Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1869-01-18
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JANUARY. 18, 1853. Isl 3
.,Sta5tesslu'lIa'Irllt,, I IN,
Our Indian Complications No. s.
. COLUMBUS, Jan. liz

L
relation to the campaign against hostile
Indians south of the Arkansas" are
specimens in their way, and think sde..
serving of public attention, for reasons
which will appear in the sequel. ~ - 3.,I - .s
In his official report of ftthe battle of
the Washita," dated ofIn the field, on
the Washita river, November %, 1865"
and addressed to Gen. Sheridan, it is
stated by Gen. Custar that on the morn
ing of the 26th of November he "struek
the trail of an Indian war party, num-
ibering about one hundred warriors. The
trail was not quite twenty-four hours old,
and was, first discovered near the, point
where the Texas boundary line crosses
the Canadian river. The direction was
toward the southeast. The ground be-
ing covered by over twelve inches Of
snow, no difficulty was experienced in
following the trail A vigorous pursuit
was at once Instituted. Wagons, tepts
and all other impediments to rapid
march (saye band Of musie) were aban-
donedsT From early daylight untild 8
O'Clock at night, the pursuit was un-
checked. Horses and men were than
allowed one hour for refreshment, and at
10 P. M. the march was resumed, until
1870 A. NJ, when our Usage trailers re-
ported village within less than mile
from our ADVANCE .l9s5sa sdi i
After this recital, which I give in his
own words, Custar goes on to say. that
the column was Immediately counter
r-.-.LoJ o,1 nth droxp,, a. a ,a@;~od
point to prevent discovery, where the
plan of attack upon the Indian village
was arranged, and was as follows: The
command was divided into four columns
of nearly equal strength; the first, con-
sisting of three companies, under Major
Elliott, was to attack in the timber from
below the village !. the second column,
under Lieut. Col. Myer was to move
down the Washita, and attack in the
timber. from above,ye Brevet Colonel
Thompson, in command of the third
column, was to attack from the crest,
north of the village, while the fourth
column was to charge the village, from
the crest overlooking it, on the left bank
of the Washita." The command con.
sisted of eleven troops of the Seventh
Cavalry. = - Bob 2 '''s@
Thus disposed, the troops were tc
charge simultaneously at the first dawr
of day. Custar says in relation to, it
"There never was more complete sur
prise. My men charged the village and
reached the lodges before the Indians
were aware of our presence. The mo
ment the charge was ordered, the band
struck up Garry Owen and with cheers
** every trooper, ledaby his officer
rushed toward the village" The Indi
ans rushed from their lodges, which
with all their, contents, were IN few
moments in, the possession of Custar
but the warriors got behind trees and in
the deep ravines, and madea determined
resistance, and it took several hours te
dispatch them all, and Custar says, hi
"eforts were crowned with the . mos,
complete and gratifying success The
entire village, numbering fifty.on
lodges, fell into his hands, with all the
property therein, comprising everything
the Indians possessed, including theil
winter supplies of food, and whatever
was Of value to them was destroyed If
The bodies of one hundred and three
warriors, including that of the Chief
Black Kettle, were left upon the ground
and ffty-three squaws and their chill
dren fell into our possession as prison
ers of war. 1T so happened that some
of the squaws and few children were
killed and wounded" In his detailed
list of property captured, Custar says
'"We captured, in good condition, S7s
horses, ponies and mules
The Kiowas, under Satanta, and Ara
pahoes, under Little Raven, were, &C
cording to the report. encamped six miles
below Black Kettles village, and the
warriors from these two villages, Custal
says, came to attempt the rescue of ths
Cheyennes. g They attacked my com
mand (says hey from all sides about noon
hoping to recover the squaws and herd,
of the Cheyennes." .-suz % ba4 s5sa5 ?
The official report of this "battle,
made by General Sheridan to the Lieu
tennnt General, is supposed to be basec
on Oustar's report. Sheridan is at ths
head of the North Canadian, and Custal
operating on the Washita river. Sheri
dan dates his report on the North Cana
dian, at theljunction of Beaver creek
November go, 1868. In it he state
that Custar struck, on the 26th of No
vember, "the trail of war party o
Black Kettles band returning from tht
north :" that he at once followoed il
pursuit "over to the headwaters of tn,
Washita, thence down that stream, ant
on the morning of the 9th surprised
the camp of Black Kettle, and after /,
desperate fight, in which Black Kettl
was assisted by the Arapahoes unde
Little Raven and the Kiowas unde
Satanta," captured the entire camp, &c.
/ &c. about eight or nine hundred o
the animals captured were shot, the bal
ance kept for military purposes.".a 1t il
to be observed that Custar's official re
port, dated on the Washita, and on O.
near the /" "battle" ground, suppose, il
made November 2Sth, and that of Sher
idan on the North Canadian is made OF
November 90, 1868, only one day inter
vening. That seems to me to be pretty
quick work, especially when it it is re-
membered that the parties are supposed
to be in direct line some ninety Oh
more miles apart, in broken country
where there are no telegraphs, no roads
/ of any kind, snow twelve inches deep
with the snowdrifts in the valleys, ant
Custar's men and animals, as he assures
us, completely worn out from hard ser
vice and loss Of sleep But that is no
all. Sheridan says, in his report tha
Custar struck war party of Black Ket
ties band returning from the north; tha
he at once followed in pursuit over to tbs
| head waters of the Washita; theme,
/ down that stream, and, on the morning