 Chapter 15 Part 1 of My Life on the Plains. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Before proceeding to narrate the incidents of the pursuit which led us to the Battle of the Washita, I will refer to the completion of our hasty preparations to detach ourselves from the incomparance of our immense wagon-train. In the last chapter it had been seen that the train was to be left behind under the protection of an officer and eighty cavalrymen, with orders to push after us, following our trail in the snow as rapidly as the teams could move. Where or when it would again join us, no one could foretell. In all probability, however, not until the pursuit had terminated, and we had met and vanquished our savage foes, or had been defeated by them. Under existing orders the guard for the protection of our train was each day under the command of the officer of the day, the tour of duty and the latter continuing twenty-four hours beginning in the morning. On that day the duties of officer of the day fell in regular routine upon Captain Lewis McLean Hamilton, a grandson of Alexander Hamilton. Of course this detail would require him to remain behind with the train, while his squadron, one of the finest in the command, would move forward to battle under charge of another. To a soldier of Hamilton's pride and ambition to be left behind in this inglorious manner was galling in the extreme. He foresaw this situation at once, and the moment that intelligence of the proposed movement reached him, he came galloping up from the rear in search of me. I was busily engaged at the time, superintending the hurried arrangements for commencing a pursuit. Coming up to me with a continence depicting the most earnest anxiety, his first words were to frame an inquiry as to whether I intended him to remain behind. Fully appreciating his anxious desire to share with his comrades the perils of the approaching conflict, and yet unable to substitute without injustice another officer for him, unless with the consent of the former, I could not give him the encouragement he desired. The moment that the plans for the pursuit were being formed, I remembered that the accidents of service were to deprive the pursuing column of the presence and aid of one whose assistance in such an emergency could always be confidently relied upon. Some of his brother-officers had bethought themselves of the same, and at once came to me with a remark that we ought to have Hamilton with us. My only reply was that while my desires were all one way, my duty prescribed that Hamilton should remain with the guard and train, and it being his detail, and it also being necessary that some officer should remain upon this important duty. I answered his repeated request that while I desired him in the command of his squadron, particularly then of all times, I was powerless to have it so without being unjust to some other officer. While forced to admit this to be true, he added, it seems hard that I must remain. Finally I said to him that all I could do would be to allow him to get some other officer to willingly take his place with the train, adding that some officer might be found in the command who, from in disposition of other causes, did not feel able to undertake rapid and tiresome pursuit such as we would probably have, and under such circumstances I would gladly order the change. He had once departed in search of some one who would assume his duties, with the train and leave him free to resume his post at the head of his splendid squadron, that squadron, in whose organization and equipment he had displayed such energy and forethought, and whose superior excellence he had efficiency long bore the impress of his hand. I am thus minute in detailing these circumstances affecting the transfer of Captain Hamilton from one duty to another, as the set sequel will show how intimately connected the destiny of one of the parties was with the slight matter of this change. Hamilton had been absent but a few minutes when he returned over flowing with joy and remarked that an officer had been found who consented to take his place. Ending with the question, shall I join my squadron? To this I gladly assented and he galloped to another part of the field where his men were to hasten and super intend their preparations for the coming struggle. The officer who had consented to take Hamilton's place with the train had that day been affected with a partial snow blindness and felt himself disqualified and unable to join in the pursuit, and it was exceedingly proper for him under the circumstances to agree to the proposed change. During all this time, Elliot, with his three companies of cavalry, was following hard and fast upon the trail left by the Indians in the deep snow, by being informed as we were of the direction in which the trail was leading, and that direction being favorable to our position, the main command by moving due south would strike the trail of the Indians, and Elliot also, at some point not far in the rear, perhaps of Elliot's party. Everything being in readiness to set out at the expiration of the allotted twenty minutes, the advance was sounded, and the pursuit on our part began. Our route carried us across the broad open plains, the snow over a foot in depth, with surface of course unbroken. This rendered it exceedingly fatiguing to the horses moving in the advance, and changes were frequently rendered necessary. The weather which, during the past few days, had been so bitterly cold, moderated on that day sufficiently to melt the upper surface of the snow. After leaving the wagon train, we continued our march rapidly during the remaining hours of the four noon and until the middle of the afternoon. Still, no tidings from Elliot's party nor any sign of a trail. No halt was made during the day, either for rest or refreshment. Toward evening we began to feel anxious concerning Elliot's detachment. Could it be that the Indians had discovered that they were being pursued, and had broken up into smaller parties, or changed the direction of their trail? If so, could Elliot's messengers reach us in time to make the information valuable to us? We had hurried along our interest increasing with each mile passed over, until the sun was not more than one hour high above the western horizon, and still strain our eyes as we would and scan the white surface of the plains in every direction. In our front the snow seemed unbroken and undisturbed as far as the eye could reach. Our scouts and Indian guides were kept far out in the front on the proper flank to discover if possible the trail. At last one of the scouts gave us a signal that the trail had been discovered, and in a few moments the command had reached it, and we were now moving with lighter and less anxious hearts. After studying the trail, our Osage warriors informed us that the Indians whose trails we were pursuing were undoubtedly a war-party, and had certainly passed where we were then during the forenoon. This was encouraging, and a free rain was given to our horses as we hastened along through the snow. The object now was to overtake, as soon as practicable, the party of Elliot, which from the heavy trail we could see was in advance of us. The almost level and unbroken character of the country enabled us to see for miles in all directions, and in this way we knew that Elliot must be many miles ahead of our party. At the same time I could see that we were gradually descending into a valley, probably of some stream, and far in advance appeared the dim outline of timber, such as usually fringes the banks of many western streams. Selecting a few well-mounted troopers and some of the scouts, I directed them to set out at a moderate gallop, to overtake Elliot, with orders of the latter to halt at the first favorable point, where wood and water could be obtained, and await our arrival, informing him at the same time that after allowing the men an hour to prepare a cup of coffee and to feed the rest of the horses, it was my intention to continue the pursuit during the night, a measure to which I felt urged by the slight thawing of the snow that day, which might result in our failure if we permitted the Indians to evade us until the snow had disappeared. Satisfied now that we were on the right course, our anxiety lessened, but our interest increased. Soon after dark we reached the valley whose timbered surface we had caught faint glimpses of hours before. Down this valley and through this sparse timber the trail led us. Hour after hour we struggled on, hoping to overtake the three troops in advance, for hunger, unappeased since before daylight began to assert its demands in the strongest terms. Our faithful horses were likewise in great need of both food and water, as well as rest, as neither had been offered them since four o'clock in the morning. So far had Elliot pushed his pursuit that our scouts were a long time in reaching them, and it was nine o'clock at night when the main command arrived at the point where he and his three troops were found halted. A stream of good water with comparatively deep banks ran nearby, while the valley at this point was quite heavily timbered. To enable the men to prepare a cup of coffee and at the same time give us no evidence of our presence to the Indians, who, for all we knew, might not be far from us. Advantage was taken of the deep banks of the Creck, and by building small fires down under the edge of the bank they were prevented from being seen, except at a small distance. At the same time the horses were relieved of their saddles and unbidded, and a good feed of oats distributed to each. Officers and men were glad to partake in the same quality of simple fare that night, consisting only of a most welcome and refreshing cup of good strong coffee and a handful of army crackers, hard tack. By waiting an hour we not only gained by rest and refreshment, but the light of the moon would then probably be sufficient to guide us on our night ride. When the hour had nearly expired we began our preparations in the most quiet manner, to resume the pursuit. No bugle calls were permitted, as in this peculiar country sound travels a long distance and we knew not but that our wily foes were located nearby. Before starting I conferred with our Indian allies, all of whom were firmly convinced that our enemy's village was probably not far away, and most likely was in the valley in which we then were, as the trail for some miles had let us down the stream on whose banks we halted. Little Beaver, who acted as spokesman for the Osage, seemed confident that we could overtake and surprise the Indians we had been pursuing, and most probably follow them direct to their village, but much to my surprise Little Beaver strongly advised that we delay further pursuit until daylight, remaining concealed in the timber as we were at the time. When as for his reasons for favoring such a course he could give none of a satisfactory nature. I then concluded that his disinclination to continue pursuit that night arose from the natural reluctance shared by all Indians to attack an unseen foe, whether concealed by darkness or other natural or artificial means of shelter. Indians rarely attack between the hours of dark and daylight, although their stealthy movements through the country, either in search of an enemy or when attempting to elude them, are often executed under cover of night. As soon as each troop was in readiness to resume the pursuit, the troop commander reported the fact at headquarters. Ten o'clock came and found us in our saddles. Silently the command stretched out its long length as the troopers filed off for abreast. First came two of our Osage scouts on foot. Those were to follow the trail and lead the command. They were our guides, and the panther creeping upon its prey could not have advanced more cautiously or quietly than did these friendly Indians, as they seemed to glide rather than walk over the snow-clad surface, to prevent the possibility of the command coming precipitately upon our enemies. The two scouts were directed to keep three or four hundred yards in advance of all others. Then came in single file, the remainder of our Osage guides and the white scouts, among the rest, California Joe. With these I rode that I might be as near the advance guard as possible. The cavalry followed in the rear, at the distance of a quarter or half a mile. This precaution was necessary from the fact that the snow, which had thawed slightly during the day, was in freezing, forming a crust which, broken by the tread of so many hundreds of feet, produced a noise capable of being heard at a long distance. Orders were given prohibiting even a word being uttered above a whisper. No one was permitted to strike a match or light a pipe, but latter a great deprivation to the soldier. In this silent manner we rode mile after mile. Occasionally an officer would ride by my side and whisper some inquiry or suggestion. But aside from this our march was unbroken by sound or deed. At last we discovered that our two guides in front had halted and were awaiting my arrival. Word was quietly sent to halt the column, until inquiring the front could be made. Upon coming up with the two Osages we were furnished as an example of the wonderful and peculiar powers of the Indian. One of them could speak broken English, and in answer to my question as to what is the matter, he replied, Me don't know, but me smell fire. By this time several of the officers had quietly written up and upon being informed of the Osage's remark each endeavored by sniffing the air to verify or disprove the report. All united in saying that our guide was mistaken. Some said he was probably frightened, but we were unable to shake the confidence of the Osage warrior in his first opinion. I then directed him and his companion to advance even more cautiously than before, and the column keeping up the interval resumed its march. After proceeding about a half a mile perhaps further again our guide halted, and upon coming up with them I was greeted with a remark uttered in a whisper. Me told you so, and sure enough looking in the direction indicated were to be seen the embers of a wasted fire, scarcely handful, yet enough to prove that our guide was right, and to cause us to feel the greater confidence in him. The discovery of these few coals of fire produced almost breathless excitement. The distance from where we stood was from seventy-five to a hundred yards, not in the line of our march, but directly to our left in the edge of the timber. We knew at once that none but Indians, and they hostile, had built that fire. Where were they at that moment? Perhaps sleeping in the vicinity of the fire. It was almost certain to our minds that the Indians we had been pursuing were the builders of the fire. Were they still there in a sleep? We were too near already to attempt to withdraw undiscovered. Our only course was to determine the facts at once, and be prepared for the worst. I called for a few volunteers to quietly approach the fire and discover whether there were Indians in the vicinity. If not, to gather such information as was obtainable as to their numbers and departure. All the osages, and a few of the scouts quickly dismounted and with rifles and readiness and fingers on the triggers, silently made their way to the nearest point of the timber. Little beaver and hard rope leading the way. After they had disappeared in the timber, they still had to pass over more than half the distance before reaching the fire. These moments seemed like ours, and those of us who were left sitting on our horses in the open moonlight and within easy range from the spot where the fire was located, felt anything but comfortable during the suspense. If Indians as then seemed highly probable were sleeping around the fire, our scouts would arouse them and we would be in fair way to be picked off without being in a position to defend ourselves. The matter was soon determined. Our scouts soon arrived at the fire and discovered it to be deserted. Again did the skill and knowledge of our Indian allies come in play. Had they not been with us, we should undoubtedly had assumed that the Indians who had occasioned to build the fire, and those we were pursuing, constituted one party. From examining the fire and observing the great number of pony tracks in the snow, the Osages arrived at a different conclusion, and were convinced that we were then on the ground used by the Indians for grazing their herds of ponies. The fire had been kindled by the Indian boys who attended the herding to warm themselves by and in all probability we were then within two or three miles of the village. I will not endeavor to describe the renewed hope and excitement that sprang up. Again we set out, this time more cautiously if possible than before, the command and scouts moving at a greater distance in the rear. In order to judge the situation more correctly, I this time accompanied the two Osages. Silently we advanced, I mounted, day on foot, keeping at the head of my horse. Upon nearing the crest of each hill, as is invariably the Indian custom, one of the guides would hasten a few steps in advance and pure cautiously over the hill. A custom to this I was not struck by observing it until once when the same one who discovered the fire advanced cautiously to the crest and looked carefully into the valley beyond. I saw him place his hand above his eyes as if looking intently at some object, then crouched down and come creeping back to where I waited for him. What is it, I inquired as soon as he reached my horse's side. Heaps engines down there, pointing in the direction from which he had just come. Quickly dismounting and giving the reins to the other guide I accompanied the Osage to the crest, both of us crouching low so as not to be seen in the moonlight against the horizon. Looking in the direction indicated, I could instinctively recognize the presence of a large body of animals of some kind in the valley below, and at a distance which then seemed not more than half a mile. I looked at them long and anxiously, the guide uttering not a word, but was unable to discover anything in their appearance different from what might be presented by a herd of buffalo under similar circumstances. Turning to the Osage, I inquired in a low tone while he thought there were Indians there. May her dog bark, was the satisfactory reply. Indians are noted for the large number of dogs always found in their villages, but never accompanying their war parties. I waited quietly to be convinced. I was assured but wanted to be doubly so. It was rewarded in a moment by hearing the barking of a dog in the heavy timber off to the right of the herd, and soon after I heard the tingling of a small bell. This convinced me that it was really the Indian herd, I then saw, the bell being one worn around the neck of some pony who was probably the leader of the herd. I turned to retrace my steps when another sound was born to my ear through the cold, clear atmosphere of the valley. It was the distant cry of an infant, and savages, though they were, and justly outlawed by the number and atrocity of their recent murders and depredations on the helpless settlers of the frontier. I could not but regret that in a war such as we were forced to engage in, the mode and circumstances of battle would possibly prevent discrimination. Leaving the two osages to keep a careful look out, I hastened back until I met the main party of the scouts and osages. They were halted, and a message sent back to halt the cavalry, enjoining complete silence and directing every officer to ride to the point we then occupied. The hour was then past midnight. Soon they came, and after dismounting and collecting in a little circle, I informed them of what I had seen and heard, and in order that they might individually learn as much as possible of the character of the ground and location of the village, I proposed that all should remove their sabers, that the clanking might make no noise and proceed gently to the crest, and there obtain a view of the valley beyond. This was done. Not a word was spoken until we crouched together, and cast our eyes in the direction of the herd in village. In whispers, I briefly pointed out everything that was to be seen, and mentioned all to return to where they had left our sabers. Then, standing in a group upon the ground, or quest of snow, the plan of the attack was explained to all, and each assigned his post. The general plan was to employ the hours between then and daylight to completely surround the village, and a daybreak, or as soon as it was barely light enough for the purpose to attack the Indians from all sides. The command numbering, as had been stated, about eight hundred mounted men, was divided into four nearly equal detachments. Two of them sent out at once, as they had each to make a circuitous march of several miles in order to arrive at the points assigned them from which to make their attack. The third detachment moved its position about an hour before day, and until that time remained with the main and fourth column. This last, whose movements I accompanied, was to make the attack from the point from which we had first discovered the herd and village. Major Elliot commanded the column embracing G, H, and M troops, seventh cavalry, which moved around from our left to a position almost in rear of the village, while Colonel Thompson commanded the one consisting of B and F troops, which moved in a corresponding manner from our right to a position which was to connect with that of Major Elliot. Colonel Myers commanded the third column, comprised of E and I troops which was to take position in the valley and timber, a little less than a mile to my right. By this disposition it was hoped to prevent the escape of every inmate of the village. That portion of the command which I proposed to accompany consisted of A, C, D, and K troops, seventh cavalry, the Osages and Scouts, and Colonel Cook with his forty sharpshooters. Captain Hamilton commanded one of the squadrons, Colonel West the other. After the first two columns had departed for their post it was still four hours before the hour of the attack. The men of the other two columns were permitted to dismount, but much intense suffering was unavoidably sustained. The night grew extremely cold towards morning. No, fires of course could be permitted, and the men were even ordered to desist from stamping their feet and walking back and forth to keep warm as the crushing of the snow beneath produced so much noise that it might give the alarm to our wily enemies. During all these long weary hours of this terrible cold and comfortless night each man sat, stood, or lay on the snow by his horse, holding to the rain of the latter. The officers, buttoning their huge overcoats closely about them, collected in knots of four or five and seated or reclining upon the snow's hard crust, discussed the probabilities of the coming battle, for battle we knew it would be, and we could not hope to conquer or kill the warriors of an entire village without suffering in return more or less injury. Some, wrapping their capes about their heads, spread themselves at full length upon the snow, and were apparently soon wrapped in deep slumber. After being satisfied that all necessary arrangements were made for the attack, I imitated the example of some of my comrades, and, gathering the cavalry cape of my great coat about my head, lay down and slept soundly for perhaps an hour. At the end of that time I awoke, and on consulting my watch found there remained nearly two hours before we would move to the attack. Walking about among the horses and troopers, I found the latter generally huddled at the feet of the former in squads of three and four in the endeavour to keep warm. Occasionally I would find a small group engaged in conversation, the muttered tones and voices strangely reminding me of those heard in the death chamber. The officers had disposed of themselves in similar but various ways. Here at one place were several stretched out together upon the snow, the body of one being used by the other as a pillow. Nearly all were silent. Conversation had ceased, and those who were prevented by the severe cold from obtaining sleep were no doubt fully occupied in their minds with the thoughts upon the morrow, and the fate that might be in store for them. Seeing a small group collected under a low branch of a tree which stood at a little distance from the ground occupied by the troops, I made my way there to find the Osage warriors with their chiefs, little beaver and hard-rope. They were wrapped in their blankets, sitting in a circle, and had evidently made no effort to sleep during the night. It was plain to be seen that they regarded the occasion as a momentous one, and that the coming battle had been the sole subject of their conference. What views were expressed by them were. I did not learn until after the engagement was fought. When they told me what ideas they had entertained regarding the manner in which the white man would probably conduct and terminate the struggle next day. After the success of the day was decided, the Osages told me that, with the suspicion so natural and peculiar to the Indian nature, they had in discussing the proposed attack upon the Indian village concluded that we would be outnumbered by the occupants of the village, who of course would fight with the utmost desperation and defense of their lives and lodges, and to prevent a complete defeat of our forces, or to secure a drawn battle. We might be induced to engage in a parlay with the hostile tribe, and on coming to an agreement we would probably, to save ourselves, offer to yield up our Osage allies, as a compromise measure between our enemies and ourselves. They also mistrusted the ability of the whites to make a successful attack upon a hostile village, located, as this one was known to be, in heavy timber, and aided by the natural bank of the stream. Disaster seemed certain in the minds of the Osages to follow us, if we attacked a force of unknown strength and numbers, and the question with them was to secure such a position in the attack as to be able to promptly detect any more disadvantages to them. With this purpose they came to the conclusion that the standard bearer was a very important personage, and neither he nor his standard would be carried into danger or exposed to the bullets of the enemy. They determined therefore to take their station immediately behind my standard bearer, where the lines became formed for the attack, to follow him during the action, and thus be able to watch our movements and if we were successful over our foes to aid us. If the battle should go against us, then they, being in a safe position, could take advantage of our circumstances and save themselves as best they might. Turning from our Osage friends who were unknown to us, entertaining such doubtful opinions as to our fidelity to them, I joined another group nearby, consisting of most of the White Scouts. Here were California Joe and several of his companions. One of the latter deserves a passing notice. He was a low, heavy, set Mexican, with features resembling somewhat those of the Ethiopian, thick lips, depressed nose, and low forehead. He was quite a young man, probably not more than twenty-five years of age, but had passed the greater portion of his life with the Indians, and had adopted their habits of life and modes of dress and had married among them. Familiar with the language of the Cheyennes and other neighboring tribes, he was invaluable both as a scout and interpreter. His real name was Romero, but some of the officers on the command with whom he was sort of a favorite had dubbed him Romeo, and by this name he was always known, a soberque, to which he responded as readily as if he had been christened under it, never protesting, like the original Romeo. Tut! I have lost myself. I am not here. This is not Romeo. He's some other where. The scouts, like nearly all the other members of the command, had been interchanging opinions as to the result of the movements of the following day, not sharing the mistrust and suspicion of the Osage Guides, yet the present experience was in many respects new to them, and some of the issues seemed at least shrouded in uncertainty. Addressing the group, I began the conversation with the question as to what they thought of the prospect of having a fight. Fight! responded California Joe. I have a nearly doubt concerning that part of the business what I've been trying to get through my top knot all night is whether we'll run against more than we bargained for. Then you do not think the Indians will run away, Joe? Run away? How in creation can Injuns or anybody else run away, when we'll have them clean surrounded a four-day light? Well, suppose then that we succeed in surrounding the village. Do you think we can hold our own against the Indians? That's a very punt that's been bothering me ever since we planted ourselves down here, and the only conclusion I can come to is that it's pretty apt to be one thing or the other. If we pump these Indians a daylight, we're either going to make a spoon or a spile of a horn, and that's my candid judgment, sure. One thing's certain, if them Injuns don't hear anything of us till we open on them a daylight, they'll be the most powerful, astonished red skins that's been in these parts lately. They will, sure. And if we get the bulge on them and keep putting it to them, sort of a lively like, we'll sweep the platter. There won't be narrow trick left for them. As the deal stands now, we hold the cards and are holding over them. They've got to straddle our blind or throw up the hands. Howsoever, there's a mighty slight in the draw. California Joe continued in the strain, and by a prolific use of terms connected with other transactions besides fighting Indians, did not fail to impress his hearers that his opinion in substance was that our attack in the morning was to result in overwhelming success to us, or that we would be utterly routed and dispersed, that there would be no drawn battle. And to Chapter 15, Part 1 Chapter 15, Part 2 of My Life on the Plains This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The night passed in quiet. I anxiously watched the opening signs of dawn in order to put the column in motion. We were only a few hundred yards from the point from which we were to attack. The moon disappeared about two hours before dawn and left us enshrouded in thick and utter darkness, making the time seem to drag even slower than before. At last faint signs of approaching day were visible, and I proceeded to collect the officers, awakening those who slept. We were standing in a group near the head of the column when suddenly our attention was attracted by a remarkable sight, and for a time we felt that the Indians had discovered our presence directly behind the crest of the hill which separated us from the village and in a line with the supposed location of the ladder. We saw rising slowly but preceptibly, as we thought up from the village, and approaching in bold relief against the dark sky as the background, something which we could only compare to a signal rocket, except that its motion was slow and regular. All eyes were turned to it in blank astonishment, and but one idea seemed to be entertained, and that was that one or both of the two attacking columns under Elliot or Thompson had encountered a portion of the village, and this that we saw was the signal to the other portions of the band near at hand. Slowly and majestically it continued to rise above the crest of the hill, first appearing as a small brilliant flaming globe of bright golden hue. As it ascended still higher it seemed to increase in size, to move more slowly, while its colors rapidly changed from one to the other, exhibiting in turn the most beautiful combination of prismatic tints. There seemed to be not a shadow of doubt that we were discovered. The strange apparition in the heavens maintained its steady course upward, one anxious spectator observing it apparently at a standstill exclaimed, How long it hangs fire? Why don't it explode? Still keeping the idea of the signal rocket in mind. It had risen perhaps to the height of half a degree above the horizon as observed from our position, when low the mystery was dispelled, rising above the mystifying influences of the atmosphere that which had appeared so suddenly before us, and excited our greatest apprehensions, developed into the brightest and most beautiful of morning stars. Often since that memorable morning have I heard officers remind each other of the strange appearance which had so excited our anxiety and alarm. In less perilous moments we probably would have regarded it as a beautiful phenomenon of nature, of which so many are to be witnessed through the pure atmosphere of the plains. All were ordered to get ready to advance. Not a word to officer or men was spoken above undertone. It began growing lighter in the east and we moved forward toward the crest of the hill. Up to this time two of the officers and one of the osages had remained on the hill, overlooking the valley beyond, so as to detect any attempt at a movement on the part of the occupants of the village below. These now rejoined the troops. Colonel West's squadron was formed in line on the right, Captain Hamilton's squadron in line on the left, while Colonel Cook with his forty sharp shooters was formed in advance of the left dismounted. Although the early morning air was freezingly cold, the men were directed to remove their overcoats and haversacks so as to render them free in their movements. Before advancing beyond the crest of the hill, strict orders were issued prohibiting the fire of a single shot, until the signal to attack should be made. The other three detachments had been informed before setting out that the main column would attack promptly at daylight, without waiting to ascertain whether they were in position or not. In fact, it would be impracticable to communicate with either of the first two until the attack began. The plan was for each party to approach as closely to the village as possible, without being discovered, and there await the approach of daylight. The regimental band was to move with my detachment, and it was understood that the band should strike up the instant the attack opened. Colonel Myers commanded the third party was also directed to move one half of his detachment dismounted. In this order we began to descend the slope leading down to the village. The distance to the timber in the valley proved greater than it had appeared to the eye in the darkness of the night. We soon reached the outskirts of the herd of ponies. The latter seemed to recognize us as hostile parties and move quickly away. The light of day was each minute growing stronger, and we feared discovery before we could approach near enough to charge the village. The movement of our horses over the crusted snow produced considerable noise and would doubtless have led to our detection, but for the fact that the Indians, if they heard it at all, presumed it was occasioned by their herd of ponies. I would have given much at that moment to know the whereabouts of the first two columns sent out. Had they reached their assigned positions or had unseen and unknown obstacles delayed or misled them? These were questions which would not then be answered. We had now reached the level of the valley and began advancing in line toward the heavy timber in which at close hand we knew the village was situated. Immediately in the rear of my horse came the band, all mounted in each with his instrument in readiness to begin playing the moment their leader, who rode at their head, and who kept his cornet to his lips, should receive the signal. I had previously told him to play Garion as the opening piece. We had approached near enough to the village now to plainly catch a view here and there of the tall white lodges, as they stood in irregular order among the trees. From the openings at the top of some of them we could perceive faint columns of smoke ascending, the occupants no doubt having kept up their feeble fires during the entire night. We had approached so near the village that from the dead silence which reigned, I fear the lodges were deserted, the Indians having fled before we advanced. I was about to turn in my saddle and direct the signal for attack to be given, still anxious as to where the other detachments were, when a single rifle shot rang sharp and clear on the far side of the village from where we were. Quickly turning to the band leader I directed him to give us Garion. At once the rollicking notes of that familiar marching and fighting air sounded forth through the valley and in a moment were ricocheted back from the opposite sides by the loud and continued cheers of the men of the other detachments who, true to their orders, were there and in readiness to pounce upon the Indians the moment the attack began. In this manner the battle of the Washita commenced. The bugles sounded the charge and the entire command dashed rapidly into the village. The Indians were caught napping, but realizing at once the dangers of their situation it quickly overcame their first surprise and in an instant seized their rifles, bows and arrows, and sprang behind the nearest trees, while some leaped into the stream nearly waist-deep, and using the bank as a rifle pit began a vigorous and determined defiance. Mingled with the exultant cheers of my men could be heard the defiant war-woop of the warriors who, from the first, fought with the desperation and courage which no race of men could surpass. Actual possession of the village and its lodges was ours within a few moments after the charges made, but this was an empty victory unless we could vanquish the late occupants who were then pouring in a rapid and well-directed fire from their stations behind the trees and banks. At the first onset a considerable number of the Indians rushed from the village in the direction from which Elliot's party had attacked. Some broke through the lines while others came in contact with the mounted troopers and were killed or captured. Before engaging in the fight orders had been given to prevent the killing of any but the fighting strength of the village, but in a struggle of this character it is impossible at all times to discriminate, particularly when in hand-to-hand conflict, such as the one the troops were then engaged in, the squads are as dangerous adversaries as the warriors, while Indian boys between ten and fifteen years of age were found as expert and determined in the use of their pistol and bow and arrow as the older warriors. Of these facts we had numerous illustrations. Major Ben-Teen and leading the attack of his squadron through the timber below the village encountered an Indian boy scarcely fourteen years of age. He was well mounted and was endeavouring to make his way through the lines. The object these Indians had in attempting this movement we were then ignorant of, but soon learned to our sorrow. This boy rolled boldly toward the Major, seeming to invite a contest. His youthful bearing and not being looked upon is a combatant-induced Major Ben-Teen to endeavour to save him by making peace signs to him and obtaining his surrender when he could be placed in a position of safety until the battle was terminated. But the young savage desired and would accept no such friendly concessions. He regarded himself as a warrior and the son of a warrior, and as such he purposed to do a warrior's part. With revolver in hand he dashed at the Major, who still could not regard him as anything but a harmless lad. Leveling his weapon as he rode he fired, but either from excitement or changing positions of both parties, his aim was defective, and the shot whistled harmlessly by Major Ben-Teen's head, another followed in quick succession but with no better effect. All this time the dusky little chieftain boldly advanced to lessen the distance between himself and his adversary. A third bullet was spent on its errand and, this time to some purpose, as it passed through the neck of the Major's horse, close to the shoulder, making a final but ineffectual appeal to him to surrender and seeing him still preparing to fire again, the Major was forced in self-defense to level his revolver and dispatch him. Although as he did so it was with admiration for the plucky spirit exhibited by the lad and regret often expressed that no other course under the circumstances was left him. Attached to the saddle-bow of the young Indian hung a beautifully wrought pair of small moccasins, elaborately ornamented with beads. One of the Major's troopers afterwards secured these and presented them to him. These furnished the link of evidence by which we subsequently ascertained who the young chieftain was, a title which was justly his, both by blood and bearing. We had gained the center of the village and were in the midst of the lodges when on all sides could be heard the sharp quack of the Indian rifles and the heavy responses from the carbines of the troopers, after disposing of the smaller and scattering parties of warriors who had attempted a movement down the valley and in which some were successful, there was but a little opportunity left for the successful employment of mounted troops, as the Indians by this time had taken cover behind logs and trees and under the banks of the streams which flowed through the center of the village, from which stronghold it was impracticable to dislodge them by the use of mounted men. A large portion of the command was at once ordered to fight on foot and the men were instructed to take advantage of the trees and other natural means of cover and fight the Indians in their own style. Crooks, sharp shooters, had adopted this method from the first and with telling effect. Slowly but steadily the Indians were driven from behind the trees and those who escaped the carbine bullets posted themselves with their companions who were already firing from behind the banks. One party of troopers came upon a squaw endeavoring to make her escape, leading by the hand a little white boy, a prisoner in the hands of the Indians who, doubtless had been captured by some of their war parties during a raid upon the settlements. Who and where his parents were, or whether still alive or murdered by the Indians will never be known, as the squaw finding herself as prisoner about to be surrounded by the troops and her escape cut off, determined with savage malignity that the triumph of the latter should not embrace the rescue of the white boy. Casting her eyes quickly in all directions to convince herself that escape was impossible, she drew from behind her blanket a huge knife and plunged it into the almost naked body of her captive. The next moment, retributive justice reached her in the shape of a well-directed bullet from one of the troopers' carbines. Before the men could reach them life was extinct in the bodies of both squaw and her unknown captive. The desperation with which the Indians fought may be inferred from the following. Seventeen warriors had posted themselves in a depression in the ground which enabled them to protect their bodies completely from the fire of our men. And it was only when the Indians raised their heads to fire that the troopers could aim with any prospect of success. All efforts to drive the warriors from this point proved abortive and resulted in severe loss to our side. They were only vanquished at last by our men securing positions under cover and picking them off by sharpshooting as they exposed themself to get a shot at the troopers. Finally the last one was dispatched in this manner In a deep ravine near the suburbs of the village the dead bodies of thirty-eight warriors were reported after the fight terminated. Many of the squaws and children had very prudently not attempted to leave the village when we attacked it, but remained concealed inside their lodges. All these escaped injury, although when surrounded by the din and wild excitement of the fight and in close proximity to the contending parties their fears overcame some of them and they gave vent to their despair by singing the death song combination of weird like sounds which were suggestive of anything but musical tones. As soon as we had driven the warriors from the village and the fighting was pushed to the country outside I directed Romeo the interpreter to go around to all the lodges and assure the squaws and children remaining in them that they would remain unharmed and kindly cared for. At the same time he was to assemble them in the large lodges designated for that purpose which were standing near the center of the village. This was quite a delicate mission as it was difficult to convince the squaws and children that they had anything but death to expect at our hands. It was perhaps ten o'clock in the forenoon and the fight was still raging. When to our surprise we saw a small party of Indians collecting on a knoll a little over a mile below the village and in the direction taken by those Indians who had affected and escaped through our lines at the commencement of the attack. My surprise was not so great at first as I imagined that the Indians we saw were those who had contrived to escape, but having procured their ponies from the herd had mounted them and were then anxious spectators of the fight which they felt themselves too weak in numbers to participate in. In the meantime the herds of ponies belonging to the village on being alarmed by the firing of the shots of the contestants had from a sense of imagined security or custom rushed into the village where details of the troopers were made to receive them. California Joe, who had been moving about in a promiscuous and independent manner, came galloping into the village and reported that a large herd of ponies was to be seen nearby and requested authority and some men to bring them in. The men were otherwise employed just then, but he was authorized to collect and drive in the herd if practicable. He departed on his errand and I had forgotten all about him and the ponies when in the course of a half an hour I saw the herd of nearly three hundred ponies coming on the gallop toward the village, driven by a couple of squads who were mounted and had been concealed nearby, no doubt. While bringing up the rear was California Joe riding his favorite mule and whirling about his head along lariat, using it as a whip in urging the herd forward. He had captured the squads while endeavoring to secure the ponies and very wisely had employed his captives to assist in driving the herd. By this time the group of Indians already discovered outside our lines had increased until it numbered upwards of a hundred. Examining them through my field glass I could plainly perceive that they were all mounted warriors. Not only that, but they were armed and comparisoned in full war costume, nearly all wearing the bright colored war-bonnets and floating their lance penance. Constant ascensions to their numbers were to be seen arriving from beyond the hill of which they stood. Others seemed inexplicable. A few Indians might have escaped through our lines when the attack on the village began, but only a few and even those must have gone with little or nothing in their possession save their rifles and perhaps a blanket. Who could these new parties be and from whence came they? To solve these troublesome questions I sent for Romeo, and taking him with me to one of the lodges occupied by the squads I interrogated one of the latter as to who were the Indians to be seen assembling on the hill below the village. She informed me, to a surprise on my part, almost equal to that of the Indians at our sudden appearance at daylight, that just below the village we then occupied and which was a part of the Cheyenne tribe were located in succession the winter villages of all the hostile tribes of the southern plains with which we were at war, including the Arapahos, Kayawas, and remaining band of Cheyennes, the Comanches, and a portion of the Apaches, that the nearest village was about two miles distance and the others stretched along through the timbered valley to the one for the stop which was not over ten miles. What was to be done? For I needed no one to tell me that we were certain to be attacked and that too by greatly superior numbers just as soon as the Indians below could make their arrangements to do so. And they had probably been busily employed at these arrangements ever since the sound of firing had reached them in the early morning and had been reported from village to village. Fortunately affairs took a favourable turn in the combat in which we were then engaged and the firing had almost died away. Only here and there where some warriors still maintained his position was the fight continued. Leaving as few men as possible to look out for these, I hastily collected and reformed my command and posted them in readiness for the attack which we all felt was soon to be made. For already at different points and in more than one direction we could see more than enough warriors to outnumber us and we knew they were only waiting the arrival of the chiefs and warriors from the lower village before making any move against us. In the meantime our temporary hospital had been established in the center of the village where the wounded were receiving such surgical care as circumstances would permit. Our losses had been severe. Indeed we were not then aware how great they had been. Hamilton wrote at my side as we entered the village and whose soldierly tones I heard for the last time as he calmly cautioned his squadron. Now men, keep cool, fire low and not too rapidly, was among the first victims of the opening charge having been shot from his saddle by a bullet from an Indian rifle. He died instantly, his lifeless remains were tenderly carried by some of his troopers to the vicinity of the hospital. Soon afterwards I saw four troopers coming from the front bearing between them in a blanket, a wounded soldier, galloping to them I discovered Colonel Barnet's another troop commander, who was almost in a dying condition having been shot by a rifle bullet directly through the body in the vicinity of the heart of Major Elliot, the officer second in rank. Nothing had been seen since the attack at daylight when he rode with his detachment into the village. He too had evidently been killed, but as yet we knew not where or how he had fallen. Two other officers had received wounds while the casualties among the enlisted men were also large. The Sergeant Major, the regiment, who was with me when the first shot was heard, had not been seen since that moment. We were not in as effective condition by far as when the attack was made. Yet we were soon to be called upon to contend against a foe immensely superior to the one with which we had been engaged during the early hours of the day. The captured herds of ponies were carefully collected inside our lines as so guarded as to prevent their stampede or recapture by the Indians. Our wounded and the immense amount of captured property in the way of ponies, lodges, etc., as well as our prisoners were obstacles in the way of our attempting an offensive movement against the lower villages. To have done this would have compelled us to divide our forces, when it was far from certain that we could muster strength enough united to repel the attacks of the combined tribes. On all sides of us the Indians could now be seen in considerable numbers so that, from being the surrounding party as we had been in the morning, we now found ourselves surrounded and occupied the position of defenders of the village. Fortunately for us, as the men had been expending a great many rounds, Major Bell the Quartermaster, with who a small escort was endeavouring to reach us with fresh supply of ammunition, had by constant exertion and hard marching succeeded in doing so, and now appeared on the ground with several thousand rounds of carbine ammunition, a reinforcement greatly needed. He had no sooner arrived safely than the Indians attacked us from the direction from which he came, how he had managed to elude their watchful eyes I never could comprehend, unless their attention had been so completely absorbed in watching our movements inside, as to prevent them from keeping an eye out to discover what might be transpiring elsewhere, issuing a fresh supply of ammunition to those most in one of it. The fight soon began generally at all points of the circle. From such in reality had our line of battle become a continuous and unbroken circle of which the village was about to centre, notwithstanding the great superiority in numbers of the Indians they fought with excessive prudence, and of lack of that confident manner which they usually manifest when encountering greatly inferior numbers, a result due, no doubt, to the fate which had overwhelmed our first opponents. Besides, the timber and all the configuration of the ground enabled us to keep our men concealed until their services were actually required. It seemed to be the design and wish of our antagonists to draw us away from the village, but in this they were foiled. Seeing that they did not intend to press the attack just then, about two hundred of my men were ordered to pull down the lodges in the village and collect a captured property in huge piles and prepare a burning. This was done in the most effectual manner. When eventually everything had been collected, the torch was applied, and all that was left of the village were a few heaps of blackened ashes. Whether enraged at the site of this destruction, or from other cause, the attack soon became general along our entire line and pressed with so much vigor and audacity that every available trooper was required to aid in meeting these assaults. The Indians would push a party of well-mounted warriors close up to our lines in the endeavor to find a weak point through which they might venture, but in every attempt were driven back. I now concluded, as the village was off our hands and our wounded had been collected, that offensive measures might be adopted. To this end several of the squadrons were mounted and ordered to advance and attack the enemy wherever force sufficient was exposed to be a proper object of attack, but at the same time be cautious as to the ambush gates. Colonel Weir, who had succeeded to the command of Hamilton Squadron, Colonel's Ben Teen, and Myers, with their respective squadrons, all mounted advanced and engaged the enemy. The Indians resisted every step taken by the troops, while every charge made by the latter was met or followed by a charge from the Indians, who continued to appear in large numbers at unexpected times and places. The squadrons acting in support of each other and the men in each being kept well in hand were soon able to force the line held by the Indians to yield at any point to sail. This being followed up promptly the Indians were driven at every point and forced to abandon the field to us. Yet they would go no further than they were actually driven. It was now about three o'clock in the afternoon. I knew that the officer left in charge of the train and eighty men would push after us, follow our trail, and endeavour to reach us at the earliest practicable moment. From the tops of some of the highest peaks, or round hills in the vicinity of the village, I knew the Indians could reconnoiter the country for miles in all directions. I feared if we remained as we were then, until the following day, the Indians might in this manner discover the approach of our train and detach a sufficient body of warriors to attack and capture it, and its loss to us, aside from that of its guard, would have proven most serious, leaving us in the heart of the enemy's country in midwinter totally out of supplies for both men and horses. By actual count we had in our possession eight hundred and seventy-five captured ponies, so wild and unused to white men that it was difficult to herd them. What we were to do with them was puzzling, as they could not have been led had we been possessed by the means of doing this. Neither could we drive them as the Indians were accustomed to do. And even if we could take them with us, either the one way or the other, it was anything but wise or desirable on our part to do so, as such a large herd of ponies constituting so much wealth in the eyes of the Indians would have been too tempting a prize to the warriors who had been fighting us all the afternoon, and to the effect their recapture they would have followed in way-late-us day and night with every prospect of success until we should have arrived at a place of safety. Besides we had upwards of sixty prisoners in our hands to say nothing of our wounded to embarrass our movements, we had achieved a great and important success over the hostile tribes. The problem now was how to retain our advantage and steer safely through the difficulties which seemed to surround our position. The Indians had suffered a telling defeat involving great losses in life and valuable property. Could they succeed, however, in depriving us of the train and supplies and in doing this accomplish the killing or capture of the escort? It would go far to offset the damage we had been able to inflict upon them and render our victory an empty one. As I deliberated on these points in the endeavor to conclude upon that which would be our wisest course, I could look in nearly all directions and see the warriors at a distance collected in groups on the tops of the highest hills, apparently waiting and watching our next move that they might act accordingly. To guide my command safely out of the difficulties which seemed just then to beset them, I again had recourse to the maxim in war which teaches a commander to do that which his enemy neither expects or desires him to do. End of Chapter 15, Part 2. Chapter 16, Part 1 of My Life on the Plains. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The close of the last article left my command on the Washita, still surrounded by a superior but badly defeated force of Indians. We were burdened with a considerable number of prisoners and quite a number of our own and the enemies wounded and had in our possession nearly nine hundred ponies with which we had just captured from the enemy. We were far away. Just how far we did not know from our train of supplies and the ladder with its escort was in danger of capture and destruction by the savages if we did not act to prevent it. We felt convinced that we could not, in the presence of so large a body of hostile Indians, hope to make a long march through their country, a ladder favorable to the Indian mode of attack by surprise and ambush, and keep with us the immense hurt of captured ponies. Such a course would only encourage attack under circumstances which would almost ensure defeat and unnecessary loss to us. We did not need the ponies while the Indians did. If we retained them they might conclude that one object of our expedition against them was to secure plunder, an object thoroughly consistent with the red man's idea of war. Instead it was our desire to impress upon his uncultured mind that our every act and purpose had been simply to inflict deserved punishment upon him for the many murders and other depredations committed by him and around the homes of the defenseless settlers on the frontier. Impelled by these motives I decided neither to attempt to take the ponies with us nor abandon them to the Indians, but to adopt the only measure left, to kill them. To accomplish this seemingly like most measure of war, cruel but unnecessary act, four companies of cavalrymen were detailed dismounted as a firing party. Before they reluctantly engaged in this and inviting work, I took Romeo, the interpreter, and proceeded to the few lodges near the center of the village which we had reserved from destruction, and in which were collected the prisoners, consisting of upward of sixty squads and children. Romeo was directed to assemble the prisoners in one body as I desired to assure them of kind treatment at our hands, subject about which they were greatly wrought up. Also, to tell them that we should expect of them and to inform them of our intention to march, probably, all that night, directing them at the same time to proceed to the herd and select therefrom a suitable number of ponies to carry the prisoners on the march. When Romeo had collected them in a single group, he, acting as an interpreter, acquainted them with my purpose in calling them together, at the same time assuring them that they could rely confidently upon the fulfillment of any promises I made them, and I was the Big Chief. The Indians referred to all officers of a command as Chiefs, while the officer in command is designated as the Big Chief, after I had concluded what I desired to say to them, they signified their approval and satisfaction by gathering around me and going through an extensive series of handshaking. One of the middle-aged squads then informed Romeo that she wished to speak on behalf of herself and companions. Ascent haven't been given to this, she began the delivery of an address which, for wisdom of sentiment and easy, natural, but impassioned delivery, might have been heard with intense interest by an audience of cultivated refinement. From her remarks interpreted by Romeo, I gathered much, in fact, the first reliable information as to what band we had attacked at daylight, which Chiefs commanded in many interesting scraps of information. She began by saying that now she and the women and children about her were in the condition of captivity, which, for a long time, she had prophesized would be theirs sooner later. She claimed to speak, not as a squaw, but as the sister of the head chief of her band, Black Kettle, who had fallen that morning almost the moment the attack was made. He, it was, who was the first to hear our advance, and leaping forth from his lodge with rifle in hand, uttered the first war-woop and fired the first shot as a rally signal to his warriors, and was almost immediately after, shot down by the opening volley of the cavalry. Often she had warned her brother of the danger the village, with its women and children, was exposed to, owing to the frequent raiding and war-parties which from time to time had been permitted to go forth and depredate upon the settlements of the white man. In the end it was sure to lead to detection and punishment, and now her words had only proven to true. Not a chief or warrior of the village in her belief survived the battle of the forenoon, and what was to become of all these women and children bereft of everything and of every friend. True it was just. The warriors had brought this fate upon themselves and their families by their unprevoked attacks upon the white man. Black Kettle, the head chief and the once trusted friend of the white man, had fallen. Little Rock, the chief second in rank in the village, had also met his death while attempting to defend his home against his enemies. Others were named in the order of their rank or prowess, says warriors, but all had gone the same way. Who was left to care for the women and children who still lived? Only last night she continued, did the last war-party return from the settlements, and it was to rejoice over their achievements that the entire village were engaged until a late hour dancing and singing. This was why their enemies were able to ride almost into their lodges before they were aroused by the noise of the attack. For several minutes she continued to speak, first unbraiding in the bitterest terms the chiefs and warriors who had been the cause of their capture, then bewailing in the most plaintive manner their sad and helpless condition. Turning to me she added, you claim to be a chief. This man, pointing to Romeo, says you are the big chief. If this be true and you are what he claims, show that you can act like a great chief and secure for us that treatment which the helpless are entitled to. After the delivery of this strongly melodramatic harangue, there was introduced a little bi-play in which I was unconsciously made to assume a more prominent part than ever by inclinations or the laws of society might approve. Black Kettle's sister, whose name was Moisa, and whose address had just received the hearty approval of her companions by their earnest expression of uge, the Indian word intended for applause, then stepped into the group of squas, and after looking earnestly at the face of each for a moment approached a young Indian girl, probably seventeen years of age, and taking her by the hand conducted her to where I was standing. Placing the hand of the young girl in mind she proceeded in the Indian tongue to the delivery of what I in my ignorance of the language presumed was a form of administering a benediction, as her manner and gestures corresponded with this idea. Never dreaming of her purpose, but remembering how sensitive and suspicious the Indian nature was, and any seeming act of inattention or disrespect on my part might be misunderstood. I stood a passive participant in the strange ceremony then being enacted. After concluding the main portion of the formality she engaged in what seemed an invocation of the great spirit, casting her eyes reverently upward, at the same time moving her hand slowly down over the faces of the young squa and myself. By this time my curiosity got the better of my silence, and turning to Romeo, who stood near me, and who I knew was familiar with the Indian customs, I quietly inquired. What is this woman doing, Romeo? With a broad grin on his swarthly face he replied, Why, she's marrying you to that young squa, although never claimed to be an exponent of the peace policy about which so much muck has been said and written, yet I entertained the most peaceable sentiment toward all Indians who were in a condition to do no harm nor violate any law, after a while cherishing these friendly feelings and desiring to do all in my power to render our captives comfortable and free from anxiety regarding their future treatment at our hands. I think even the most strenuous and ardent advocate of that peace policy, which teaches that the Indian should be left free and unmolested in the gratification of his simple tastes and habits, will at least not wholly condemn me when they learn that this last touching and unmistakable proof of confidence and esteem offered by Mawisha, and gracefully, if not blushingly, acqueseed in by the Indian maiden, was firmly but respectfully declined. The few reasons which forced me to deny myself the advantages of this tempting alliance were certain circumstances over which I then had no control, among which was a previous and already solemnized ceremony of this character which might have a tendency to render the second somewhat invalid. Then again I had not been consulted in regard to my choice in this matter, a trifling consideration, but still having its due influence. I had not had the opportunities to become acquainted with the family of her young damsel who thus proposed to link her worldly fate with mine. Her father's bank account might or might not have been in a favorable condition. No opportunity had been given me to study the tastes, disposition, or character of the young lady, whether she was fond of music, literature, or domestic duties. All of these questions with which I was not sufficiently familiar to justify me in taking the important step before me. I did not, however, like certain candidates for office, thrice declined by standing up, and with my hand pressed to my heart said, Your husband, I cannot be. But through the intermediation of Romeo the interpreter, who from the first had been highly entertained by what he saw, was an excellent joke on the big chief, and wondering in his own mind how I would extricate myself without giving offense, I explained to Mawisha, my due appreciation of the kindness intended by herself and her young friend, but that according to the white man's law I was debarred from availing myself of the offer, at the same time assuring them of my high consideration, etc. Glad to get away to duties it called me elsewhere, I left with Romeo. As soon as we had turned our backs on the group, I inquired of Romeo what object could have been in view which induced Black Kettle's sister to play the part she did. That's easy enough to understand. She knows they hide in your power, and her object is to make friends with you as fast as possible. But you don't believe anything she tells you, do you? Why, that squall would give her the chance since she'd lift your or my scalp from us and never wink. Lord, I've heard them talk fine too often to be catch so easy. To hear talk and abuse old Black Kettle and the rest that I hope we're done for, you'd think that Squall never had a hand in torturing to death many a poor devil who'd been picked up by them. But it is a fact, ain't no two ways about it. I've lived with them people too long, not to know them, root and branch. When she was talking all that poliver to you about protecting them and all that sorts of stuff, if she could have known that minute that these Indians were about to gobble us up, she'd have been the very first one to ram a knife smack into you. That's the way they always talk when they want anything. Do you know a game in wanting to marry that young squad of you? Well, I tell you, if you had married that squall, then she'd have told you that all the rest of them were her kinfolk and as a natural sort of thing you'd be expecting to kind of provide and take care of your wife relations. That's just as I tell it to you. For don't I know? Didn't I marry a young Cheyenne squall and give her old father two of my best ponies for her? And it wasn't a week till every tarnal engine in the village, old and young, came to my lodge and my squall tried to make me believe they were all relations to her and that I ought to give them some grub. But I didn't do nothing of the sort. Well, how did you get out of it, Romeo? Get out of it? Why, I got up, I'd just taken my ponies and traps and at the first good chance I lit out. That's how I got out. And I was satisfied to marry one or two of them, but when I come to marry an entire tribe, excuse me. At this point Romeo was interrupted by the officer in command of the men detailed to kill the ponies. The firing party was all ready to proceed with its work and was only waiting until the squaw should secure a sufficient number of ponies to transport all the prisoners on the march. The troopers had endeavored to catch the ponies, but they were too wild and unaccustomed to white men to permit them to approach. When the squaws entered the herd they had no difficulty in selecting and bridling their requisite number. These being taken off by themselves, the work of destruction began on the remainder and was continued until nearly eight hundred ponies were thus disposed of. All this time the Indians who had been fighting us from the outside covered the hills in the distance, deeply interested spectators of this to them strange proceeding. The loss of so many animals of value was a severe blow to the tribes as nothing so completely impairs the war-making facilities of the Indians of the plains as the deprivation or disabling of their ponies. In the description of the opening of the battle in the preceding chapter I spoke of the men having removed their overcoats and haversacks when about to charge the village. These had been disposed of carefully on the ground and one man from each company left to guard them, this number being deemed sufficient as they would be within rifle shot of the main command, besides the enemy was then supposed would be inside our lines and sufficiently employed in taking care of itself to prevent any meddling on his part with the overcoats and haversacks. This was partly true, but we had not calculated upon Indians appearing in force and surrounding us. When this did occur, however, their first success was in affecting the capture of the overcoats and rations of the men, the guard barely escaping to the village. This was a most serious loss, as the men were destined to suffer great discomfort from the cold and their rations being in the haversacks and it being uncertain when we should rejoin our train. They were compelled to endure both cold and hunger. It was when the Indians discovered our overcoats and gelt to their capture that one of my stag hounds, Blutcher, seeing them riding and yelling as if engaged in the chase, dashed from the village and joined the Indians, who no sooner saw him than they shot him through with an arrow. Several months afterward I discovered his remains on the ground near where the overcoats had been deposited on that eventful morning. Many noteworthy incidents were observed or reported during a fight. Before the battle began our Osage allies in accordance with the Indian custom dressed in their war costume, painting their faces in all imaginable colors except one tall fine-looking warrior, retained his ordinary dress. Upon inquiring of the chief, Little Beaver, why this one did not array himself as the others had done, he informed me that it was in obedience to a law among all the tribes under which any chief or warrior who has had a near relative killed by an enemy belonging to another tribe, it is not permitted to dawn the war costume or put on war paint until he has avenged the murder by taking a scalp from the same member of the hostile tribe. The war party of the Cheyennes had visited the Osage village the preceding summer under friendly pretenses. They had been hospitably entertained at the lodge of the warriors referred to by his squaw, he being absent on a hunt. When ready to depart they killed his squaw and destroyed his lodge and until he could secure a scalp he must go on the warpath unadorned by feathers or paint. After the battle had been waged for a couple of hours in the morning I saw this warrior approaching, his horse urged to its highest speed, and in his hand I saw waving wildly overhead something I could not distinguish until he halted by my side when I perceived that it was an entire scalp, fresh and bleeding. His vengeance had been complete and he was again restored to the full privilege of a warrior, a right he was not long in exercising. As the next time I saw him on the field his face was completely hidden under the stripes of yellow, black, and vermillion. The colors being so arranged apparently as to give him the most hideous visage imaginable. Riding in the vicinity of the hospital I saw a little bugler boy sitting on a bundle of dressed robes near where the surgeon was dressing and carrying for the wounded. His face was completely covered with blood which was trickling down over his cheek from a wound in his forehead. At first glance I thought a pistol bullet had entered his skull, but on stopping to inquire of him, the nature of his injury, he informed me that an Indian had shot him in the head with a steel pointed arrow. The arrow had struck him just above the eye and upon entering the skull had glanced under the covering of the ladder, coming out near the ear, giving the appearance of having passed through the head. There the arrow remained until the bugler arrived at the hospital where he received prompt attention. The arrow being barbed could not be withdrawn at once, but by cutting off the steel point the surgeon was able to withdraw the wooden shaft without difficulty. The little fellow bore his suffering manfully. I asked him if he saw the Indian who wounded him. Without replying at once he shoved his hand deep down into his capacious trousers pocket and fished up nothing more nor less than the scalp of an Indian, adding in a nonchalant matter. If anybody thinks I didn't see him, I want them to take a look at that. He had killed the Indian with his revolver after receiving the arrow wound in his head. After driving off the Indians who had attacked us from the outside, so as to prevent them from interfering with our operation in the vicinity of the village, parties were sent here and there to look up the dead and wounded of both sides. In spite of the most thorough search they were still undiscovered Major Elliot and his nineteen enlisted men, including the Sergeant Major, for whose absence we were unable to satisfactorily account. Officers and men of the various commands were examined, but nothing was elicited from them except that Major Elliot had been seen about daylight charging with his command into the village. I had previously given him up as killed, but was surprised that so many of the men should be missing and none of their comrades be able to account for them. All the ground inside of the advanced lines held by the Indians who attacked us after our capture of the village was closely and carefully examined, in the hopes of finding the bodies of some, if not all, the absentees, but with no success. It was then evident that when the other bands attempted to reinforce our opponents of the early morning they had closed their lines about us in such a manner as to cut off Elliot and nineteen of our men. What had been the fate of this party after leaving the main command? This was a question to be answered only in surmises, and a few of these were favorable to the escape of our comrades. At last one of the scouts reported that soon after the attack on the village began, he had seen a few warriors escaping, mounted from the village, through a gap that existed in our line between the commands of Elliot and Thompson, and that Elliot and a small party of troopers were in close pursuit. That a short time after he had heard the very sharp firing in the direction taken by the Indians in Elliot's party, but that as the firing had continued for only a few minutes, he had thought nothing more of it until the prolonged absence of our men recalled it to his mind. Parties were sent in the direction indicated by the scout. He accompanied them. But after a search extending nearly two miles all the parties returned, reporting their efforts to discover some trace of Elliot, and his men fruitless. As it was now lacking but an hour of night, we had to make an effort to get rid of the Indians who still loitered in strong force on the hills, within plain view of our position. Our main desire was to draw them off from the direction in which our train might be approaching, and thus render it secure from attack until under the protection of the entire command, when we could defy any force our enemies could muster against us. The last lodge having been destroyed, and all the ponies except those required for the pursuit having been killed, the command was drawn in and united near the village. Making dispositions to overcome any resistance which might be offered to our advance by throwing out a strong force of skirmishers, we set out down the valley in the direction where the other villages had been reported and toward the hills on which were collected the greatest number of Indians. The column moved forward in one body, with colors flying and band playing, while our prisoners all mounted on captured ponies were under sufficient guard immediately in the rear of the advance troops. For a few moments after our march began the Indians on the hills remained silent spectators, evidently had a loss at first to comprehend our intention and thus setting out at that hour the evening and directing our course as if another night march was contemplated, and more than all in the direction of their villages, where all that they possessed was supposed to be. This aroused them to action as we could plainly see considerable commotion among them, chiefs riding hither and tither, as if an anxious consultation with each other as to the course to be adopted. Whether the fact that they could not fire upon our advance without endangering the lives of their own people, who were prisoners in our hands, or some other reason prevailed with them, they never offered to fire a shot or retard our movements in any manner, but instead assembled their outlying detachments as rapidly as possible, and began a preceptive movement down the valley in advance of us, fully impressed with the idea, no doubt that our purpose was to overtake their fleeing people and herds and administer the same treatment to them that the occupants of the upper village had received. This was exactly the effect I desired, and our march was conducted with such appearance and determination as rapidly that this conclusion on their part was a most natural one. Leaving a few of their warriors to hover along our flanks and watch our progress, the main body of the Indians, able to travel much faster than the troops, soon disappeared from our sight in front. We still pushed on in the same direction and continued our march in this manner until long after dark, by which time we reached the deserted villages, the occupants at least the non-combatants and herds having fled in the morning when the news of our attack on Black Kettle's Village reached them. We had now reached a point several miles below the site of Black Kettle's Village, and the darkness was sufficient to cover our movements from the watchful eyes of the Indian scouts who had dogged our march as long as the light favored them. Facing the command about, it was at once put in motion to reach our train, not only as a measure of safety and protection to the latter, but as a necessary movement to relieve the wants of the command, particularly that portion whose haversacks and overcoats had fallen into the hands of the Indians early in the morning. By ten o'clock we reached the battleground, but without halting pushed on, following the trail we had made and striking the village. The march was continued at a brisk gait until about two o'clock in the morning. When I concluded it would be prudent to allow the main command to halt and bivouac until daylight, sending one squadron forward without delay to reinforce the guard with the train. Colonel West's squadron was detailed upon this duty. The main body of the troops was halted and permitted to build huge fires, fuel being obtained in abundance from the timber which lined the valley of the Washtaw. Our march still leading us up to the course of this stream. At daylight the next morning we were again in our saddles and wending our way, hopefully, toward the train. The location of the latter we did not know, presuming that it had been pushing after us since we had taken our abrupt departure from it. Great was our joy and satisfaction about ten o'clock to discover the train safely in camp. The teams were at once harnessed and hitched to the wagons and without halting even to prepare breakfast. The march was resumed, I being anxious to encamp at a certain point that night, from where I intended sending scouts through with dispatches to General Sheridan. Early in the afternoon this camp was reached. It was near the point where we had first struck the timbered valley, at the time not knowing that it was the valley of the Washtaw. Here men and horses were given the first opportunity to procure a satisfactory meal, since the few hasty morsels obtained by them during the brief halt made between nine and ten o'clock the night we arrived in the vicinity of the village. After posting our pickets and rendering the camp secure from surprise by the enemy, horses were unsettled, tense-pitched, and every means taken to obtain as comfortable a night, as a limited means at our disposal and the severities of the season would permit. After partaking of a satisfactory dinner, I began writing my report to General Sheridan. First I sent for California Joe and informed him that I desired to send a dispatch to General Sheridan that night, and would have it ready by dark, so that the bearer could at once set out soon as it was sufficiently dark to conceal his movements from the scouts of the enemy, who no doubt were still following and watching us. I told California Joe that I had selected him as the bearer of the dispatch, and he was at liberty, to name the number of men he desired to accompany him, as it was a most perilous-