The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-02-13

and the starvation and privation en-
dured by his men has not been exceeded
since the celebrated expedition of Ar
mold, up the head waters Of the Kenne-
beck and the Chaudierre, through the
wilderness OF Maine and Canada to
Quebec, where for days the only sub
sistence was soup made from the leath-
er Of the soldiers shoes. Colonel Cole
in 1855 commanded the right column Of
what is known as the Powder river In
dian expedition, and his report. which
is imbued with a detail of HiF =
THRILLING HORRORS
OIL the march and Indian battles, never
saw the light, and owing to the over
s%hadowing battles Of the rebellion was
consigned to archives of the War De-
partment, where it still SAUNDERS. Col.
Cole Ia now engaged in an absorbing
pursuit, employing a large force of hands
in st. Louis. Colonel Coles expedition
among the Sioux bands was the largest,
and he penetrated their country the
farthest of any commander, years be-
fore General Harvey thrashed out the
Sioux at Ash Hollow, but that battle
ground is now within the limits Of civ
ilization, and but a short distance north
of the Platte river. Military surveys
had been made ACROSS the country by
L~ieutenants Reynolds and Warren, and
Gen. Sully attempted to cross the Maui
vases Terres or Bad Lands, but was
forced to disband his men and return
to the Missouri river without accom-
plishihg the object of his expedition.
THE EXPEDITION. MAJ
Colonel Cole, at the head of his
column, composed of his regiment Of
light artillery, mounted and equipped
as cavalry. and eight companies Of the
Twelfth Missouri cavalry, numbering
in all 1900 men, started from Omaha
on the LIST of July. The command
marched up the Platte to the mouth Of
the Loupe Fork, thence across the
plains, up the latter river to its head.
Then crossed the Niborara, the White
Earth and Little Missouri rivers, skirt
ed tile eastern base of the Black Hills,
where he wa Joined by the centre col
umn, composed Of a Kansas regiment,
from Fort Laramie, who came across
the Black Hills and formed the junction.
Colonel Cole assumed command Of both
columns. The command then struck
enthusiastically across the Bad Lands
to the valley of the Powder river, and
sending out scouts to the Big Horn and
Tongue rivers. The order under which
they acted, from General Dodge, then
commander of the Missouri Department,
at st. Louis, was to
KILL EVERY MALE INDIAN
over twelve years of age. 1t is well to
bear in mind that Dodge hal been and
was subsequent to the war of the States
chief engineer of the Union Pacific rail
road, which was infested by the Sioux,
and it was important to him to feed
them, and they had to feed on grass and
browne on willows and cottonwood.
They soon fell in with the Brule Sioux
Northern Cheyennes and Arapahoes,
in the Businesses bordering on the Pow
der, Tongue and Big Horn rivers. Or
the 9Th of September they had an en-
gagement with the savages, lasting from
daylight to eleven O'Clock, in which iv,
of the troops were killed and the esti
mated loss of the enemy was 400 t.
go.
THE ACTION
commenced with n company OF thu
Twelfth Cavalry, which had crossed
the river. and were met by the Indian!
and driven back into the river. TIL,
Indians pressed forward in mass, an6
meantime two companies, with a section
of artillery, which had been posted il
the timber, opened fire on the Indian.
at short range, producing an indiscrim
mate slaughter in their ranks. Tht
river bottom was covered with theil
dead. Skirmishing continued all day
and on the 9th there was another
severe engagement. Meantime the
command wa driven to the extreme Of
starvation. For two weeks the mer
had to subsist on the flesh of theil
horses and mules. The weather became
intensely cold, and n night a northel
struck them, freezing to death 7o(
horses and mules. The flesh afforded
subsistence to the men, and subse'
%quently, as they moved forward, they
killed fresh horses as needed, which
saved the men from starvation until
they reached Fort Reno. They were
in the old Crow reservation, in the
immediate vicinity of the present In
dian hostilities led by Crazy Horse and
Sitting Bull. rse;
Study up some novel costume-out.
landish or otherwise-dress up in II