Butte record. (Bidwell, Butte County, Cal.) 1853-1858, 1855-04-21

SAe ~ foot P@ASy
ing about, and the miners determined to
have brush with them-who YVES so
competent to head the party as that
sworn enemy of the " redskins" Frank
Bates : The party engaged two Winnie
bagoes as guides, and then struck into
the forest, following recent trail. The
third night of their journey, the wary
leader insisted on standing sentry, and
about midnight the clear crack Of his
rifle awakened every sleeper. In an in
slant, every man was on his feet, rifle in
hand, ready TO repel any lurbing foe,
but low whistle from Frank announced
there was no danger. Morning came,
and as the party crowded around the
sentinel to learn the cause of the alarm.
he merely pointed to what appeared to
be huge bear nearer approach to
the object discovered to their astonish-
ment the visage of a dead Dacotah, en-
veloped in the skin of gigantic bruin,
who, thus disguised, had attempted to
reconnotre the position of the frontiers
men.
Frank now felt assured they were
near their enemy, and followed the trail
in silence, on the alert for their foe. On
reaching the summit of knoll, they
saw the village before them-a collection
of high, conIcal tents, made of dressed
bufalo-skins sewed together. and orna-
mented with rude representations of the
battle or the chase. On the outskirts
were the squaws, engaged in the labori-
Gus occupations which fall to their lot
Their infants, tightly bound to straight
strips of bark, were tied to small, bent
over birches, which gently danced them
to sleep, and the boys of the villrge.
with bow and arrow, were firing at the
representation of Kansas hunter In
the centre of the village, before the
towering tent of the chief, sat the braves,
smoking their tomahawk pipes with stoi-
cal gravity.
The white men looked at the printing
of their rifles, put their sharp hunting
knives between their teeth, and with a
deaf ming veil rushed down through the
frightened squaws, ere the Dacotahs
could apprehend what caused the alarm.
Dashing into the startled group of war>
riors with fierce war-whoops, they dealt
destruction around them. The chief
was the first slain, bravely defending
himself and encoura ging his warriors,
who nobly struggled to avenge his death,
but all in vain.
Frank Bates fought like demon, but
at one time was nearly victim to a stall
wart warrior But on glancing at his
opponent, Frank recognized, in a gay
red handkerchief around his head, his
marriage gift to his lost wife. This ad-
ded renewed strength to his body and
increased activity to his fury, as he sell
zed his assai ant with his left arm, lifted
him from the ground, and at the same
time with nervous force thrust his knife
into his heart. This decided the battle,
for the surviving Dacotahs, panicstruek
at the sudden attack, rushed to the spot
where their horses were tethered and es-
capped into the forest. Upwards of fifty
dead warriors remained on the bloody
field and others grievously wounded, but
not single white man was seriously in
jured
The woman and children fed to the
woods, and the whites found an abun.
dance of plunder, comprising blankets,
rich furs, dried meat and tents But
Frank Bates felt sad at heart, for the
sight of this mcmento of his wife made
him fear she had been tortured before
perishing in the flames. Night came on,
and feeling positive that he could not
sleep, he volunteered to keep watch. 1t
was a bright moonlight night, and as he
was pacing his solitary round. planning
new schemes of vengeance, he heard a
light step approach from the thicket.
Frank, at first. raised his rife to
shoot down the intruder, but secret in
huence led him to call out: Who
comes ~
" Are you a white man :" was the re-
ply, in tones that produced an indescri-
bable effect upon the stout-hearted pio-
near.
" Yes, and YOU :"
81 am Frank Bates's wife, who was
taken prisoner over on the Mississippi"
and as she spoke, she advanced.
The rife fell to the ground, and Frank