By MIKE CORN

mcorn@dailynews.net

A small garrison of soldiers has returned to Historic Fort Hays, nearly 150 years after skirmishes with the Indians ceased and the outpost abandoned.

The soldiers don't move much, but they're there just the same, watching over the four original buildings that remain, as well as a newly refurbished visitor's center.

Of course, the fort inhabitants are little more than quarter-inch thick plates of steel, silhouettes of solders, the quartermaster, post surgeon and even an officer's wife and child.

The silhouettes were installed Wednesday, anchored into the ground with concrete.

"We'll anchor them down so they don't blow over," said Terry Marmet, director of historic sites for the Kansas State Historical Society. "So they don't get ripped over by the next wind storm that comes through."

A freak storm on Aug. 23 ripped off much of the roof of the visitor's center, downing a tree and overturning an outhouse. The loss of the roof, however, was the most troublesome, as some water leaked into the newly refurbished center.

The contractor returned to the site Tuesday to see what could be done to fix the water stains.

As it turns out, most of the stains are cosmetic, but in a few spots, the drywall will have to be removed and replaced.

"We were so lucky on the roof," site administrator Bob Wilhelm said.

The makeover of the fort is all part of a $300,000 overhaul that will meld the old in with the new, and enhance the presence of the enlisted soldiers who once were garrisoned at the fort.

It's an upgrade that is touching nearly every facet of Historic Fort Hays, save for the officer's quarters.

All told, 14 metal cutouts -- the silhouettes of people who inhabited the fort nearly 150 years ago -- have been strategically placed around the grounds.

The surgeon is near the fort hospital, while the quartermaster is near the wagon. Four solders and an officer are on the parade grounds, while the officer's wife and child are near the officer's quarters.

As Marmet and Wilhelm readied the bases for the metal silhouettes, other historical society personnel prepared mannequins, including likenesses of the controversial George Armstrong Custer and Cheyenne Indian Chief Black Kettle, both of which will go in the visitor's center.

"They're going to get two viewpoints," Wilhelm said of Custer and Black Kettle display.

"I think it will be exiting to have Custer out here," Marmet said.

Wilhelm agreed that Custer was a controversial figure.

"Everyone out here has an opinion on him," Wilhelm said.

A likeness of the famed buffalo soldiers, who were stationed at Fort Hays, will be in the guardhouse.

All told, eight full mannequins will be in place, said Theresa Jenkins, along with two torsos that will show different types of uniforms.

On the guardhouse porch, a life-size fiberglass figure will be "sitting on a crate with his arm on a barrel," she said, all in living color.

"The whole idea is to draw people down there," Marmet said.

The project is on track to be completed in time for a grand reopening set for Sept. 24 and 25.