The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1862-11-25

and silvery voice by your side, but
give me gallant steed, good compan-
ion, and wild free gallop over the broad
prairies that make up our western land
There just ahead Of us is Birch Coolie,
and here we are upon the battle ground.
\ on can sit in the saddle and count rs
dead horses in circle of so feet in d.
ameter. To the right is the ravine or
Coolie," hardly thirty rods off, where
the Indians laid in ambush, and for 48
hours kept up continual FIRE upon the
little band of haros, until reinforcsments
arriving, they were forced to retire. Had
they followed up the first volley, coming
as 1t did when all, even the sentinels al
their post, were asleep, none would have
been left to tell the tale, but as they were
too cowardly to attack in hand to hand
tight, though their numbers were five to
one. the handful Of whites making ram
parts of the dead horses, bravely held
out until party from Fit. Ridgely arriv-
ed and raised the selge.
And now couple of hours ride
through the country, and we will return.
How many white settlers were slain dur
ing the outbreak, can never be known.
Our scouts are constantly picking up
dead bodies far out on the prairie, and
tenderly committing their remains to
mother earth; 1000 would hardly be
setting it too high. Some of our com
pany buried IS one day and another.
A party from Yellow Medicine buried
"a, and brought in woman and child,
almost starved with cold and hunger,
who had fled to the woods and lived on
roots and wild fruits since August last.
These victims to savage hate were
treated with the utmost barbarism oil
which the mind can conceive, and il
seems as if the very fends from hell
could not surpass them in cruelty and
ferocity.
My tongue refuses to detail the horrors
of that few days, but history will yet re-
cord that the widest tale of the dark and
bloody ground of Kentucky aud Ohio, in
its early days, can scarcely parallel the
Indian massacre in Minnesota.
When 1 left Fort Smelling l thought
the story had been overweight, that
excitement and fear had magnifed
and colored things beyond belief, but
can now truly say the half never has and
never can be told, and / with the rest of
the soldiers call for vengeance, terrible
vengeance, upon the murderers.
Mark the scene Of devastation as we
ride along, the deserted homes, the ruin
ed fields, the stacks Of grain unthreshed,
of hay unfed, the corn unhusksd, and
the utter silence and desolalion which
broods over the whole that speaks more
elegantly than thousand tongues of
happy homes deserted, Of fanatics re-
duced from a competence to absolute
poverty, forced to flee for their lives, and
in many cases overtaken and bulchered
by the merciless savages.
In that house yonder, in the edge of
the gully, we passed night while out on
foraging party. Major Galbraith was
with US, and he told us the whole family
were destroyed. The sick mother was
taken from her bed, carried short dis
lance and burned to death, the children
cut to pieces and strswed about the yard,
while the father escaped to perish at
Birch Coolie.
A little farther on, and 1 will show you
the grave of a man whose remains were
found horribly mutilated, his bowels cut
open, his head chopped off and transfxed
by stake. BY the road side is the
grave of an Indian Interpreter one of their
best friends.
But enough Of such horrors If your
pity, like mine, for the wrongs of the red
man, has given place to loathing at this
brief recital of their crimes, you will, il
not loudly call for, at least not loudly
condemn those who raise their voices in
the cry for determination.
But we must hurry back to camp. Ii
will be busy afternoon, for tomorrow
We start for the Winnebago Agency
with tho prisoners, and .here il is hoped
and expected the most OF them will per,
ish by the halter. And SO for the pres
ent, Adisu.
j. M. B.