The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-09-14

DIN OF August. The next morning, hay.
Ing had no news Of the guide and men,
We saddled up and attempted to follow In
the direction We supposed they had gone,
but having nobody to guide Us, being In
an unknown country, We did not better
our condition. After marching nearly
all day in q northeast direction, Captain
Nolan and conferred together, and final.
ly concluded 10 push back 10 Double
Lake, the direction Of which we did not
know, but reckoned il 10 DO about south.
east. We marched until It was very dark,
and then halted 10 wait Tor the moon 10
rise to enable US TO proceed. We had
now reduced our little party TO eighteen
men, two officers, and one buffalo.
hunter, and you can imagine we were
all In bad condition. The men were
almost completely used up, and the Cap.
tain and were not much better. Our
men had dropped back, one by one, un.
able to keep up with Us; their tongues
and throats were swollen, and they were
unable even 10 swallow their sAliya,-in
fact, they had no saliva to swallow; that
is, II judge Of their condition from my
own. Ny tongue and throat were so dry
that when l put few morsels Of brown
sugar that l found in my coAt.pocket into
my mouth l Was unable to dissolve It In
order to swallow il. During this time,
while lying on the ground, one Of my pri.
vate horses shoWd signs OF exhaustion,
staggered and fell; 30, in order to relieve
the men, l had his throGt cut, and the
blood distributed amongst them. The
Captain and drank heartily Of the
streaming blood, and though 1t aided for
time TO relieve our intense suffering,
nevertheless in 4 short time we were in
worse condition than before, for the hor.
SEES, having suffered so much from thirst,
Is we'll as we, their blood had naturally
become diseased, and as We had partaken
freely, We were soon attacked with blind
Staggers," with the same symphonic as the
horses, We left our resting place at II
o'clock on the night Of July 90, and
marched until 10 o'clock tho next morn.
ing, when, owing to the intense heat, our
tamlshed condition, on account Of want6i
food and water (for, although we had
plenty Of ratious with US, not one mouth.
full could We swallow; tried to do so by
soaking bareback in horses blood, and
masticate ii in that way, but nearly
strangled in the attenpt) and the fact
that the horses were giving out, one by
one, We laid down on the open prairie,
and endeaVored 10 obtain such shelter
from the fearful heat az wooden blanket
thrown over q small mesquit bush would
afford. 4
This, our fourth day without water,
was dreadful. A picture OF the Internal
regions, and the rich man begging for
drop Of water to cool his tongue could
not have been more fully portrayed, as to
his agony, than 1t was TO US during that
eventtul day. Men gasping in death
around US; horses falling dead to the
right and left; the crazed survivors OF
our men each Sighting his neighbor for
the blood OF the horses as the animals'
throats were cut. Prayers. curses and
howls Of anguish intermingled came to
ones ears from every direction. There
was rain, apparently, in the far.away
distance, yet never a drop for us. Can
you wonder that the minds Of the men,
under the circumstances, gave way, and
that instead Of having with US the forty
rational men who left camp with us, our
party now consisted Of eighteen madmen
As night came on, made brief sort OF
speech to the poor fellows, showing them
our plan, which was 10 drive our horses
"a far IA we could, killing them for their
blood when required; and, by travelling
by night and resting by day (thuS avoid.
ing the intense heat, endeayor to reach
some Of the streams to the east Of US
thus, perchance, to find water, and also
run chance Of being picked up by
possible relief party from the fort. Some
OF the men understood ME, and said they
would follow. At this camp, be.
ing utterly exhausted, we abandon.
ed all nur rations and every unnecessary
article, taking our guns and pistols, in
case we were attacked, and also to
enable US to kill butfaloes for
their blood. Every horse we had, but
two, finally dropped dead before we left
that camp; and, as Capt. Nolan and my.
self had lost all our horses (my second
one dropping dead here), we mounted
pack.mules, and the men followed us on
foot We left camp at o'clock at night,
and Travelled until about 3 the next morn.
ing, when, as we were marching along,
we came across what seemed an old
wagon.trail. As soon as | saw it, and
had hopefully Travelled 1t little way, it
occurred to me where we were. at
once made the good news known to all,
and such wild hurrahS and firing OF guns
you never heard in your life. The Cap.
tain and Travelled rome five miles on
that blessed trail, and finally reached
Double Lake, completely exhausted.
We found here six Of the men OF our
company, whom we had missed, and i'm
mediately started them out with canteens
OF water for their suffering comrades.
Our loss on the trip was four men died
from thirst; also one citizen died; and
twenty-three Government horses and four
mules. At Double Lake we came across
Capt. Lee, Of our regiment, and eleven
Tonkawa Indian scOuts,-the relief par
ty sent from Fort Concho in search OF us.
This, suppose, will in measure account
for the statements in the Eastern papers
(since seen by me) that We were attacked
by Indians, and being all nearly dead
our horses quite SC, had been mAssacred.
The exaggerated reports about u, it
seems, were circulated by some of the
men lett behind, who managed TO reach
water first, and believing US all dead,
came into Concho and told the stories that
have since been going over the country,
and which nearly deprived my dear wife,
at the fort, Of her reason.
r,........, u,.,.n