The black man carried his money, his sword and pistols. At
any moment, day or night, he could have stepped from the door into the
wilderness and been free. He was free. He loved the man he served. With
tireless patience and tenderness, he nursed him back from the shadows of
death into life again.
On recovering from this illness, the Lieutenant faced a new commander at
the head of his regiment--a man destined to set in motion the greatest
event of his life.
Colonel Zachary Taylor had been promoted to the command of the First
Infantry on the death of Colonel Morgan. Already he had earned the title
that would become the slogan of his followers in the campaign which made
him President. "Old Rough and Ready" at this time was in the prime of
his vigorous manhood.
Colonel Taylor sent the Lieutenant on an ugly, important mission.
Four hundred pioneers had taken possession of the lead mines at Dubuque
against the protest of the Indians whose rights had been ignored. The
Lieutenant and fifty men were commissioned to eject the miners. To a
man, they were heavily armed. They believed they were being cheated of
their rights of discovery by the red tape of governmental interference.
They had sworn to resist any effort to drive them out of these mines.
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