“Yes, thank you. Fred, we have a request that has been approved by General Colby to send troops to the Big Horn Basin in Wyoming Territory. I’m going to ask you to respond to the request with elements of the Ninth Cavalry. And I will leave it to you to decide what the troop makeup would be.”
“What, exactly, is the problem?” Benteen asked.
“The request came from a man named Joe Cravens, who is the mayor of DeMaris Springs.”
“DeMaris Springs? You mean where the hot springs are? I thought that was a geographical location, I had no idea there was a town there.”
“It isn’t on any map that we have, and I’m not certain that it has ever actually been incorporated as a town. However, there are, as I understand, in excess of three hundred people living there, most of them employed in one way or another by Pierre Bellefontaine.”
“So then the man calling the shots will be this man, Bellefontaine, not Mayor Cravens,” Benteen said.
“That would be my guess,” Whitehead agreed.
“How will Bellefontaine feel about my colored troops?”
“What is there to feel?” Whitehead asked. “Bellefontaine wants soldiers there to protect him; your soldiers will be doing that. If he doesn’t like it, tell him to protect himself.”
Benteen chuckled. “Good idea. Who are the Indians I’ll be dealing with? Brule? Sans Arc? Cheyenne?”
“Crow.”
“Crow?” Benteen said. “Are you serious?”
“The Crow have a reservation just east of Yellowstone Park on the Meeteetsee River,” Whitehead said. “And the complaint is that they have been killing the prospectors and raiding homesteaders.”
“But the Crow have long been our allies,” Benteen said. “Curly, White Man Runs Him, Half Yellow Face, White Swan, Bloody Knife, they were all with us at Little Big Horn. They were Crow. What would make the Crow go on the warpath against the white man now?”
“Fred, you know Indians better than I do. In fact, I would say that right now, you are probably the most experienced officer in the army as far as Indian fighting is concerned. You know better than anyone how they get caught up in their cults and rituals. General Colby thinks it is this Spirit Talking that has them all riled up.”
“He may be right,” Benteen said. “I’ll get my men ready.”
“How many companies will you be taking?”
“I think two will be enough,” Benteen said. “I can’t believe that the entire Crow nation is involved. If it is related to the Spirit Talking, it is more than likely going to be just handful of trouble makers.”
After his meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Whitehead, Benteen walked across the parade grounds to the supply room. When he stepped inside he saw Sergeant Major Moses Coletrain taking an inventory.
“Sergeant Major Coletrain,” Benteen said.
Coletrain came to attention. “Yes, sir?”
“How are you doing with the inventory?”
“I’m doing very well, sir, thank you. I’m just about concluded.”
“Are we missing anything?”
“Not exactly, sir.”
“Not exactly? What does that mean?”
“The major might remember that we were ordered to turn in some rifles, carbines, and pistols,” Coletrain said. “I had them all packed, ready to go out, but Sergeant Depro shipped them instead. So far, I still haven’t gotten a receipt from Jefferson Barracks saying they arrived, and until I do, I can’t close my property book on them.”
“I do remember that,” Benteen said. “Not to worry, Sergeant. If something has happened to the weapons, I will see to it that it will be Depro’s fault, not yours.” Benteen looked around the supply room. “Where is Sergeant Depro, anyway?”
“He took a one-week furlough,” Coletrain said.
“One week? As I understand it, he is from Ohio. He can’t get to Ohio and back in one week. Where did he go?”
“He didn’t tell me, sir.”
“Well, he isn’t my problem,” Benteen said. “The reason I came over, Sergeant, is because we have been ordered to the field. I am going to take two troops of the Ninth. What I want you to do is get our equipment together for the march.”
“Yes, sir. Any idea how long you will be gone, sir?”
“I have no idea, how long we will be gone,” Benteen said. “We are going up into the Big Horn Basin. And it isn’t just an expedition. There is a very strong possibility that we may expect some fighting,” Benteen said. “So I will want 100 rounds of carbine ammunition and 24 rounds of pistol ammunition per man.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll get right on it,” Coletrain replied.
“Oh, and Sergeant, since we will have only two companies going, I am going to leave Sergeant Major Wilder here at the post. That means I will need an acting Sergeant Major. I would like you to fill that position.”
“Yes, sir!” Coletrain replied proudly.
