, 1888-03-15
HOW THE INDIANS FIGHT.
An Old Major of Cavalry TaIks-Reputs
tions of SAVAGE Tribes.

-
purchaser of saddle horses" remarked a
major of cavalry on his way to Chicago
to a reporter in the corridor of the South
ern hotel, ''having been a member of
horse boards for h last thirty years, INC
having bought cavalry horses for the
United States service. l therefore feel
that l know whereof l speak when 1 say
that the supply of good saddle horses in
the country is smaller than it has been at
any time since the war. l do not mean
chat there are fewer thoroughbreds, for
there are probably more, but horses suit
able for other purposes than racing and
park use are becoming rarer every day,
and although the price paid by the gov
eminent is higher than it has been for
the last twenty years, it is very difficult
to secure proper mounts for the cavalry,
while ten or even five years g at least
three times as many horses able to pass
muster were presented as the advertise
ments called for.
Il nave served on the plains nearly con-
~tinuously for more than thirty-five years."
continued the speaker, ian am tolera-
bly, familiar with all the features of cav
airy life. A cavalryman always has a
frontier station, and only sees c~iviliza-
ton during his brief leaves. Civilians do
not realize the h%ardships and exposures
to which n cavalryman is subjected. He
has seasons of idleness, but also long pc
RODS of great exertion, and as a proof of
the effect of his life it can be safely stated
that scarcely one man out of ten reaches
the age of 40 without being seriously
broken down. Indian campaigns are the
cause of this. 1 AVE fought and chased
Indians from the British lines to the Rio
Grande, and know what campaigning
means. The Indians always get a ire
mendous start of the cavalry, and seldom
are overtaken. The army has been
blamed for its i'll success, but when the
circumstances are understood it is Won
derful that so much has been accom-
plished.
The Indians never attempt to commit
outrages in the vicinity of an army post,
and news seldom used to arrive until
t~wenty-four hours or more had elapsed
and the Indians had a long start. Nearly
always they are provided with remounts,
the loose horses being driven before the
band, and when an animal shows signs
of fatigue another is remounted and the
flight continued OF a fresh animal.
Horses are also stolen wherever met with,
and the consequence is that the trooper,
who is confined to the use of a single
animal, has a poor chance of overtaking
the Indians. As a general thing they can
fight or escape as they please, and never do
the former except when in overwhelming
numbers. The fatigues of one of these
fruitless marches, generally made on
short rations to secure celebrity of move
ment by avoiding carrying baggage, can
well be imagined, and the condition of
man and beast after a two months cam
paign is wretched in the extreme.
Nowadays the active Indian cam
paigning is confined 70 Arizona, but
when l was n young man the northern
Sioux. northern C%heyennes, Piegans and
Blackfeet in the north, the southern
Sioux and the Cheyennes and Arapahoes
on the central plains, and the Comanches
and kiowas south of the Arkansas, kept
us busy all the time. OF all these In
dams the Kiowas were the best drilled, it
being hard to distinguish them from the
dragons at a distance of two or three
miles. The Comanches never deserved
their great reputation, as they were poor
fighters, doing well against the Mexicans,
but never standing against United States
troops. The Cheycnnes were noted far
and wide as the most determined and
fcrcest fighters, but their energies were
hASAS SNiA3NNhAhJ NiANNNSN u6dlLlob liz
hereditary enemies, the Utes, than against
the whites. Tho Sioux were the largest
and most powerful tribe, and gave us
more trouble than any others. They
were in their way as well drilled as the
Kiowas, l myself having seen n single
chief direct the movements of 1000
warriors, scattered over an extent Of
country five miles in diameter, simply by
the flashing of n little mirror held in the
hand. The Blackfeet, being foot Indians,
were more easily reached, and after one
or two lessons never gave any more
trouble, although last winter they threat
ened an outbreak.
1.-THE Crows and Pawnees, being hated
by all other tribes, were our allies and
made our best ~trailers. The Utes, while
less daring than the plains Indians, from
their situation in the mountains were
enabled to ambush the troops very easily,
and many lives nave been lost in this
way. Fighting withal was rather a run
than a combat, and the troops had for
many years little chance against them on
account of their great celebrity of move
ment. 1t was not until the winter OF
1876, when Gen. Nelson A. Miles began
his series of winter campaigns, that the
plain Indians were thoroughly subdued.
IndJ OllCeT lDllONeu llelT lTdll III Ine
coolest weather, drove them from their
winter camps, and although unable to
overtake them, kept them constantly on
the move. The Indians, sensitive to
cold, and ill provided with clothing, died
like sheep of hardship and exposure and
one by one the bands, fairly tired out,
came in, surrendered and were disarmed
and put on reservations. The winter
campaign more than anything else broke
the power of the plains tribes, but at
terrible expense to the troops, who were
exposed to the fury of the western
storms in the coolest months of the year.
The youngsters in the army regret the
disappearance of the Indians, but we old
fellows, who know what a winter march
is, are most thankful that they are
over, probably forever. st. Louis Post
Dispatch.
Great Commitments to America.