The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-08-16
THE INDIAN WAR.
Tho Narrow Escape Of a Party OF Crooks
Command..Thifty Soldiers Surrounded
by Hundreds of Well Armed Indians..A
Successful Ruae.

Tho Narrow Escape Of. Party OF Crook'l
Command--Thirty Soldiers Surrounded
by Hundreds Of Well Armed Indians--A
Successful Ruse.
A accommodating party of thirty per-
sons under the command OF Second
Lieut.. Frederick W, Sibley, of the Sec.
ond cavalry, was sent from Gen. Crooks e
camp on July 6. They were to observe
the movements. and position OF the
Sioux, and if possible the whereabouts
OF Terry. On the ninth they returned
on foot, after terrible retreat OF two
nights and one day. They were sur
rounded by the enemy in prodigious
numbers, and only escaped miraculously
by the sacrifice of all their equipments
excepting arms and ammunition, includ-
ing thirty y-one picked saddle horses and
two mules. But for the sagacity and
caution Of guides Gruard and Baptiste,
and the judgment and gallantry of Sib'
ley, no one would have survived.
The handful of men left our camp,
q correspondent writes, in broad day
light, with strange absence Of precau-
ton, for which somebody superior to
Sibley in rank is responsible, it being
usual to disguise such movements under
the shelter Of darkness. They marched
all night Of the sixth, toward the
sources of the Little Big Horn. On the
seventh, after slight meal, which after
ward saved them from perishing, they
pursued their course through some foot
hills verging toward the mountains.
The conformation of the cavalry was e1-
tremely favorable to an ambuscade.
At about half-past four large body
of Sioux was espied from the top Of the
bluff, marching eastward. They seemed
to spread all over the plain, and evident
ly were moving to attack the camp on
Goose creek. Lieut.. Sibley's party re-
mained concealed and in nhorrible anxiety
for an hour watching their movements.
Soon tremendous shout warned them
that the trail they seemed to be looking
for was found. Quickly hundreds of
savages were crowded upon it, and set
out upon the chase at full canter, ut
tering those terrible wolfish cries Pc
culiar to the Sioux and Cheyennes.
The scouting party mounted and
galloped toward the mountains, the
Sioux yelling as they caught glimpse
of them like hounds on the scent. They
seemed to be distanced in the race, but
had broken into two bodies, and were
making a double circuit to gain the high
points which they knew the pursued
must pass. The scouting party climbed
the outer ridge, and were approaching
shelter about noon, trotting quiet =
through ravine, when suddenly; a vol
ley of fifty shots was poured from the
surrounding rocky slopes, where the
savaees were ;massed, while as many
more of them charged down them Like
fury. Every man of the little party felt
despair chilling him. They wheeled
and galloped for the timber in the val
ley, followed. by avolley. Before they
reached shelter three horses were wound
ed. j." .-.,'.-.. - 49,. :" - .- :
They dismounted on a knoll covered
by q grove, and could see the enemy
swarming on the foothills below, while
constant reinforcemehts gained the
higher points around them. A plunging
fire tore the foliage from the pines, and
as their numbers thickened the roar Of
the .Yolleys was perfectly deafening.
The bullets were all too high, but the
enemy were gradually perfecting their
aim, and notched the trees close about
their heads. Their leading chief was
clothed in white buckskin, and called
out in the Cheyenne tongue =. W..
"You are not the only people In this
country" --.... ,....--~.>:- .
he was undoubtedly the celebrated
White Antelope, Southern Cheyenne.
All the boldest attacking warriors seemed
to shout Cheyenne war cries, while the
more timid, who fred from rocks, ut
tered Sioux calculations.
The fusilade continued an hour, the
scouts replying seldom, in order to save
ammunition, when suddenly there was q
lulI, seeming to portend some new mis-
chief; the guides declaring that death
was certain, and swore to end their own
lives rather than Suffer capture and tor
ture. Sibley delivered a harangue of
twenty words to his men, to which they
responded stoutly. BE told them thst
there we're two slternatives-to die.honor-
ably or to escape honorably. Gruard
declared that if there was a coward
among them he would be shot rather
than the enemy. -. -
A brief council was held, and by the
advice of the guides they determined to
attempt tossscape further into the noun
tains, leaving their horses to engage the
attention OF the Sioux, tied to the trees.
All the ammunition was taken from the
saddles. The party then moved stealth
lily from the ground and dashed behind
the projecting rocks. The Sioux did
not see them, and they climbed up and
up, over slippery precipices, until e1'
hausted. While resting they heard firing
recommence louder than ever, and knew
ali their horses would probably be
killed, and be a sorry prize for their
captors.
The yolleys were terrific, the Sioux
thinking they still had them in their
clutches. The scouts resumed their
clambering; the carbines were handed
ND the rocks from hand to hand. Had
the Sioux pursued them up the grim
heights that frowned upon them they
could have crushed them with powders
which were poised ready to fall. They
continued to hear the sound OF rifles
until it died away in the distance. They
toiled over mountains until dawn OF
July 8, resting under the cliffs. They
once more abandoned hope when they
saw large band of Sioux among the
foothills moving as if to intercept them.
It, however, turned toward the Tongue
river, and they supposed it to be the
rear guard of the larger force which had
been advancing to attack either camp
or q wagon train. Their hunger was
great, as they had abandoned all their
rations. From dusk they scrambled
along the sides of the mountains all the
night. About dawn on the ninth they
reached the bank of Tongue river.
Two men were so worn out that they
could not ford the swift and deep cur
rent. They therefore hid themselves in
the thickets, and were left. One OF them
was crazed by exhaustion and fear. A
few miles further south the Sioux were
seen, bat, luckily, the fugitives escaped
observation.
Four miles from camp packer, who
was hauling, loaned his mule to one of
the scouts, and news was carried to Col.
Royal, who was commanding during
Gen. Crooks absence on hunt. Two
companies of cavalry were sent out with
horses to bring them in. Before meet
ing the relief they were so fatigued