The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1876-12-06
The Troops March all Night to Fight all
Day Without Food.

and signal victory: :
DULL KNIFE's FAsTNEss.
The canon is about four miles long,
and varies in width from a quarter of a
mile to a mile from base to base of its
walls, twice those distances from crest
to crest. 1t is cut up and intersected
throughout by scores of ravides, from
five to fifty feet deep. The direction of
the main canon is about east and west,
and the North Fork of the Powder riv-
er winds through it along the south
side. Its western end terminates in an
irregular range of fiat hills, and there
are rocky and bushy patches on the side
of the canon, and bluffs rising abruptly
from the bottom, at several points with
in short distances of the Indian camp.
THE ATTACK.
Our Indian allies were SEM to the
front, and at daylight we gave our horses
rein and spur, though our progress was
comparatively slow in consequence of
the roughness of the country through
which We were moving. We had not
gone far when our Indians commenced
bowling and blowing on hideous voiced
wind intruments, and the Indians in
the village, some of whom were still
awake and at their war dance, sounded
the alarm on a drum, and commenced
shooting from their lodges at the ad-
vancing column. The Shoshones, led
by Lieutenant Schuyler, aide -de-camp
to General Crook, clambered up the
hills on the south side of the canon, and
galloped along through a brisk fire to
the highest point of bluff opposite and
overlooking the village. Here they
Immediately e%ntrenched themselves, and
remained throughout the day and all
night. The Pawnees, Arapahoes and
Sioux went through the center of the
canon, swept the village and captured
two or three herds of ponies. Sudden
as was the attack, the hostiles con
tinued to dash into the ravines and creep
behind the convenient bluffs, rocks and
bushes where they fortified themselves
to await until the soldiers rushed in.
Day had not broken sufficiently to fully
discover their movements to us, but the
bulk of our advancing column gave them
an excellent chance to fire at us with
telling effect.
DEATH OF THE BRAVE M'KINNEY.
1t was then that Lieutenant McKin-
ney, commanding Company NJ of the
Fourth cavalry, the last company of the
first battalion, fell, shot in the head and
body by a volley, behind a ridge, where
he had been ordered to place his COM
pany. When falling he cried to his
men, "Get back from this place. you
are ambushed," and then exclaimed,
just after, "Oh! my poor mother. Tell
her! Tell her.r'
His men fed from the fatal spot, but
Immediately rushed back again and
swept the savages from the ravine, kill
ing about a dozen of them and holding
the position which they had been ordered
to take.
Nearly all of our men whs were killed
outright, felli in their first dash, or from
reckless exposure afterward.
This was about one O'Clock in the af-
ternoon, and we had not had anything
to eat since three o'clock of the previ-
Gus afternoon. About four O'Clock the
volleys grew fewer, and some of the
men got a chance to go to the pack
train, which had arrived meanwhile,
and get a bite. BY shutdown all was
quiet.
A count of the tepees after the fight
showed that the village had contained
between 100 and 200, and the warriors
are estimated at between 400 and 500.
General Mackenzie reports twenty
five Indians killed, but fully fifty must
have fallen.
In the captured tepees were found
several articles showing, beyond doubt,
that the C%heyennes of this village were
in the Custer massacre andt the Rosebud
fight.
We have captured about 500 ponies
and totally destroyed all the tepees and
most of their contents, including the
winters supply of dried meat. Be
sides what was destroyed, over fifty
horses were loaded with buffalo robes,
ETC., taken from the lodges by our n
listed Indians. A quantity of ammu-
milton which the hostiles had no time to
take off with them, was also destroyed.
Among the Indian dead were said to
be three sons of Dull Knife, one of the
leading warriors Of the Cheyennes, who
was heard on the bluffs encouraging
his men to be brave during the fight.
Gen. Mackenzie's command discov-
cred no little GOODNESS and bravery in
~dislodging small parties from advanta-
geous points, and had some thrilling
fights at close quarters. They had no
towards to encounter in the Cheycnnes,
some Of whom seemed to court death by
their reckless dashes. About eleven
O'Clock the heavy firing was checked on