Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1867-02-20

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~: II -. 80 "a -
.[Fromthe JanesrHie Wis) Gazette, Jan 80.
Eull DAtails of the. Fort Kearney-.
From "a pri4ate>letter to Mr.. 'Daaid Van
kirk t,of this city, written by hissoni Horace
d. .Vankirf,. Company @, Tsehtyseventh
United States infantry, now stationed Fort
Phillip KeaIney, we'are permitted to make.
some extracts inrelatiento. the Indian msssa-
Gre which. occhrFea o,rs the 2lst of 2lastOe
cember: lie Says - = -. 90 -
son the ruornihs of 'December2st, about
81.o'clock, firing inrthc direction of our wood
trair,,- en- route totlre .tindtY Sr'tmbeis wns
heard, and the picker on the lookout haTim
mediatcly signaHed Indians in thatdirection.
Company C, I'd U. S. cavalry. and'about for
Iy:fiae infartrL: nnder command of Bfeyet
Lieut.: Col, l,eGrumuond-and Captain: Brown,
wah'ordeps to go tp the said' Of the wood
train, arid if they tthsoeht they could take il
to tie eprseTs aid rstnrn m safety; to- do 80,
were Immediately gotten ready: Meanwhile
Indians appeared orthejhlls eeross TIE PING
rvForls, about e. mi4e Distant although seasf
tered andiacsmuR quantities.. The p pound.
er wns.ges nto posilionJ to-give them'a sheh
or two. and Col. Fetterman's party started
out .herN Northwest gate. The- Indians had
beeuh to" light :outp -ftom'amoug the bushes
siohy the banks Of tire Piney Forh, as a'shell
orStws went over their heads il he-direction
Of their comrades on the hills. ~.The firing By
rhis time had ceased in'the direction Of the
wood train.' and Gok :Fettprman lad gone
down into tie valley Of the Rihey Fork
(which runs only about 400 yards from the
north corner of the blockade,) 7te where the
Indians were getting oht uf.the bushes, and
eho had mt been seen.till one of't@o shells
FROM the l2-pounder bad begun to make them
think ,t.was nut exactly safe around there
they had evidently been dying .irf ambuss
thera since some time before daylight They
we're, l should Judge, about $50 in number
and were srurhing 'up favines and from
one place to another to keep cut OF sight.
When COL Fet,erdian got down into The val
lev, ne threw out ssirrhish fine IS he adj
riuced toward the creek; the Indians were
retreating in a northcrly direction toward Peno
Creek Valley, where Lieut.. Bingham and
Serrt. Bowers were killed on the 10th. A
small party Of men joined' Col. Fetterman's
party in the Piuey Fork bottom, consisting OF
.bont three soldiers and three or four Indians,
who vent ont on their own hook
"Colonel Fetterman's party kept on, and
finally disappeared. oyer the hills toward the
Peno' Greek. Valley, and shortly .afer heavy
firing was heard in that direction. 1t was by
this time most ii O'Clock. A. IT., and every
thing in the garrison pursued its regular rou-
tine Of garrison duty. About half past Ii A.
VI. q messenger arrived from the scene of
action and requested more assistance. and
men were soon gathered to the number CT
abou. for,y-Gve, under charge of Captain i.
Tee Eyck, to go to- their assistance. Ihe
messenger reported tie, Indians charging ON
our men in great numbers. was anxious to
20, and 1 could not get gun handy without
going down to the company after my own,
and knew would not have time enough
for that, so concluded not to 60, but an in
innate friend of mine went, and get the
followargsstatcmept from him, and be i, I
think, very good judge.
{" lie says they proceeded in haste 10 the
field. and upon arriving at the edge OF Peno
Creek Valley, they discovered further down
and in the valley. what appeared to be cot
tonwood limbs stripped of their bark. The
valley was one moving body OF Indians, vel
ling, riding around aud cutting capers. as lar
a, tue eve could reach. Ny friend estimated
them at from three to five thousand, aud he
has seen armies In every position, and think
be has made careful estimate. Ihcy pro-
2eedcd along the edge of the. yI icy to see.ii
they could fad any trace OF Colonel Feiter
mans party, bu. not daripg 20 so do@n into
the bottom of the valley for they knew it
would be folly, for they would be imraediale-
iy surrounded b. the lpdiaus il they should.
They continued along the edge oi the valley
ill they got. 10 a poiat opposite to where the
apparent cotonwood trees were lying, and
Captain Ten Ey:k sent twenty men to go
down AMI examine the scattered rubbish, and
10, aud behold, they were the dead bodies Of
COZ. Fetttrsnan nnd-party; and not one was
iound to have the least particle Of li!o When
Capt. Ten Eyck 4ef! the post, an ambulance
and tire ar,ng wagons, with hay in the Gotfom
10 bring in the wounded and take out 5000
rouats Of ammunition, was, sent out DIRECTLY.
,f;er Captain Ten Eyck's party had left: Alter
lit had bae,is discovered that npne of Col Fct'
.tertnan's party were hlt TO tell the tGle, The. ;.
warons and ambulance were driven down
and ;ll of the men, except avery few that
we're left~ on u high. point to'keepa lockout,
vent down to load up%thc bodies. the liidi |
ans ha1 rctrcatcd down thc valley and Gid
n0t seem over anxious to. renew Tho combat,
;hu. very slowly kept 'fallihg back, leaving
.baut IS dead ON the field, being hnable'to
hriHs theiniin, bin: returned The next day,
22d inst, aud brought in the remainder: THO
oodic5~ were stripped parfcctly hakcd a1d >hor:
riHly lnnrilated;- some had the top OF their
,knls cut OF. and their brains taken out,
T o;lierS with'thair arms cut out OF tbeifSocketS
:and were mu:iialea in every share and way
-lmaoinabie, and had arrows in considerable
Quantities stabbed IN their. bodies. One man:
~ soldier in Company 2, I'd BIttalion, ISL!
Infantry, had los in his body, another %,
and somo had ouly five or'six, more or less,
from ALL appearances the best evidence Is
tia. the party, ,Goose Fet,srmaa's, seat
down into the valley on charge, and only
159 or 900: Indians were Visible, and When
they had got &irly's the'bottom the Indians
spranc out,irem among tbe-'ravines ana be
'h;nd tbc~li:slc has in immense ittmhers ana
i'm aredintelg, surrounded them, for they had
evidently fousbt''to the last man, and'byafi
appearas css, fought we'll 'Tbeir bodies were
all in .he spaee of forty feet'square, although
they were not piled On top OF one another
The Indians ooulh not have finished their
work of torture manly minutes before the ar;;
rival of SGaptaiuTen Eyck's party for heafg
Gfing WAS heard after he had crossed the
-piney Fork, iii that direction. | have given
you the particulars as far as-I can, as far as
the fight is concerned, and will try and re;
late tile feelings of the arison Oh f~ f~lndsticn
of curh fact f}ur total loss "a three officers,