The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1876-08-10
MARCHING UPON THE SIOUX.
The Indians as Horse-T hieyes-Infantry
and Artillery.

In horse-thieving the Indian is with
out a rival. He understands the ami
NAL thoroughly; he knows how to ride
him better than nearly any white man,
and he knows how to brighten him clear
out of his senses. To creep and crawl
up to q picket-line and suddenly rave
a blanket or a buffalo-robe, while he
shrieks wildly, is something which the
Indian is well aware will, if successfully
done, cause every animal on the line to
break ropes and halters and go careering
frantically over the country; and a herd
of loose horses is SO unmanageable a
thing that it is more even than Indians
can do to hold it, if another and equal
force of Indians are following to capture
it. When the troops attacked Crazy
Horses camp last March they ran off
the whole herd of 1900 horses. Only
about fifteen were left to the Indians,
yet with these they recaptured nearly
every animal on the march back to the
fort. When General Sheridan went
through Black Kettles camp, some
years ago, he made no attempt to carry
off the stock, but.drew out the troops
in line and shot every horse in the herd
nearly 1900 of them. The Indians
were rendered helpless, forthedismount-
ed savage, unless it be an Apache, is as
much disabled as if he had lost a limb.
1t aWakens in one o very lively inter-
est in the Typographical features of the
country, when you know that any hill
or ravine may conceal a party of the
enemy. There is little rear or front in
the usual Indian fight. In fact it is all
front, for they circulate on all sides, and
shoot from every point which offers a
place of concealment. When the Sioux
attacked General Crook in the valley
of the Rosebud, just before the Custer
disaster, the firing opened in rear, front
and TANKS within five minutes of the
time the first shots were heard. There
are no non-combatants in such affairs
as this. One place is as safe or unsafe
as another, and every man who has a
gun goes in to use it, if he wishes to
a v his scalp. 1t is entirely a mistake
however, to suppose that only the caval-
ry are of use in Indian fighting. The
infantry, carrying rifles which shoot
closer and farther than the cavalry car
bine, have driven the Indians from po-
sitions which the cavalry were unable
to carry. These savages understand
the difference between the infantryand
cavalry gun as we'll as the men who
carry them. But they will make a bold
stand against both. Artillery, however,
is the thing that demoralizes them. Let
a shell explode among a lot of rocks in
which they have been making a stand
against the musketry, and there will
not be an Indian remain a moment
longer than is sufficient for him to jump
up and run. Brave as the Sioux are,
and they are the bravest of their race,
they will never stand against field guns;
but with small arms alone, it is the
opinion of officers who have fought
them, that it requires man to man to
thoroughly thrash them. This may
seem strange talk to people who have
been accustomed to believe that one
white man was equal to any three In
dams, but wegive the opinion of gentle
men Of u~nquestioned courage who are
thoroughly acquainted with the Sioux.