Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1877-09-15
HOW DELOS LOST HIS SCALP.
An Old Indian Fighters Description of n
Battle.

Monroe county, n. =, Is an oiu lnulan
fighter, and one of few persons who
have been scalped, and live to tell how
il felt. On the top OF his head is fiat,
red, bare spot, the size of 4 mans hand,
showing where his scalp was cut and
torn Off Although several years have
passed, the spot is still tender and looks
raw.
s'That bald spot II never let me for
get the last battle l was in with the In
dams, ! reckon" he says, in relating
the circumstances connected with his
scalping. 81 was with Custer in go, in
the infantry We'd been expectin' to
come on to some o. old Black Kittle's
gang o. red devils fur some days. We
knowed they was camped somewhere in
the Big Horn valley. Early one morn
ing--it was Just a gettin' light-we got
sight of 'em in the valley, from quite
high pitch o. ground. The cavity we
had with US was more'n mile in the
rear. Some of our troops was sent
round to come down and attack the
Injins from to'ther side. We want
more'n eighty rod from the cussed
snakes. and by full daylight was ready
to pitch into 'em.
1.-THE firm commenced on both sides
of 'em, and. comm from both ways, it
kind % mixed 'em up for mint or two.
But when ole Black kittle came tearin'
down to the front from some place in the
rock, Il yellin' and givin' orders, they
soon rallied and commenced Citing in
their favorite positions. | kin see him
now, his face painted with red and yeller
streaks, lengthways and crossways, a
long string o. feathers hanging down his
greasy bare back, and him q tearin' up
and down on his Injin pony, whoopin'
and yellin' and givin' his orders.
al don't think them cusses was bit
more'n two minits a huntin' places be-
hind rocks an trees to fire from, and
then YOU couldn' see more n three inches
of an Injin anywhere. They was camped
in the spot with their women and pa
pooses. We put ball wherever we
could see head or any piece of az Injin.
There was plenty o. squaws and young
devils, and we didn't make any choice
'twixt them and the men. We
shot squaw or apapoose jest as soon
as we would any other red thief. If
they wasn't any squaws they wouldn't
be any papooses, and the papooses make
hoss-thieves and scalpers. So good
Injin fighter II always go in for cleanin'
out the whole gang, an don't know age
nor sex. You'd kill she rattlesnake
an young rattlesnake rs quick as you
would an old he fellow with twelve rat
ties, wouldn't YOU? Well, rattlesnakes is
angels long side o. Injns.
AFTER firm this way for a spell, we
got orders to charge down the hill right
into the Injin camp. We tore down,
every one of us yellin' As bad as any
of the devils we was fightin'. Their
tents was all standin', an there was
plenty o. Injins round them an in
em. We scooted along the alleys on
the double-quick, peggin' away an usin'
the bagnet Poorly soon it got to be a
general free fight. Ole Black Kittle
held his red thieves right TO the spot,
an our charge on 'em only brought us
right 'mong 'em. Soldiers, Injins,
squaws, and papooses all was mixed up
in the fight, an the yellin' was heerd
fur two mile by the cavity that was
comm on behind us. 1t was in the Win
ter YOU know. an the snow was bout
two foot deep. 1t want long fore they
was a good many dead soldiers and dead
women and dead young ones from a
year old up, layin' about in that snow,
promiscus like, and-mebbe you've
heerd o. red snow. Well, this snow was
red, but not the kind o. red that you've
heerd of.
swell, me an another soldier
named Wagner was fightin' in one edge
o. the thickest part o. the village, in a
narrow alley. All of suddint whang!
went a gun from behind q tent, an
Wagner had killed his last Injin. The
red devil who fired the shot sprang out