Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-11-15

OF about tnltty-uVc mIice, AoSAnS 0'chy
reason to believe that there were two
hundred redskins prowling between
the two points. The first ten miles
made at a rafting pace. as my horse
was in fine fettle and scouting parties
had been out during the day to intim-
idate the Indians. After that distance
had been covered / checked the pace
and was alert.
The best route lay along the bank OF
the stream. but as that would be the
route watched by the reds kept back
about a mile. The post to which l
was going had been attacked several
times, and 1 did not intend to APP
proach it until daylight. The sentinels
would be on the qui vive for Indians,
and the chances would be nine out OF
ten that they would fire upon me in
the darkness. l had plenty of time.
therefore. and let my horse go at a
walk. We were in the open, and it
was nearly midnight when seven In
dams suddenly rode across my course.
NY horse heard them coming and
stopped of his own accord, and they
passed so near that l could plainly
count the number. Had We been
broadside to them we might have been
seen, but as we were head on, and as
they were going at a canter. We were
undiscovered. Just about mile further
on we walked right into the camp OF
pioneer, who had pulled up stakes,
thrown his all into wagon. and was
bound for Kearney. The family con-
sisted of seven persons, and every one
of them were sound asleep. Talk
about luck, but they had travelled all
the day before without seeing an In
dian, and had camped down here and
gone to sleep as coolly as the people
of city 60 to bed! l had to get off
my horse to arouse the man, and when
told him that Indians had passed
within mile, and that he must hitch
up and start out at once, he grOwled at
being broken of his sleep! He started.
however, and strangely enough, the
whole outfit arrived safely at the fort.
l rode on to within two miles of the
springs, and then dismounted and
waited two hours for daylight. A
mist rose from the grass, and it had
just cleared and 1 had mounted and
advanced to the brow of a rise, when
caught sight of nine Indians on
horseback not over a quarter of
mile ahead. They had halted, and
were in consultation, and l was not
seen. What followed is a matter of
frontier history. Singing my Win
chester over my back, and pulling my
revolvers l sounded my war-whoop
and charged the crowd. Three shots
were fired at me as charged, but in
five minutes l had cleaned out the
crowd, killing three, badly wounding
two others. and causing the rest to
rattle away as if the devil were in
pursuit. The dead and wounded were
carried into the post by the men,
where one warrior died and the other
was later ON sent to Fort Leavenworth
as a prisoner. Had made any other
move than what / did l should have
lost my scalp.
That same fall, late in the season,
while | was scouting from Fort Larned
in the direction of the Smoky Hill
fort of the Kansas river, having a
pioneer with me, we suddenly came
upon signs of camp. As we turned
hill l saw an Indian pony picking at
the dead grass. As he was saddled |
knew that his master was near by, and
it was likely that a small party had dis
mounted to rest and eat their meat. In
deed. we soon discovered the smoke of
their fire, and there was no longer any
doubt about it. The hostiles had then
broken up into small parties and
were heading for winter quarters,
and did not believe there were over
six or eight reds in this one. The
pioneer had begged to come with me
to secure revenge. as all his family had
been butchered that summer. and
up to this moment l had not doubted
his courage. Now that danger was
near his nerve went dead back on him,
and he even cried in his fright l have
seen this happen to truly brave man.
1t is because his mind is not strong
enough to control his nerve. 1t is as if
he had met with fall. and produced
nervous prostration. He would be no
good for a day or two, and although
he begged of me to retreat, felt that
our safety required me to scatter that
band. He agreed to hide among the
rocks and let his horse charge with
mine, and he had his face to the earth
when l left l proceeded at walk
until close upon the pony we had seen.
Beyond him were five others, and be-
yond them was the camp fire. As soon
as the pony saw us he started off at
trot. and then 1 drew my revolvers
and charged. The pioneers horse gal
loped beside me, and the Indian ponies
made dash right through the camp.
l was indebted to them for this action,
for it threw the redskins into con-
fusion The affair did MT last fhroo