Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-09-20
Texas Story.

Daring The early part of August intel
ligenee was received from Western Tex.
as that company of United States cav.
airy belonging to th9 TSpth Regiment,
under the command tCapt. Nicholas
Nolan and Lieut.. CT rles L. Cooper,
while in search Of Sband Of hostile In
dians, had been lost on the Staked
Pla.ns-a sandy, waterless region in
Northwestern Texas. Later report.
said they had made their way to Double
Lake in a very exhausted condition,
baving been four days without water
Following those reports, a dispatch was
received from Chicago, August 8, and
derived from "oficial information, stat
ing that desperate fight had taken place
on the Staked Plains between Govern
ment troops and Indians, and that the
soldiers, who were much exhausted
from want Of water, had all been killed.
II was further added that list of
the killed, consisting of two officers thir-
ty-one men, would be forwarded as soon
as received. Since that dispatch was
published, nothing definite has been in
the public prints. The New York T1.
bunc has been furnished letter ffsm
Lieut.. Cooper, one of the officers Of the
company, dated Fort Concho, Texas,
August 80, in which he informs his
father, resident of Brooklyn, of his
safety, and gives an interesting account
Of the terrible sufferings Of himself and
others.
The writer states hatcempany A left
Fort Concho, Texas, July 10Th, with
two officers and sixty men for a two
months scout. Upon their arrival at
Bull Greek, 140 miles northwest from
Concho, they found a party of buffalo
hunters, who had lost considerable stock
on account OF Indian thefts, and had or
ganized company to overtake the In
dians to recover their property.
Captain Nolan, commanding compa-
nv A, concluded to 60 with the hunters.
Lieutenant Cooper gives the following
account Of their suferings: They had
for guide Mexican named Jose, who
had followed the trail with so much per-
severance and energy that he had not
kept an account of bis bearings, and We
iound. as 4 Consequence, he, as we'll as
all Of Us. was lost on the Staked Plains,
without water and no prospects Of get
ting any. as we did not know which
way TO 90 for it and from our expert
ence We knew the greater part Of the
country was a. dry as . bone
''In the meantime our men had been
dropping from their horses with exhaus-
tion, ss we had now been nearly two
days without water. and we were re-
tarded greatly in endeavor,ng to keep
the men together; this, too, at . time
when every moment was precious to
US. We made another dry camp after
dark, and endeavored to forget in sleep
the sufierings we all endured; the guide
in the meanwhile keeping on search Of
water, followed by eight Of our men
with all the canteens of the command,
SO that in case they should happen to
reach water they could oil the canteens
and, returning tp the command, help US.
That Is the last We saw oi the guide and
the eight men until We got back to the
camp on the 9th Of August.
The next morning We saddled up
and attempted to follow in the direction
We supposed they hsdgone, but having
nobody TO guide US { did not better
our condition. A0ef marching nearly
all day in norhdhst direction. we
finally concluded to push back to Dou.
bic Lake, the direction Of W hich We did
not know, but reckoned il to be sbou,
southeast. We had now reduced our
little party to eighteen men, two Off.
GERS and one buffalo hunter, and you
can imagine we wete all in a bad condi:
ton. The men were almost completely
used up.
Our men had dropped back, one BY
one, unable to keep up With us; theiI
tongues and throats were swollen, and
they were unable even 10 swallow, thai
is, If ] Judge Of their condition from my
own. My tongue and throat were 80
dry that when put few frorseis oI
brown sagar, that I found in imy Goa,
pocket, into NV mouth, was dnable ;c
dissolve il in ordet 20 ~sllow Il. Dur.
ing this tine while lying on theefouad
one OF nv horses showed >ignx of ex.
haustion staggered aud fell; s9 In order
10 relieve the men, had l,iSthroat cut
and the elocd distributed amongst the m