The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1876-08-18
TIE INDIAN WAH.
The Sioux Burning Tie Grass
I'm the big Horn COuntry-Car-
bines Versus Long Rifles.

The Sioux Burning Tie Grass
i'm the big Horn COuntPy-Car-
bines Versus Long Rifles.
The Telegraph's correspondent
with General Crooks expedition
writing from the camp on South
Tongue River, Wy. T., July %
says; Our thin ribbed horses and
melancholy mules having devour-
ed all the forage around Camp
Cloud Peak, we have been max
ing gradual marches to the stream
about fourteen miles futher
north, since Thursday morning,
July 16. The heat has been in,
tense, and the air and earth are
full of enormous grasahopperS,
moving down like a sand cloud to
lay waste Nebraska and Kansas.
They have eaten up everything in
there endless fields, already burn
ing brown as moorland by the Ju-
ly sun, so that the country, or
wilderness, has changed the YER
dant hue which greeted our eyes
Oh the march to Rosebud for one
closely approaching butternut-a
fatal color for "boys in blue"
Moreover, our ever-attentive
friend, Sitting Bull, has been
busy burning up the grass for
miles north, east, and west Of us,
for some reason pregnant with
Indian deviltry. He may think
that he can starye out our horse
flesh-no very difficult matter, see
ing that our animals, entirely
without grain for months, are half
starvedalready. But his own po-
nies have stQmaches, too, and we
can stand the destruction ofhorse
rations about as well as the Sioux
leader. Indians never do any
thing without an object, and no
doubt, before you read this we
shall have solved the problem by
some disagreeable process. Our
Snakes, who scout the country
every day, report that the noun
tains are all on fire down by the
North Tongue River, and that the
Sioux are going to defend them
selves in those tremendous ran
ges full Of canyons, boulders, and
woods, where an army would be
melted away in useless efforts to
dislodge them. If it comes down
to bushwhacking, | am willing to
bet ten to one that the Sioux will
give us the best whipping ever a
command of this kind got. If we
can get a fair, stand-up- fight out
of them, away from any trees, why
then | think we have some show
of success, although the Indians
must number at least double our
present force, and that is a very
moderate estimate Of their
strength.
Four Grow Indians came
through via the Big Horn Noun
tains and Ash Creek, from Terry's
command, two days ago, They re-
port the Sioux still in the neigh
borhood of Little Big Horn River,
with hunting parties down on
Tongue and among the noun
tains. n n The Crows
report numerous Sioux dead in
the country through which they
passed-the savages, doubtless,
fell before the rifles of Major Re
no and his men. Judging by such
reports as we have seen, Clusters
troops could not have done much
slaughter hemmed in and confus-
ed as they were. Besides, the
cavalry carbipe, in many cases,
proved a treacherous arm. 1t ap-
pears that the ejector often failed
to thow out the shell of the explod-
ed cartridges, and, being unprovi-
dedwith ramrods, the soldiers
were virtually disarmed. A word
on this subject: The government
cavalry carbine is a very delicate
weapon, easily injured, and once
damaged, hard to repair. 1t has
but one she'll ejector, which of.
ten fails to work, and leaves the
soldiel at the mercy Of his ener-
gy. The official dolts who got up
the arm failed to have rammers
provided, g great oversight. Even
if the shell Of the infantry soldier
should stiels, he has still his iron
wand wherewith to pull it out.
Furthermore, short arms in Indian
warfare are entirely inefficient.
The long infantry rifle is the
thing to lift the Indian off his feet,
wherefore the Sioux dread the
"walk-a-heaps," terribly armed
and unembarrassed by scary
horses, much more than they do
our snowy cavalry. Had the lat
ter "the long rifle" they would be
twice more effective than they are
1t is objected that the infantry
gun would be "unhandy," / don't
think so. General Creek always
carries one on his saddle, and
surely any troaper can do the
same. The 0arbine is q pretty
weapon, but compared the mas