I was not allowed to ride Fair One when we left the Bear Paws in the morning, but was relegated to one of the army ambulances. Colonel Miles couldn’t fathom why I wanted a reminder of my cruel treatment at the hands of my captors, and nearly ordered the animal shot. I raised such a commotion that he feared I would do myself an injury if I didn’t have my way. His patience with me was wearing thin, but I know General Howard had given him a letter from my father, saying that Muskrat Watkins was to see me safely to Omaha. Somehow that old reprobate Watkins convinced Miles that Fair One was part of the deal. For that, I will be forever grateful to him.

We were ten days traveling from the Bear Paws to the Tongue River. Most of the Nez Perce came, too, but I was not permitted to get near any of them. I rode with my head down mostly, amazed at how endlessly it was possible for my heart to break any more. It rained and snowed and we were all in perfect misery, At least there was food.

Finally, Colonel Miles forced me to ride in one of the ambulances. I helped the two doctors as much as I could, and Muskrat rode Fair One. The surgeons were kind to me, but I avoided the other officers and their knowing glances. I had spent six weeks with the Indians, and I was worse than dirt to them. The inference was cruel and unfair, but Elizabeth Ann Everett, the new and improved Elizabeth Ann Everett, wasn’t about to pick that fight. I knew I would have to get used to my shredded reputation; might as well begin now.

At Tongue River Cantonment, some of the sergeants’ wives were kind. I ended up with white women’s clothes again, an item here and an item there. Nothing fit, because I had lost so much weight during my “captivity” – they never called it anything else – that everything hung in a straight line from shoulders to toes. I had a suntan that would have looked more appropriate on a railroad section hand, and the hollows in my cheeks almost caved in my face.

The officers’ wives were less charitable. One lady assured me that if I would come to Jesus, my sins and the stain of my incessant ravishings by heathen captors would wash away in the blood of the Lamb. I couldn’t really follow the logic, but knew better than to argue the matter. They were convinced.