Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-05-22
A PERILOUS ADVENTURE.

In the month of June, 1859, when
the grass and flowers on the plains of
Kansas and Colorado were nearly
knee-high, the result of unusually
abundant rains. which lcft clear pools
of water in all the little arroyos, a
corps of Kansas Pacific engineers,
under the leadership of Howard
Schuyler, were engaged IN making
certain preliminary surveys in the
vicinity of the terminal town of Phil
Sheridan, near the border line of the
two States. They had been out on a
trip of several months in the direction
of Denver, and had returned to the
end Of the track to begin the definite
location which we afterward carried
through to Denver. At this time I
had been with the party some two or
three months, taking my novltiate IN
engineering, and was occupying the
position of rodman Prior to com
mencing the location, we were run
ming some rapid trial lines north of
Sheridan. and by the 18th of June
were fifteen or twenty miles out in a
rolling country, where the heads of
the Smoky Hill and Republican Forks
evening before our camp had been
brought up to the end of our work,
and we started out bright and early
Oh this memorials Saturday morning,
so that by 10 O'clock we were several
miles away from camp. In all our
work we had been accompanied by an
escort Of fifteen infantry soldiers
under the charge of Lieutenant,
acting in the capacity,,of a campguard.
who, while they were very useful in
guarding our base of supplies, were Of
no protection to us in the field.
Our party numbered thirteen all
told, two of whom renamed IN camp
as cook and teamster. The working
party was therefore reduced to eleven
including Howard, whose custom it
was to ride several miles ahead, look
ing out the line and indicating it by
building sod mounds twOor three feet
high with a shovel. We followed
from one mound to the next, measur-
ing angles and distances and leveling
the ground. Our progress was as
rapid almost as a man would walk at
a moderate pace, and we were exceed
ingly vulnerable to attack, as we were
all separated, strung out over dis
lance of mile or more, while Howard
was always out of sight and several
miles ahead, but having been out sew
eral months without seeing anv In
dian signs we had no suspicion of dan
ger and did not dream there were any
Indians IN the country. We after
wards knew that they had been watch
ing us some days and were simply
waiting for the most favorable oppOr-
tunltY to make the attack, having ev-
identity planned to kill Howard first,
and then come back along the line
picking off the rest of the party one
by one.
In pursuance of this plan they lay
ia wait until they had cornered him
n a trap, when they fired a shot,
striking his horse in the hip; and
looking around he saw a long line of
the red painted devils GA three sides
Of him, while on the fourth, in the
direction of his party, was half mile
of broken ground cut up by deep, mar
row ravines. 1t took but a moment
to decide his line OF action. Putting
spurs to his horse he turned to the
only lOophole of escape, and, to the
surprise of the Indians, went leaping
over the ravines, one after the other,
at the risk of his life, but with the as
surance that they could not follow
him, as none of their ponies were
equal to the work, and to keep up the
pursuit they were obliged to make
long detour.
Having once got clear of the broken
ground, Howard, looking back, found
himself we'll ahead, and was congratu-
lating himself on so easy an escape,
when he saw directly before him,
springing out of the grass, a
formidable array OF Indians.
intercepting his flight; those
pursuing in the rear close up, and al
most before he could realize the situa-
ton he found himself again entrapp-
ed, this time by line of Indians that
entirely encircled him, numbering
about 100, as nearly as he could Judge
They rapidly narrowed the limits of
the circle, and began taunting him
with all manner of insults, and tell