The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1867-05-09
A Perilous Adventure on the In
dian Frontier.

A letter from an officer at Fort Phil
Kcerney, Dacotah Territory, to his
friends in Detroit, has been published
in the Detroit Post We extract
from it the following account Of per.
ilous adventure
We have fiually succeeded In open.
ing communication with Fort G. +.
Smith, ninety miles above hero on the
Big Horn river. Up to three days
ago we bad heard nothing from them
for two months, aud were very anx-
ious about them, but after repeated
trials by mountainers and miners
near here TO 60 through, We atlcngth
succeeded in sending two messengers,
Sergeant Grant, of my company, and
Sergcnt Graham, of Company G..
They started FROM here on foot. with
snow shoes, and took to the mountains.
with only ordinary clothing aud six
days ratious of hard bread aud lafd.
Each night they cached one days ra-
tious, aud left memorandum OF
what had happened to them.
They finally after much suffering
and hunger, reached Fort Smith with
our dispaiches. They stayed two
days and wore sent back with half
breed named Boyer, each mounted
and with two puck mules. Whom
they came to the "little Horn River
they saw whore buffalo had been
killed, and moccasin tracks around it.
aud Immediately left the road and
made for the hills. When they had
gone about FIVE miles aud crossed q
hi'l they stopped, looked back, and
saw about fifteen Indians after them
Their horses we're blown and Sergeant
Grant had to shoot his The other
men getting frightened, ran away
from him aud left him aioot. He ran
toward q clump of piues about 500
yards distant, and while so doing he
fell into a hole in the snow and that
he had been running on the edge of q
preeipice of sheer 200 hundred fee
fall, aud had fallen on little ledge
of rocks the entrance Of which wa,
through q hole that was covered Will
snow. lie sat down under the elf
and waited. He had Spencer car
bine breech-loading, aud eighty
rounds of ammunition, and says he
felt perfectly safe. lie heard the In.
dams yelling above him, aud soou
they commenced to throw stones down
the deep hole, which was about nine
feet deep, aud just sheltered him
Then one of the indians jumped down
into the hole armed with Henry re
peatiug rife. When he saw Sergeant
Grant he dropped his gun and gave q
yell, aud starting back fell over the
ledge, which was narrow. In few
minutes another In lian let himself
down; and Grant shot him aud threw
his body over the bank, This was
about nine o'clock in TIE morning
The Indians stayed near the hole til
nearly dark, when thick fog came
up aud they went away. He eau
tiously followed them. keeping il
their trail for about three miles, til
they again struck the river, when he
tore up his overcoat to make wrap
ping of it to hide the shoe heels, and
went up the river on the ice. III
travelled four days, and on the even
ing of the fourth day got into the
post. Sergt. Graham aud Boyer got
in an hour bofore him and told II,
that he was killed, and that the mai
was lost and all the horses gone
Boyer only had one letter from Col
Kenney, commanding Fort Smith
which he carried in his pocket. The.
seemed We y badly scared.
When Grant made his appearance
covered with ice and with the Henr,
rife he had captured, Graham though
it was his ghost. Altogether it wa
one of tho best things that has beel
done in this country, and we are al
going to do something for Grant, ant
try and get something from Wash
ingtou. He is very sick in the hos
pital now with pleurisy and exhus
ton, resu ting from his suffering
and exposure.