Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-01-23
PHIL SHERIDAN.
His Story of Fierce Battle Between
 Scouts and the IndianS.

NsfellOuAl IrlDune.l
 "You hal a battalion of cowboys ii, Kansas in the Indian war of 1SGS-J. anJ they dld splendid servlce."
 "No I didn't" answered the Gere-.i somewhat warmly. "There Wash cowboy in the. crowd. Every ma og them was an old soldier from the | lior army; may be there were three CT four Confederates,-lOr the JOhnnies We're be. ginning to go out west then,-but every blessed soul was a veteran who bgd smelled powder in the war. Anc mora than that, nearly all were settlers on tIa frontier who had had their cabins burr. ed, and some had seen their wives sud children scalped by the redskins, ard were hot for vengeance.
 "A regiment of sGch fellows have good deal of faith ID, but you won't find any old veterans among the cOwJry, There are lots of them on ranches arl farms, and some are ID trade down n the Apache country, but the Gov Ja5s are generally young feiicys, wild eui reckless, who, maybe, would eUiOy :hs fun of the campaign, but the mimi. they struck Indians they would scatter
 "HOw large a battalion of veteran frOntersmen dlt you nave Tn '69?"
 "Ihere was only a cOmpany-sbo1, 60 ali told, but every one would fight ! times his weigh, IT wild eats, ss the, experience showed. You remeuber tl. fight they Lad on the Arrikaree Fork |. the Republican. They were foliow.r, 6 bot trail, you know, and at ui.,. went into camp on a little island on tha river. When morning broke they feu1! themselves surrounded by Inliaus- thousands of them; the prairies ve-s covered with warriors as far GS tL-y cOuld see-Ckeyennes, kiOwas 6Id Ara. pahoes. The boys dug rifle pits n t-s sand with their hands and knlves a-i tin cups, and were ready for an at;ag5 m short order. They didn't have b wait long, for as soon as day broke J-s savages were down on them like an ayl.. auche under old Roman Nose, tl=, head chef, It was Q charge that u the earth tremble, but it was stOPpeGT a shower of lead. Again and again v4 the attack renewed, but the boy> l-- their ground until the whole prairie Eas covered witE dead Indians. All t.a' day they fought, and all the ueXtr Uc- a thousand or more laLIdi- and nl-,at ths scouts were killed Or disabled, O.. the sayages concluded that Ihe he.ja- test plap was 10 starve them out. Fer sythe, of my staff, and Henry Wa-l Beeoher's son were in command Oi jla froDtIersmen, and when Sandy s.v what the game Was he sent two scuTt-- ard old Frenchman named IrUte4u. and a young fellow named SuAv,- - through the lines with a u-,- sage to Col. Carpenter at Fort HaFrr5, who came down with a regimen of e.y- ally and rescued them. That was urs of the hardest fights that evsr OccUrrei, and if 1 could get a regiment of sLcl men as ForsytLe hsd there woUld te some sense in sending them afte- 's Apaches.
 "But it is difficult to fight Indian the mountains continued General -la- idan, "than on the plEIns; particU.s-. when they know the country aIt ,-- troopers don't.
 "Is the Chief Roman NCgr, wL' .. the Indians against FoIsythe, the -z-. man who IS now under IDdictmeu, .g, murder down ID Indian Territory:
 "NO; the old fellow was killed ID tls. fight, and there have been several ,i that name in the Chey enne Nation sirCa. Roman Noses are as plenty with 'hsu IS with us.