The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1883-09-26

CHAPTER XXVI-CONTINUED.
In March, a small party of Cheyennes
made raid on the stock belonging to
the civilians of Miles City and captured
seversl head of horses. As the dash was
made, several of the residents of the town
went out to give the Indians battle.
Among the first that started was Major
Burchardt, who picked up and strapped
on belt holding Winchester cartridges
and taking the first rife he came to,
rushed out. His horse was picketed near
by and the major jumped on him and
started off on gallop. When the pony
came to the end of the rope, which had
not been unfastened from the picket pin.
both pony and rider had a tumble; jump
ing up and untying the rope the Major
again mounted and away. When near
the enemy he tried to load his gun
(which was Sharp's) but finding that
his cartridges would not fit, he turned
back to town, disguised man.
There were yet some Cheyennes that
had not gone in and fears were felt that
Sitting Bull would come across the line
and in March the Ellis battalion went
again to Fort Keogh. No move Of i'm
portance was made from this post till the
first of May, when Miles took the four
companies of the End Cavalry and his
mounted infantry and went up the Rose
bud after \ band of hostiles that the
scouts had found camped on the mouth
of Muddy creek, little stream that
comes into the Rosebud about five miles
below its forks.
The command came to within thirty
miles of the camp one evening and
drive was made during the night to with
in four miles of it. Here the troops
rested an hour and just as daylight began
to show they mounted and riding on at
gallop surprised the camp completely.
Lieut.. Jerome and the civilian scouts cut
off nearly all of the ponies belonging to
the hostiles, while the main command
was dealing death to the fleeing Indians,
who, at the first alarm deserted their
lodges, which were afterward destroyed
by hetroops.
Some of the Cheyennes, after being
run ont of camp, swung around and at
tackled the pack train, which had not
kept up with the soldiers. All Of the
escort with it, but one soldier, named
Kircauski, ran; he stayed and fought and
when his horse was killed, fought from
behind it till he died. The check that
this brave boy (for he was but l9) gave
to the Indians, gave time for help to come
and the Indians got away with but two
of the pack mules. One of these was
loaded with ammunition 1900 rolnds)
and the other with sugar.
All Of the Indians were now in the
hills and the command went into camp
on the battle field and laid there till the
next morning. The Indians fired an
occasional shot at the camp from long
range, nearly all of the day, and several
futile attempts were made during the
night to run off the stock.
This, the last hostile camp of any mag
nitude, contained about 800 Cheyenne
warriors, under the chieftainship of
Lame Deer Twenty of the number were
killed and there must have been twice as
many more wounded; while the whites
had but four killed and two wounded.
The next day after the fight, the troops
started back to Keogh, and the Indians
scattered. Some went, soon after, to Fl.
Keogh and surrendered; some went di-
rect to their agency and gave themselves
up; and the others wandered over the
prairie till hunger overcame pr1ae and
then they sneaked in to the agency.
So ended the Sioux war. Without
those strong allies, hunger and lack of
ammunition, all of the United States
army would have been required to put
down the savages. The Indians had
collected large amount Of ammunition,
when the struggle commenced; but its
continual use in. food hunting and the
large amount of random shooting done
by them in the fights, had used it up
very fast and there was no supply depot
to draw from.
For food they had to depend entirely
on what wild game they might kill and
being gathered together in large bodies,
they often went hungry. In the winter
'76-77 they went back to theiH original
manner and hunted the buffalo with
bows and arrows. In Lame Deer's camp
but very little dried. meat was found and
to the small amount of cartridges had by
the Cheyennes- may be attributed the
small number Of soldiers hit in the fight.