The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1877-10-06

wagon trail back toward Deadwood for
three or four miles, the Indians COM
pretended the situation and made ready
for an attack. The white men, with
single exception, showed the cowardice
of children, and would have surrendered
themselves without defense but for the
widow. While she watched the move
ments of the Indians she set the rest of
the party at work fortifying the knoll.
The stiff clay was thrown up in circle
inside the wagons until they had
breastwork two feet high and bullet
proof, and into this the women, chill
dren food, water, and ammunition were
collected. The men obeyed their female
captain without hesitation, and when
she saw the Indians preparing to charge
the knoll, she said:
The four of us with Henry rifles will
open on them as they come forward.
The other three will reserve their fire
until ] give the word. Place your re-
volvers on the ground beside you, and
as soon as we open fire let every one
cheer at the top of his voicep
"Nowp cried the widow, and the
four Henrys opened fire into the bunch.
They had not fired five times piece
when the Indians were at the wagons,
their fendish yells offset by the cheers
of the few defenders.
Steady steadyl All firel Hurrah
hurrah |" cried the widow, and the sharp
reports of the rifles mingled into steady
roar, the horses inside the park leaped
out or were shot down, the Indians
pulled at the wagons to break the line
| sc I,cc a. -,
every direction. 1t seemed an hour, but
it was hardly sixty seconds before the
Indians fell back from that CALLING fire,
and halted only when out of range. Pros
pectors, standing on Eagles Hearth
stone," nine miles away, looked down
that day and saw the cloud of battle
smoke, and believed that full COM
pany of soldiers had struck band of
hostiles.
The slope of the hill, the dip, and the
broken ground beyond, showed curious
sight as the smoke rolled away. There
were two dead Indians almost under the
wagons; then came dead pony; then a
wounded one; then in the stagnant pond
was dead Indian, wounded one, and
a pony that had been shot through the
fore leg. Further down two wounded
redskins had crawled behind the bould-
ers for shelter, and another was kicking
his last Just below them. In the fort a
child had been killed, the Widow
Weeks had bullet wound in her left
leg, and one of the men had his left
elbow shattered.
"Now reload and get ready for an
other charge p said the little woman as
alNn faI 1A ~
animals are gone, and we've got to keep
the Indians off till help comes"
There was no time for tears or lamen-
tations. The dead child was removed
to one side, the wounds dressed as well
as possible, and before the hour had
ended the Indians were ready for an
other attack. In the first charge there
were thirty-six; as they formed this
time only twenty-four could be counted
The widow made use of the fact to en-
courage the men, and her wound did
not prevent her from making ready to
use her rifle. The knoll could be scaled
from three sides only. Instead of charg-
ing as before, the Indians charged in a
semi-circle, SO that the fire of the de-
Tenders could not be concentrated. Sew
eral of the redskins carried bundles of
dry grass, the use of which could not be
guessed at by the white men. When the
little widow saw the plan of attack she
| distributed her force to meet it, and
said:
I" will take the left of the circle, Mr..
Grayon will take the right, and you men
in the center fire right straight ahead
Raise a hurrah as soon as my rifle
cracks"
The Indians were no sooner in posi-
ton than they dashed at the hill at a
wild run, opening fire as they came.
The two on the extreme left rolled from
their horses as the widows rifle spoke
out, and Grayon wounded the one on
the right. Not another shot was fired
by the defenders till the Indians were
right at the wagons.
Again the men on distant Eagles
Hearthstone" looked down on a great
cloud of powder smoke, and they argued
that another company of soldiers had
come up and gone into action. The
Indians fired through the wagon covers,
between the vehicles, and under them,
and they pushed and tugged to separate
the wagons and roll them down hill. A
fierce yell now and then came from their
ranks to prove that bullet had found
a target, and a groan or scream from
behind the breastworks was evidence of
thinned ranks.
Cheer! cheerp shouted the widow
as the fire of the attacking party sud
denly ceased, and the defenders hur-
rahed again and again. Through the
smoke they caught sight of red flames,
and as the cloud lifted it was seen that
the Indians had used the bundles of
grass to set fire to the wagons. Each
one was blazing fiercely, and nothing
could be saved from them. They were
below the breastworks, with the wind
blowing the heat down hill, and they
were allowed to burn as they stood. In
the fort woman had been killed. the
young man shot through the face, the
widow wounded in the foot and hand.
and only one man wounded before es-
capped injury this time. The Indian
loss must have been great, as they at
once withdrew behind the point, and for
twenty-four hours not another Indian
appeared in sight. Relief came from a
train going into the hills, and for the
next four weeks redskin was a rare
sight in that vicinity. The graves on
the knoll had not been disturbed eight
weeks ago. The breastworks were there,
the wagon tires were half hidden in the
grass, and men standing on the crest
looked down toward the prairie and
counted fourteen skeletons of ponies