The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1877-09-22

Tenth United States Cavalry, nnder COM
mandof Captain Nicholas Nolan and Lieut..
Charles L. Cooper, started from Fort Con-
cho, Texas, to make scout in the direc-
tion OF the "Staked Plains" and to chas-
tise such bands Of hostile Indians as might
be encountered. A month ago report
was published to the effect that the whole
party had been massacred by the Indians.
This report turns out to be false, but the
party encountered an enemy more remorse-
less than the sayages--a water famine in
the desert. The New York Tribune pub
fishes letter written by Lieut.. Cooper to
his father, in Brooklyn, in which he gives
graphic account ofthe suferings endured
by himself and the men of his command.
We quote from Lieut.. Cooper's letter
We left our supply camp, with forty
men and two officers, on the 10th of July.
The hunters had twenty.one men all told,
so you can see we had quite q party.
After marching for several days 1--WE were
from the first experiencing difficulty in
procuring water, on account Of the great
drought this year, We found ourselves on
the Staked Plains, at place called Dou-
BILE Lake, where n small quantity of alkali
water was obtained. Here we rested, on
the 10th of July, whilst Jose (the guide)
and few men went further west, to Dry
Lake Seventeen miles, in search of water
and signs Of Indians. At IL O'Clock p.
NJ. on the 26th, while we were waiting for
kJose, two of his men came back hastily
with the news that though there was no
water there, that forty Indians had passed
that morning at $50 o'clock, and were
leisurely going in northwesterly direc-
ton, killing game as they went, and evi-
IDENTIFY not suspecting that troops were in
the country. We saddled up hurriedly,
watered the stock, and started for Dry
Lake, from whence, having arrived about
sunset, we Immediately started on the In
dian trail. This we followed until it was
so dark the guide was unable to see it, and
then made dry camp (camp without
water for man or beast On the 9th, at
daybreak, we took up the trail, and fol-
lowed it without stop until night, and
again made "dry camp" During the
day two Of the men were sunstruck, and
sergeant and few men were left with
them to follow us up as soon as they had
sufficiently recovered. As for myself, |
felt the heat more this day than on any
other during the trip, and owing to the
intense heat and having no water to drink,
at about three O'Clock came near giving
up with sunstroke. In the meantime we
had, to use nautical phrase, "boxed the
compass" in following the trail, and had
wandered all day over sandy plain, with
sometimes fresh indications of the Indians
having passed recently, and then again
completely at loss to find which way they
had gone, as the trail scattered in all di-
rections. Toward night the guide gave
the trail up Feeling assured We could not
catch them, and commenced again to look
around for water. He had followed the
trail with SO much perseverance and ener-
gy that he had not kept account of his
bearing, and we found, as consequence,
he, as well as all of us, was lost on the
Staked Plains, without water and no pros.
poets of getting any, as We did not know
which way to go for it, and from our ex-
perience we knew the greater part of the
country was as "dry as a bone"
In the meantime our men had been
dropping from their horses with exhsus-
ton, as we had now been nearly two days
without water, and we were retarded great |
ly in endeavoring to keep the men togeth.
err this, too, at time when every moment
was precious to u.s. We made another
dry camp after dark, and endeavored to |
forget in sleep the sufferings we all endur-
ed; the guide in the meanwhile keeping on
in search of water, followed by eight of
our men with all the canteens Of the CON-
mand, so that in case they should happen
to reach water they could fill the canteens,
and returning to the command, help us.
That is the last we saw of the guide and |
the eight men, until we got back to the
supply camp on the 9th of August. The
next morning, having had no news of the
guide and men, We saddled up and at
tempted to follow in the direction we sup
posed 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 a northeast d.
rection, Capt. Nolan and l conferred to-
gether, and finally concluded to push back
to Double Lake, the direction Of which we
did not know, but reckoned it to be about
southeast. We marched until it was very
dark, and then halted to wait for the moon
70 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 a bad |
condition. The men were almost COM
pletely used up, and the Captain and / |
we're not much better. Our men had
dropped back, one by one, unable to keep |
up with us; their tongues and throats were |
swollen, and they were unable even to
swallow their saliva-in fact, they had no
saliva to swallow, that is, if Judge Of their
condition from my own. My tongue and
throat were 50 dry that when / put few
morsels of brown sugar that / found in my
coat pocket into my mouth / was unable
to dissolve it in order to swallow it. Du.
ring this time, while lying on the ground,
one of my private horses showed signs Of
exhaustion, staggered, and fell; so, in order
to relieve the man, / had his throat cut
and the blood distributed amongst them.
The Captain and drank heartily Of the
steaming blood, and though Il aided for a
time to relieve our intense suffering, new
ertheless in short time we were in a
worse condition than before, for the horses
having suffered SO much from thirst as
well as we, their blood had naturally be.
come diseased, and as we had partaken
freely We were soon attacked with ablind
staggers," with the same symptoms as the
horses. We left our resting place at IL
o'clock on the night Of July 2s, and marched
until 10 o'clock the next morning, when,
owing TO the intense heat, our fainished
condition on account Of want Of fooc and
water (for although we had plenty Of ra-
! tions with US not one mouthful could we