Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-08-19
THE INDIANS.
No Confirmation of the Reported Bat
tle-Terry and Crook United and
Following the Enemy-PFOs-
poets Of an Early En-
Eagement.
The Crows Join General Terry-TrOubIe
I'm the Black HIlIs-Message from
SItting-BuI so Major Mitchell,

ST. PAUL, August 1S-Captain Col.
nIs, of the Seventeenth infantry, ar
rived at Bismarck from Fort Buford last
night. He fails to cOnfiJm the squaw
reports OF the recent battle between the
Indians and Terry's forces. Scouts from
General Terry, two days cut, arrived at
Buford on Monday evening. Couriers,
who arrived at the supply depot st the
mouth Of the Rosebud on the eleventh
instant, report that Terry's command
met the head Of G neral Crooks COM
mand early on the tenth. Crooks men
were following large Indian trail ia
| the direction of Powder river. UpOn
! short consultation OF Generals Terry and
| Crook, the commands were united and
! proceeded on the trail Crook was follow
| ing, The fifth infantry was detached
from Terry and ordered back ~ tne
stockGde, with orders to take forty thou-
sand rations, embark Oh the steamer
Far West, patrol the Yellowstone river
as far as the mouth OF Powder river, and
ascertain whether or rot the IDdians
had succeeded in crossing the Yellow.
stone; if not, they are to prevent them.
In the meantime Terry will come down
on them with the combined commands
and force battle. 1t is not positively
known whether the indians are on
Tongue river or Powder river.
Five buudred Crows have volunteered
TO join General Terry. They were at
once retained and forwarded to him.
They will be sent on the north side of
the river with General Miles's command
the Fifth infantry.
ST. PAUL, August IS.-The Pioneer
Press and Tribune has q special dispatch
from Bismarck this afternoon contain
ing interesting news additional to that
already sent. The steamer Silver Lake
arrived from above to-day. She reports
that the steamer Key West wss fired
into few miles below Fort BufOrd on
Thursday by party Of about
fifty Indians. No damage was
done. A number of well-armed
Indians recently ran off herd
of four hundred beef cattle from the
Black Hills, killing them all. A large
number of horses have also been run off. |
The boys killed one Indian, and his
head, preserved in alcohol, will be sent |
to Washington when en opportunity |
presents itself. Grey Eagles scalp, |
taken by Dave Campbell, was sent to |
the Bismarck Tribune by the steamer |
Josephine, so that settles the question |
whether the fellow was scalpsd. Medi- |
cine Club and party, belonging to the
Fort Peck agency, whom Major Mitch
ell, the Indian agent st Fort Peck, sent |
to Sitting Bull with a message on May
9th last, has returned to the agency.
The message sent by Major Mitchell to
Sitting Bull was to the effect that he
desired him to come aud visit Fort
Peck, hoping that such step would re.
suit in his retiring upon the feserva-
ton and ceasing from hostililties against
the whites. Sitting Bull replies, July
9th: "Tell him that l am coming be-
fore long to his post to trade. Tel. him
l did not commence the war; thai l am
getting old, and that I did not want
10 fight, but the whites rush on me and
l am compelled to defend myself; that
but for the soldiers stationed on the
Rosebud, l and my people would haye
been there bsfOIe; that ii was assured
OF the protection of the great father /
would go to Fort Peck for the purpose of
making peace. l and other chiefs want
the Black Hills abandoned, and We will
make peace" Medicine Cloud numbers
the hostiIfs &c consisting 0! Piutes, Uno-
papss, YanktODs, Minnecongas, Ssrs-
macs, GOallaias, Cheyennes and Black,
but of the latter there are only thirty
lodges. He says he does not remember
the names of many leading chiefs; -Four
Horns and Black Moon are Uncpapas.
Each nation hes TWO or three chiefs
present, and they ail insist that they did
not intend to fight the whites, but San-
tas commenced the trouble. Some years
ago the whites crowded them b2ck 80
that he took it up. He says also that |
there are no Yankonites with them. He
estimates the hostile ssvages as consist
ing OF from eight to ten thousand fight.
ing men. The Ssrsnaes and Cheyennes
were the most numerous, and they all
have many women and children with
them. There were several chiefs, but
they did not engage in the fight. One
Of these chiefs started to go to the whites
with paper at the commencement OF
he fight, hu. was shot. There ara no
white men cooperating with them. He
ioes not know how much ammuuition
hey have, but they have plenty Of guns
and pistols. He thinks they get
he Burning Grounds, beyond the [
Black Hills. They captured a good 1
many horses during tie fight, and but {
ew mules. The Blsckfeet Indians /
made many presents, consisting of {
lorses, ETC., to the warriors in order to {
induce them to retire from the colflict, {
,ut after accepting the offerings the re- {
Iuest was not allowed. They watch
continually for the whites, but do not
intend to attack, and will fight hard In {
heir own defense. They are living en-.
irely on meat, which they find very
lard to procure. Owing to the close prox-
nifty of the whites the hostile camp is
low on Tongue river, south of the Yel- !
owstone q half days ride. The In :
ians are in a constant state of alarm, :
nj there is 10 sleep in their camp. In .
newer to inquiries concerning the fight :
f Little Big Horn, he states that the Z
otal number of Indians killed was thir- =
y one, and his estimate OF our loss cor E
with what has been heretofore 9
uolished. He saw five dead Indians in =
amp dressed in citizen cl,thes. The son q
f big. chief was killed, and was one .
( the warriors found in the tent. These :
ine were brave y uhg men, but none f
7ere chiefs. The horses sacrificed | :
round the tent were the property Of the 3
cad men, and were killed in accord. q
nee with their religion, that they may '
ave horses to ride into the happy r
uoting grounds. +
The Fort Peck letter concludes: =
While I am writing, large party of q
ostile Indians has just arrived upon the q
Iposite bend OF the river, including the q
pms of the chiefs, Four Horns and Black q
loon, and are now engaged in tele- o
raphing across the river, by signs, to
ne Indians on the south, but their OBJ. e
sct has not yet tTanspired. +