The daily gazette., 1879-10-22
At MILK RIVER.
Some Of the Incidents of the
Campaign against the Utes.
The COLOred 1rOODS.

Campaign against the Utes.
The COIOred Troops.
A correspondent at Rawlins, Wyo-
ming Territory, gives the following in
cidents of the Milk river affair, as relat-
ed by some of the men who participated
in the campaign:
The scene of he battle was peculiar
ly fitted for the Indian method of war
fare. When Thornburgh's command
entered the ravine or canyon they found
themselves between two bluffs 1900
yards apart. Those on the north were
200 feet high, those on the south 100
feet. The road to the agency ran
through the ravine in southe asterly
direction, following the bend of the
Milk river, at distance of 500 yards.
On the top Of III, two ranges of bluffs
the Indians had intrenched themselves
10 a series of pits, so that when the
troops halted at the first voley they stood
between two fires ut range of only $50
yards from either bluff. Rapidly assem-
bling his force, Major Thornburgh drew
up eight of the wagons and ranged them
as sort of breastwork along the north
ern and eastern sides Of an oval, at the
same time cutting traverse trenches on
the western and southern points of the
oval, along the line of which the men
posted themselves. Inside the oval eight
more wagons were drawn up for the
purpose of coralling the animals, and
there was also pit provided for shell
tering the wounded. Outside the oval
and on a pit of rising ground to the
southeast were the pits thrown up by
Captain Dodge's men, and behind them
ran patch TO the nearest bend of the
Milk river, which was used for obtain
ing water. 1t was at a point north of
Dodge's pits, and only few yards from
the path that Thornburgh fell. A more
complete trap could not be contrived,
for the troops were not only outnum-
bered but exposed to calling fire from
bluffs over the edge of which it was i'm
possible to reach the foe, as the range of
sight would, of course, carry bullets
clear over the Indian pits.
Capt. Dodge's feat appears more admira-
BILE the more II is dwelt upon by every
body except the modest Captain. A
soldier with Payne thus speaks of the
arrival of Dodge and his colored COM
pany: -
ave were getting pretty d-d tired
about that time. 1t was the third morn
ing after we we're corrallej, and of course
we didn't know whether any of our mes
sengers sent out from camp had struck
help or not. Suddenly that morning in
the dusk we heard noise. Even by thai
time some of us had begun to fear thai
the Indians would charge us, and we al
then supposed it might be Indians. L
it hadn't been for the voice of John Cor
don, the scout, who was riding III the ad
vance, we might have poured in volle,
at them; but you bet your life ther'
wasn't no volley except cheers wheI
Gordon rode in with five or six darkie
alongside Of him. Pretty soon he tolt
us what was up, and what to expect, AM
when Captain Dodge came up at can
ter, leading the rest of his men, w
didn't take much account, except t.
wonder little at the color of their faces
1t was the greatest marvel to me and al
of us at this minute that the Utes didn'
pour in heavy fire when they heard u
cheer, We forgot all about the DANCE
of exposing ourselves and leaped up Ou
| Vi buc pit W oudhc uhhuS all dtouhe
"Why," continued this soldier, with CT
rious naivete, 1--WE took these darkies /
right along with us in the pits. We !.
'em sleep with us, and they took the
knives and cut of slips of bacon from tn
same sides as we did,"
"That's so," exclaimed another troor
er, "and one darkey has got knife wit
dent in it that was made by Ute bu
let when he was mp to carve slice o.
of the hog fortificaton in front of m
trench"
Another cavalryman said :-"Yo
; ought to have seen them niggers an
watched how they behaved. You kno,
it wasn't any fun going for water eve
in the night time, let alone daylight
But one afternoon one moke got terribl
thirsty the firing had stopped for quit
a spell, aud says he, "Well, boss, Is
very dry,and somebody's got to git waite
fo' e,or Ise got to git it fo' dem, so whs
does that moke do but take two pals l
br, ad daylight and 60 down and brin
'rm back both full of water, and the Ii
juns never lifted hair on him."
The colored sergeant Of Dodge's con
pany tells the following story in th
| WlSc III tCi lho VI hotui a. piiuS
1--WE did not know what we were
find when we went in here, whether
camp full of live men or dead men. W
went In though, and they were might
glad to see US. We were rather surpH.
cd when we found how things lay tbs
the Utes did not fire on US as we weI
in and shoot US all to pieces. But (wit
an amusing GRIM it was early in th
morning and I expect they we're deceiy
ed BY the color of our complexion. A
any rate we got in and there we stucl
After wards we had to 90 out and max
trenches tor ourselves under heavy fir
While we were digging, and when W
got about an inch below the ground, tn
reds saw the outlines Of the new. trenc
in the early dawn, and made 1t so no
that we we're glad 10 mop out behin'
, some wagons, and wait till we &c
another show. The WATER" continue
The sergeant, twas the hardest thing t
get of all Some call it 200 yards to tina
water: some more, some less; but pace
, it off one night myself, and 1t was 40
wards. or am q white man."
For the first three days, according t
all the officers and soldiers who wer
there, the situation was chiefly horribl
from the constant wounds and deaf
struggles of the poor animals, whic
they could in no way protect from tn
| Indian fire. "Every few minutes," say
one, "you heard the dying Rurgle of
horse or q mule, and although we fas
ened them as securely as possible a
night their pangs were such that the
would often break away after being hi
threatening the mems livesin the trencf
es Once wounded horse leaped i