stick to that saddle like shit to a blanket.”
“Yes, sir,” Ludlow said remounting. The analogy confused him somewhat, but he got the point. “I’ll do my best.”
That same afternoon the detachment began practicing galloping movements, including the classic charge. The scouts enjoyed this, whooping and hollering as they counted coup by slapping imaginary enemies. Ludlow, on the other hand, had two more painful falls during the session. When the training finally ended and they took the horses back to the corral, he could barely walk. He did his best to hide the physical discomfort, but the acute aches he felt did not escape the attention of Captain Hawkins or the Indians.
Sergeant Eagle Heart noticed the young lieutenant trying to walk to his tent without limping. He turned to Mack Hawkins and said, “Him small man outside. More big inside.”
“We’ll see,” Hawkins said. “He’s got to last.” The captain left the Kiowa sergeant to join his fellow officer for their evening meal.
Because the U.S. Scout bivouac was outside the regular garrison area of Fort Lone Wolf, the two officers had no facilities for messing. Although any game killed by the Indians was shared by all, the preparation and serving of the food was different. The scouts simply went to their lodges and enjoyed the meals cooked by their numerous wives. Hawkins and Ludlow, without enlisted orderlies, had to fend for themselves. That meant preparing their own rations of hardtack crackers and salt pork, and coffee. The canned goods from the trading store had only required opening. Because it was the warm part of the year, the officers took their meals together at a field table in front of Hawkins’s tent.
Once more the young second lieutenant had a lot to learn. Mack Hawkins taught him how to boil the brick-like hardtack in coffee to soften it into a glutinous mass. The pork, stuck on the end of a stick, was roasted over an open fire.
“Cooking for one’s self is something else they failed to teach us at West Point,” Ludlow Dooley said.
“That’s too bad,” Hawkins commented. He spooned some hardtack from his coffee and took a bite. After a couple of chews, he asked, “Didn’t you cadets ever go into the field?”
“Oh, yes, indeed,” Ludlow said. “Just like you and I are doing now.”
“Lieutenant Dooley,” Hawkins said, “We aren’t in the field yet.”
“We’re not?” Ludlow asked, looking around. “I certainly assumed we were.”
Hawkins grinned. “Did you think there were nice comfortable quarters somewhere waiting for us?”
Ludlow’s face reddened. “Well, sir, I guess I did. I thought we would eventually be going to officers’ quarters at Fort Lone Wolf.”
“You are in the official U.S. Scout garrison, Mr. Dooley,” Mack Hawkins said. “Enjoy these canvas quarters while you can. It’ll be a cold day in hell before we get permanent buildings.”
“But, sir, there are no cold days in—” He stopped speaking, then said, “Oh! I see what you mean. But aren’t we going to take these tents with us when we leave here to go on missions?”
“Nope,” Hawkins replied. “We’re gonna be rolling up in blankets and sleep on the ground with our saddles for pillows. If it rains, we’ll put those rubberized ponchos over on top of us.”
“Like wild Indians, huh?”
“Exactly like wild Indians, Mr. Dooley. Get used to it.”
“Yes, sir.”
~*~
A few days later, Captain Mack Hawkins had some good news for Lieutenant Ludlow Dooley. It was mid-morning when Hawkins interrupted training to speak to the young officer. “Well, Mr. Dooley, something very nice has occurred that will please both of us.”
Ludlow, just completing another practice charge, climbed wearily down from his saddle. “Yes, sir?”
“One of the Indian boys attending the agency school came over earlier this morning with a note from his teacher.”
“I don’t understand, sir.”
“The teacher Miss Halverson is a friend of mine,” Hawkins explained. “I told her about you being assigned to the scouts. She has invited us over to her house for supper this evening. I accepted for both of us.”
Ludlow was pleased. “That’s very nice. Will it be a formal affair?”
“I assure you it will be most informal, Lieutenant. Duty uniforms will suffice, but without buckskin britches, of course. But you may wear that new wide-brimmed hat, if you wish.”
“I feel a forage cap will be more acceptable,” Ludlow said. “Is there any place I might purchase flowers for our hostess?”
“I’m afraid not, Mr. Dooley, but if you take a walk out on the prairie you’ll find a variety of wild flowers that should suffice. You’ll have ample time to attend to that at the end of today’s training. You could even go over to the agency store and buy a red ribbon to put around your bouquet.”
“I shall do exactly that,” Ludlow said happily.
Chapter Seven
It was early evening when Captain Mack Hawkins and Lieutenant Ludlow Dooley reined up in front of Miss Halverson’s front porch. After tying their horses to the hitching rack, they went up the steps to the front door. Ludlow nervously removed his forage cap with his free hand. In the other was a bouquet of bluebonnet flowers tied with a red ribbon.
Kristina opened the door for the two officers, and they stepped into her parlor. Hawkins nodded toward Ludlow. “Kristina, I would like to introduce you to Lieutenant Ludlow Dooley, my newly arrived second-in-command. Mr. Dooley, this is my friend Miss Kristina Halverson who is the teacher at the agency school.”
“How do you do, Miss Halverson,” Dooley said, immediately developing a crush on her. “I took the liberty of buying you some flowers—I mean picking you some flowers.” He thrust them toward her. “They’re for you.”
Kristina was pleased. “Why how very nice of you, Mr. Dooley. And tied up with a red ribbon. Thank you! I’m going to put them in the kitchen. They’ll add a touch of elegance to our supper.”
She led the pair into the kitchen and went to the cabinet, retrieving a mason jar. After filling it with water, she put the flowers in it and set the bouquet on the table. “Now we have a nice centerpiece,” she said. “Thank you again, Mr. Dooley.”
“You’re quite welcome, Miss Halverson.”
“You two sit down while I get things ready to serve,” Kristina said. She took the headgear they held in their hands and hung them on pegs in the wall as the officers sat at the table. She smiled at Ludlow. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you wine, Mr. Dooley. Alcohol isn’t considered appropriate in the home of a schoolteacher by some people.”
“Yeah,” Hawkins said. “Especially if some people are named Mrs. Colonel Bennington.”
“I’m afraid there’s not much we can do about her,” Kristina said. “I hope you both brought appetites with you. I have some crappies that were caught by a couple of the boys in my class when they went fishing yesterday. And some squash grown by the Indian ladies in their gardens.”
Hawkins glanced at Ludlow. “The squash is something the Kiowa and Comanches used to trade for from the Wichita Indians. The nomadic hunters didn’t know how to grow crops of any sort, so they traded meat for them. But now that the women here at the agency have learned how to plant and harvest, they included squash in their farming.”
Kristina began to set platters of food on the table. “I’m including some Norwegian dishes too, so we’ll have quite a cultural mix to eat this evening.” She pointed to a plate that held something similar to pancakes. “That’s lefsa. It is made from flour and potatoes. It’s eaten with butter, and you can sprinkle it with sugar for sweetnes
s as well.”
“It looks quite tasty,” Ludlow remarked.
“And for dessert, we’ll have some krumkakke. Those are wafers rolled into cones. The word krumkakke means ‘curved cake’ in Norwegian. And my mother sent me some chokeberry preserves, that you can spoon inside the cakes.”
She joined them at the table, and the platters were passed around. Hawkins, used to Kristina’s natural generosity, heaped his plate with food while Ludlow took a lot less. He was curious about the lefsa, and spread a piece with butter. After sprinkling sugar on it, he took a bite. It was delicious.
Kristina watched them eat, pleased to see they were enjoying the food. She glanced over at Ludlow. “Where are you from, Mr. Dooley?”
“New York City.”
“My!” Kristina exclaimed. “New York City! How exciting!”
Hawkins looked up. “I’ve learned that Mr. Dooley has known wealth and privilege in his growing up. His father is president of a rather large bank, is he not, Mr. Dooley?”
“It’s the Merchants and Investors Bank,” Ludlow said. “I fear my father is quite disappointed that I chose the Army for a profession rather than finance.”
“That’s interesting,” Kristina said. “I’m from humble beginnings myself. I was raised on a farm in Minnesota. My parents came here from Norway with my brothers before I was born.”
Ludlow had never met anyone with an immigrant background other than servants in his family home; and they were mostly Irish. “What made you choose the profession of schoolteacher, Miss Halverson?”
“I’ve always liked school,” Kristina explained. “When the pastor of my church offered to loan me the money to go to college, I decided to teach school when I graduated.”
“You’re being very modest, Kristina,” Hawkins said. “The preacher helped you because you were an extremely bright student.”
Ludlow was amazed. “You went to college, Miss Halverson? Do you have a degree?”
Crossed Arrows (A Long-Knives Western Book 1) Page 6