The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1862-10-04
FT. ABERcRoMBIE, D. T.,

TT. ABERCRoMBIE, ID. t.,
September 3, 1869.
Dear Brother:-The Indians made anoth
er attack upon us this morning, about four
O'Clock. The number must have been very
great. They fought like inearnate devils.
Had they been able to take the fort, they
would have got rich prize. Had it not
been for the one hundred citizens now here,
old Fort Abercrombie would now be in pos
session OF the red skins, and we should
| probably all have been massacred. | never
knew what it was to have bullets whistle
| by my head as thick as hail-stones, before.
1t ls truly wonderful how we held the
fort without losing more lives-only one
man killed and three wounded. A great
number of the Indians must have been
killed; they left five bodies behind. aud
carried off the rest. Several Indians are
now on horses in front of the fort, but they
Keep so far OFF that we cannot reach them
with our guns. 1 presume they are taking
observations to see when to attack US, and
to learn what we are doing.
They are bold men; the daring which
they have shown to-day equals anything
found In history. They entered the stable
right In the face of our guns and took sew
eral horses, and set fire to some three hun
dred tons of hay, which is now burning,
but hope we shall be able to put it out and
save part, if the wind does not rise.
A. M.-Bang goes some fifty guns at
the Ferry-the guard and men that were
sent there for water are fleeing for dear life
The Indians have ambushed themselves on
the opposite side of the river, taking pos
session of the road leading in and out of the
post, so that no one can pass in or out
Our suspense is terrible; it is now nearly
two weeks SINCE we have heard from st.
Cloud or St. Paul. We have sent four mes
sengers on horses at different times, but not
Wcrd has been heard from them. We
have fears that they have been cut off. !
dropped you letter by each.
We feel perfectly safe in and around the
barracks; but what annoys us most is that
the woods and grass around the fort are
filled with red devils, and every now and
then ball goes whistling by our heads.
The commander has just been shot thro'
the arm, above the elbow.
SATURDAY, 6th.-The Indians made their
appearance this morning, about five o'clock.
Their number was very great-the prairie
west of the fort was covered with them;
and such terrific yell as they gave before
they commenced the attack was truly fright
full. Thursday and Friday we bad thrown
up double breast work around the quar-
ters, some six or seven feet high, and be-
hind these works we took our position, and
received their charge coolly. They made
no impression upon US, and if their num-
Der had been double it would have been the
same. Only one of our men was killed
and four wounded, but Mr.. Redskin drop
ped in all directions. The battle lasted
about FIVE hours, and then the Indians
withdrew in the direction of Mr. Stones
! farm, some two miles off. Whether they
will renew the attack or not remains to be
seen, but we are ready for them. With our
howitzers and shells, we can cover the prai-
! RE with their bodies like autumn leaves. l
have been on guard nearly two weeks. We
keep out about seventy pickets night and
day, so Mr.. Indian will find it hard 10 creep
upon us unknown. o! l do wish they
would come up aud meet us man fashion,
! face to face, and we would soon clean them
out.
We have the women and children all col
lected in the barracks. They all sleep on
the floor. I wish that you could look in
the barracks. They all sleep on the floor.
wish that you could look in and see them.
Mr.. Hill, the messenger we sent to St.
Paul, returned to-day. He brings the first
news that we have bad since the Indian war
commenced. He goes back in few hours,
! and shall send this letter by him. fear
that he will not be able to get through.
! All communication with this country is cut
off this year, and it will not be safe for one
to travel. l do not know whether shall
stop here this winter or not. Every family
between this post and Sank Center has fled.
| And l cannot see how they can run the
stage. I am perfectly worn out, and ought
to take my bed instead of penciling this.
The Indian Troubles IN Misunderstanding
| teresting Statement.