The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-07-26
CJUNE, 1889.
BATTLE OF BIG CREEK CLIFFS.
Il ChorGo In the DaYk..ThO OushWhaNnIs nIs
efs Route4...QanSrau Rams A4al0,
coerespoadenc. Of The Cat. City.

Correspondence Of the Gate City.
- CLINTON, No., July IA, 1852,
Lear Gais:-After long time lying in kind
oI cnrysalis state, and worming around aftsr
mean secesh, and hauling men over the Goals of
..rong Union fires and watching when they ~
:one; We At last had chase aud fight Ma
Or .smes y. Cover, commanding Post ct Clin.
oon earning that Quantral had collected 15O %
zvV men LOT the purpose Of plundering and ma
rauding. detailed scouting party under Lieut
reynolds. who was absent tventy.four houra
ana FOUND him, about 200 strong, on Q farm
near the brush, when he ordered = charee uno.
him and attempted to dislodce him: but he
column not coming up in order. he ordered a n.
treat and returned to Clinton, when Maj Cover
ordered reinfofcements to meet him .t fhe nIace
where he had force composed Of detachmants
from the lst and 7th Missouri and seventy men
from Butler Of lst Iowa, which, added 70 de.
tacbments from Go. A, Of fifty men and G Of
forty men. made his force ample to pursue and
attack two Quantrals. We soon found the trsi
the lst Missouri, about sixty men, were placed
10 advance to trail him, the first Iowa men in the
center and 7th Missouri on the left, now com
menced grand chase. The 1st Missouri we're
good on scent The late rain helped 70 trsck
them, and away we went across farms, layipe
dcwn fences, passing over short stretches Of
prairie, through ravines, up the beds of creeks.
right through thick under brush, winding round
all points OF the compass within two miles dis.
tance till the night Of the 10th forbid our fur
ther persuit.
The next chase opened again with renewed
vigor, and away We went to the timber of Big
Greek Soon we were within six hours Of his
band, zoo to 800 strong, who kept of Of Q res.
pectful distance till about 9 q. M, when the
game was ssarted from great snooze among the
thick brush on Big Greek. The track vss
iresh. The game was only four hours ahead and
nad no breakfast. We all knew be wss in the
naols OF eating At least twice day, and the day
promised fair for . brush or . hard Chase
About 10 .. m. the lst Missouri struck THAR MIC.
kets and chased about three miles. vhen Al,
turned up square in front of a large two storv
house and barn, each standing at right angles 70
the other, when the advance guard received =
tremendous volley, and four men fell dead on
the spot. The remainder of the lat Nisao.r;
rushed up and dismounted and opened Gre unon
them With carbines. It was all to no purnose.
The 6ushwhackers had it in their own wsy. and
the lst Missouri retreated over on the nr.;r;e
out Of range, leaving their dead and our vound.
ed there. The bushwhackers were in ext.c;.a.
They stripped the dead of all arms and clothino.
except shirt and pants. They, like fenda. tooS
the wounded man and set him against tres and
shot him dead through the head, over the iefe
eye. This Is said to be Lieut. Hallars mark of
Quantral's mark. :"
- Why was this? There was sometb;nu ,-,,,
The LIST Iowa had not come up; the IL. H;s.
souri, had retreated. All was explained soon
Capt. --, of the 1st Missouri, had disohsv.
ed the orders of Major Cover, and tbinkno he
would get . little glory, perhaps. or NAV be he
was 80 apprehensive that Quantral would r,n
and get away that he ordered the charge
ABOUT one hour and q half after. the LAT To-.
came up: Company vas in advance and Com.
pany A followed hard after, and away tbsv wan.
through brush and over ravines, till thew re.cSsS
the house above named. There lay the hod,as
OF hve dead men, but all was quiet; but on IN
we went for about half mile, when the trail
y ,denly turned in the thick black. Jack And nm.
aergrowth, among ledges and cliffs Of roct
!, 1nen sne rapid volleys Of musketry and yeils Of
'ne push waackers told that We had driven them
% 20 'nTif lar, and now they we're trying to rous
1s. Two men fell dead from the adv.n.a ~
Company O, bst crack, crack went tho mMsIs, ~
y, and horses were falling here and man the.s
but on, on went the column. Company nrs..s
% forward, and tho bullets whlstied sronpd
deorge COLLINS, poor fellow, pressed forward
beside Lieut. Reynolds, and turning to th. i.r.
received shot through both longs. Ia fsii
md was soon carried away. It vsa soon 1oIS
hat Lieut. Kerr WAS wounded in the sS~ a..
Ieant Dashiel wounded in the breast. Sers.sn..
Foster shot in the arm, and L;eut pa.
'oids was grazsd in the head. o. n. Ana.
nad n,s horse shot dead from under hi. ia
:ob shook was dismounted BY fatal ballet fsI.
ing nis morse. Ga the column rushed. ".
we're IN the liar Of the fiends, and our aboss
.en' 'olck ana fast, and the falling butternuts.
So: ,on .ounas, to'd their own tale. It wss now
nel. :" .ne 70 run and they broke In every direc.
bloody and fearful contest vas cou,nis..d
We looked around US; ws had nine k;ii.S s,5
eighteen wounded. The Iowa lst had tb-.s
Iilied, and know not how msnv vouedad
9uantral had left. His horse was cantured an
t WAS said. Their officers horses and couinY
nents were captured, with many mu,es and
'orses ana some arms. The brush was thick.
IND that was their cover. Pools of blood and
racks OF crimson told that they carried MANY
FOUNDED and dead away. We gathered up the
1ead ana buried them, while three or four
badly wounded were allowed to be taken cs..
IF by their friends. srgsW rlE ~ r-N
Ny God! is this to last always, Muat
light fends in human form, with all the tre..h'
sry Of the Indian, without his high points ~
honor. r 60 HsaW 40 -
, We must strike at the cause of tbi. uobo,x
var and remove it, and all will be we'll W.
nay tamper with it till every household in the
,ation Is draped in mourning, and stll va
nay carry on this contest, for fend, nos,ess
ne instruments and upholders of this gigantic
'utrage npon human rights we see Evidence
u Its oaroarlsm oil around us. Il ID not to be-
1pe ecIed tnst mem who have robbed An en-
aasea as" people ana lived from their toll would