Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-14
AFTER CRAZY HORSE.
A Starving Brigade, Under General
Crook, Chasing Hostiles.
THE FOLORN HOPE TO THE FRONT.
Death Of American Horse and COdy'S
Partner, Buffalo Chips.
THE SAVAGE FIGHT AT SLIM BUfTES
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WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH
Once having slipped out from between the
inclosing columns of Crook and Terry the
hostiles seemed to have scattered all over
the Northwest. Sitting Bull with several
tribes crossed the Yellowstone, closely pur-
sued by General Miles, Terry's second in
command; but the Ogallallas and Brules
hurried eastward across the Little Missouri,
and large number of Indians who hailed
from Standing Rock ond the other reserva-
tions along the "Big Missouri" went with
them. Terry, with his command, was left
to handle all who remained along the yell
lowstone. Crook, with his now ragged regi-
ments, pushed on after the Indians who had
skipped from the department of the Platte.
There were between 5000 and 1000 of these
'hostiles" known to be out and Crazy Horse
was probably the principal chief. The
whole country was covered with signs,
despite the pouring rains, but only an oc-
casional Indian could our scouts catch sight
of. Late in August we were marching day
after day through wild and picturesque
region. We had neither tents nor more than
one blanket apiece. Our horses were grow
ing weaker every day, for the Indians had
burned off the grass and we had no grain.
We passed the wonderful Sentinel
Buttes" and clambered the high bluffs at
the headwaters of the Beaver. We forded
the Little Missouri not far from where the
Northern Pacific bridges it now, and at
last reached the little streams that form the
Heart river, only to find that the Indians
had scattered still more, some going east,
many south, and our rations were almost
gone.
General Crook was not the man to hesi-
tate. 1t would never do to let that great
force of hostile Indians go southwark un-
pursued. All the settlements of the Black
Hills-all the denuded stations of Northern
Nebraska and Wyoming would have been
at their mercy. Putting us on half rations,
he gave the order to march southwark by
compass. 1t was estimated that we could
reach the settlements in the Black Hills in
II days, and-if the worst came to the worst
we could live on our horses and mules.
DREARY MARCH.
There were plenty of men in the column
by this time who would have been glad to
go eastward to Fort Lincoln, where rations
could be had in plenty, but that was not
our chiefs plan, and he was right. Away
we went, over rolling, treeless, rain-soaked
prairie. Heavens! How it rainedI Day
and night-drip, drip, drip-and, wet to the
skin, We logged stolidlv along until our
horses got too weak to carry us; then we
dismounted and towed them after us. My
poor old Donnybrook was so used up that
he could not or would not walk as fast as l
could, and 1 had to have trooper, trudg-
ing behind him, to prod him with sharp
stick every minute. Even then he nearly
pulled my arms out of their sockets. After
the fourth days march the rations were all
gone except little coffee and hard tack.
The men were starving and then came the
memorable order-three horses of each bat
talon (four companies) to be slaughtered
each day for food. Many OF the poor brutes
had given outentirely and were abandoned.
The weakest and scrawniest were sacri-
feed and it was case of the survival of
the fttest." helped eat poor Donnybrook
and it seemed like cannibalism, but it was
that or my boots and there was little left
but the legs of them. The Adjutant had
to be the active and wideawake man; the
field notes and "topogging" had to be kept
up and-hard tack crumbs did not furnish
the needful sustenance. But how tough
was Donnybrook! He fed that night the
headquarters party and Company K, and
very little ofhim went good way.
Then my saddle was shifted to the
"spare" mount the Colonel had been saving
for me. They were all spare enough that
centennial September, God knows, and the
work went on. Let me condense this bv
saying that when after II days of pouring,
pitiless rain we reached the Belle Fourche
at the northern base of the hills, three
fourths of our cavalry, Second, Third and
Fifth Regiments, made the last two days
march afoot. One-halt our horses were
broken down for good. one-fourth had
fallen never to rise again, and dozens had
been eaten to keep us, their riders, alive.
A CHASE FOR FOOD.
It would have been worse but for an in
termedlate incident. We caught Crazy
Horse We jumped the big village of his
biggest chief; we feasted on Indian pony
and ierked buffalo meat and we had two
what Phil Kearney of glorious memory
would have called '1ovely"-fghts, and this
is how it happened.
Seeing how men and horses were starving,
our General picked out Major Anson Mills,
of the Third Cavalry, told him to take 150
men and all the serviceable horses of that
regiment and push ahead to the mill settle
ments, buy up all the provisions to be had
and hasten back to meet u.s. They left US
the night of September Z, near the head
waters the Grand river, and 1 we'll re-
member how dim ana CHASTITY they looked
as they rode silently away through the
squashy mud into the impenetrable dark
ness at the south. Mills had with him
II IL IL.