, 1854-11-04

IlHe lOTt. Inc SIOUX llleh sent WORD " tle
commandant to send out some more of his
men to bury his dead, and they would
serve them in the same way. They also
, went to the depot of the American Fur
Company, which was near their camp, and
where the annuity goods $50, 900 worth }
were in store, and turned them upon the
plain, and divided them out. Lieut.. Flem-
ing, upon consultation, sent some five or
six Of the traders down to see the Sioux
and to bury the dead, but they told the
traders very explicitly that the quarrel was
not one in which they were concerned aud
they had better keep out Of it, and then
drove them back to the fort The conse-
quence was, that when the messenger left,
the dead bodies were still lying exposed on
the plains, only two, those of Luccn and
another, having been buried by two re-
turning CalifOrnians, who ventured to exc
cute the hazardous task for $25 apiece.
Nothing further has been heard from the
fort at the present time, and it would seem
that the report that the Sioux had sur.
rounded Laramie is not confirmed.
At the last accounts Matte-i-o-wan, who
was shot in three places at the first dis
charge from the soldiers, was on the point
of death. In even this brief notice of him
we cannot forbear speaking q word in his
praise. We know him well, and a better
friend the white man never had. He was
brave and gentle, and kind a wise ruler,
skillful warrior, and respected chieftain
Even in accepting his position, assigned to
him some four years ago at the treaty Of
Laramie, he only consented after much
persuasion; and then remarked when he
did so, that he gave his life to the Great
Spirit" So far from any charge of ireach-
cry being attached to his conduct, his own
fate is sufficient proof Of his fidelity, and,
in recording it, we feel like inscribing a
worthy memorial Of one Of the most high
toned and chivalric Of all the Indians whom
we have known.
Auguste Lucien also was one whom oil
who knew him will deeply lament. A
Frenchman by birth and in feeling; yet an
American in bis latter sympathies, he was
one Of the most social, true-hearted and
generous Of all the voyageurs upon the
plains.
His light and joyous humor was always
the life Of the camp, his skill as 4 hunter
supplied the choicest Of game, and his
quaint and glowing gossip made the hour
pass like dream beneath the shadow Of
the mountains. But he has passed to the
land Of dreams and the happy hunting
grounds of which he delighted to speak,
imbued as he was with the fullnesS Of anl
Indians faith. May it be his lot to drink
Of the fresh waters Of the new life, and
may his spirit find pleasant resting place.
ACCOUNT FROM AN EYE WITNESS
SdrPy's Point, Aug. 81, 1854.
To the Editor ofthe Missouri Republican:
An affair has happened here between
the soldiers and the Indians which ought
to be properly noticed by the United States
government Having been an eyewitness
to the battle, consider it my duty to fur
nish a strict account Of it and its causes
In the first place, on the 18th Of August o
train Of Mormons passed this place The
Indians who were encamped here waiting
for their payment from government, had
no provisions, and were, Of course, anxious
for something to eat. As the MormOns
we're passing, lame COW belonging TO a
man in the rear Of the Mormon train, be-
came frightened, and ran into the Indian
camp. The Mormon left the COW behind
and so one Of the Indians, Minnecongus,
shot it down, and with his companions, ate
it up. The Mormons then went to the
fort and reported that the Indians had
killed one Of their COWS.
On the 10Th, about 2 o'clock 10 the al.
ternoon, Lieut.. Grattan, with a command
Of tweaty-seven soldiers, and Auguste Lu-
cien, interpreter, arrived here to arrest the
Indian who had killed the COW. l accor-
dinghy sent for the chiefs to 90 with the
Lieutenant and make the arrest. They
accompanied him, but the Indian was not
willing to give himself up, saying that he
would die first. While the Bear Chief of
the Wazazies was standing with three 9TH
er chiefs, the little Thunder, the Big Parti-
zan, and The Man who is afraid of his
Horses, among the soldiers, the Lieuten-
ant ordered his men to fire. They did SC,
and wounded the Bear Chief and his broth
er. But one round was fired, when the
Indians in turn charged, and succeeded in
routing the soldiers and killing all of them,
with the exception of one private, who is
not expected to recover Lieut.. Grattan
and two Of his men were killed while stand
ing by their cannon, the Lieutenant receiv-
ing twenty-four arrows, one Of which pass
ed through his head.
As soon as the soldiers saw their COM
mander fall they took to fight, but were
killed within half mile of this place. The
Ogalallah camp was about one mile dis
tant, and white man, named Seyfroy
lott, was staying there at the time. Being
Sioux interpreter, the chiefs requested
him to stay between the camps, to prevent
the young men from charging on the SOL
diers, but he could not succeed, and barely
escaped with his life.
AT my house we were placed in bad
situation There were with me Mr.. Anto-