, 1867-06-14
General Hanosek'. Indian EIpodaIon.
BURNING on A curYrvrr yJIL1sr.

correspondent Of the Missouri Democrat,
with Gen. Hancock's Expedition, writes under
date OF "Site of Cheyenne Camp, thirty miles
from Fort Larned, Kansas, April 2e," giving ac
count OF the destruction Of q camp or village Of
the Oheyennes at that point by Gen. Hancock.
1t had been mostly deserted by the Indians, on
the approach of our forces. The situation was
handsome one, in grove Of elms, on the Paw
| nee. The letter says "This morning Gen.
Hancock ordered the Cheyenne and Sioux lodges
10 be burnt. He was compelled to adopt this
course because, after the delivery of his speech
to the hfleeu chiefs, they went and burned three
stations on the Smoky Hill route, and sealped,
dissmbowelled and burnt three men employed
at Fossil Creek Station and ran of several
mules and horses on that route, aad gave good
scare generally to traders. According to Gus
tar's official report to Gen. Hancock, the station
hands are leaving for "America," and the men
| OF the ranches are barricading their places and
preparing for a desperate resistance. At a coun-
Gil of war held it was deemed advisable to re.
taliats Immediately by burning the Indian VIII
lage. The following is a true list of the goods
burnt this morning: 25l lodges, 942 buffalo
robes, 436 horn saddles, 435 travesties, 2s7 head
mats, l9l axes, 100 kettles, II frying pans, $50
tin cups, 30 whetstones, 2l2 large sacks of paint
9s water kegs, ovens, Al grubbing horns, 20
coffee mills, l44 lariat ropes, l29 chairs, 3O3
parffecks, Is curry combs, CT coffee pots, 46
hoes, 81 fickng irons, LAG horn spoons, % crow.
bars, 70 brass kettles, II hammers, 8 stew pans,
10 drawing knives, &c spades, scythes, files,
10 bridles pitchforks, 10 tea kettles, 90 spoons
Is knives, 10 pickaxes, l sword, bayOuet, U.
S. Mail bag, "A stone mallets, lance, 80 wooden
spoons, 25l door mats, 4S raw hide ropes, %
meat stones. The whole is supposed to amount
to not less than Que hundred thousand dollars,
an irretrievable loss to the indian tribes--Chey-
ennes and Sioux. 1t will require {, 900 buffaloes
to be killed to procure enough hides to make
their 'wgwams." The whole outfit of an entire
wgwam, costs on an average one hundred dol.
lars. They made SIX different stacks of effects
taken from the village, everything was promis-
cuously thrown in and set fire to them all at the
same moment. The dry poles of the wigwams
caught fire like finder, and AS The FIRE spread out
the sight approach ed subIimity. The forked
flames lesped into the air, eddying and whirling
about, making the whole sky black with smoke,
terrible warning to the revengeful fends, who,
fresh from the council, committed the diubolical
action the Smoky Hill route. Now the FIRE
roared and surged onward with the wind, as if
eager to swallow all at once the vast piles.
Again would it retreat to shoot upward into the
air, devouring everything that it had but previ-
ously scorched. The hides, robes and lodges
melted into seetbiug masses of blackish fatty
substances with the white heat. Flakes of FIRE
were borne on the breeze to different parts of the
prairie, setting the prairie grass on fire. With
lightning speed the fire rolled on in crimson
waves, consuming everything, while the black
smoke slowly and stately sailed skyward, forms
Ing cloudy murky pail overhead. Every green
thing, aud every dead thing that reared its head
above the earth was consumed, while the buffalo,
the antelope and the wolf fed in wild dismay
from the swift coming destructive agent. All
around the huge boulires made out OF the Indian
village the prairie seemed turned into a surginR
lake of FIRE and the Indian paradise was trans
formed into a roaring shell"
The Indians have deceived Gen. Hancock, and,
as the means of ehecting result that will can
eel their turptude, he was compelled to burn
their villages and order Custar, with his full
force of cavalry, after them. lie waited patiently
at Larned for the chiefs to come to come to the
council. They came in groups of twos and
threes, FIVE days after the day set for it, to the
number of fifteen, thus involving him in endless
embarrassment. Custar is still in hot pursuit
on their trails"