The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-01-24
HENNESSY'S LAST FIGHT.

s. HENNEDO1O LAOl FlGHl.
ONE MANS BATTLE AGAINST 800
FIENpIsH REDSKINS. :.
Pat Hennessy. the Old Freishter. Kills
Thirty Indians-His Winchester Plays
Out-A Boston Tendertoot Who Had
Grit at the Pinch.
Quito direct runs the old trail south.
ward from Arkansas City, Kan, to Okla
horna City. Along this trail tho travel
er's eager eye beholds monument
erected out Of native stone. Here lies
the body of brave Pat Hennessy, who
was murdered BY the Cheyenne Indians
In 1875. Many are the tales told OF Pat
and his many narrow escapes from the
red devils of the plain Of these it is not
the purpose to speak at present, but to
record his last great hght, where Put
proved himself a very Gatlng gun of
death to his implacable foes. Pat is well
remembered as an old time Fort Sill
freighter, and at the time of his tragical-
death was on his way from Caldwell,
Kan, to the fort with six wagons and
three trail wagons. With him were
three men. One Of these, passenger,
q, tenderfoot from Boston, had great
desire to kill an Indian. John sKorison
was his name He little knew how soon;
he would get more killing than he9wart-s
ed and undergo an experience seldom
cqualed In border tragedies
=. THE BosToN1ANss UNERRlNG FIRE. 49,
One afternoon, shortly after they had
gone into camp, they, were attacked bysa
band of 300 or 400 Cheyenne braves, with:
all the Buddenness and terrible ferocity
peculiar to Indian warfare. Hennesgy
saw. thcm coming andinstantly ordered
the men to run for canyon just west of
I the trail They misunderstood the direc-
ton, and instead Of, west took the trail
north The mistake hastened their doom.
With wild yells of savage delight the
Indians icircled around the three men.
Korison was left behind in the race. He
saw Indians on every side. No chance
OF escape, death certain. His alarm was
over The tenderfoot was man. With
a rapidity tlatindicatoda O previous train
ing; lie raised his Winchester and fired
into the Indians with shots SO quick they
almost seemed ono. Deadly shooting.
too. for. Ave painted Warriors had gone
down. their death cry, ringing out and
mingling with The dog like snarls of
several who were wounded. Tho In,
dians returned the fire and tho three
white men fell -
Old Pat saw the fight from his retreat
in the rocks. Els mind had undergone
great change In regard to the man from
Boston, and as the sayages rushed In to-
scalp the three fallen men his own deadly:
Winchester came to his shoulder, thls
sights caught the dusky form Of q: big;
Indian Just IN the act Of scalpinE Korison.
The rife belclled forth its messenger OF
death, and red 6end sprang high into
tho air, then sunk down, still and dead.
1t was not that fiend Of the plains. Black
Scar; but another redskin, who, rushing
forward to try for the scalp Of Korison,
met his own we'll deserved fate from the
sure aim Of Pat. With yells Of fury, the
I Indians left the three PROSTATE forms to
attack their more formidable enemy, and
from the belts OF three bucks there
sdangled the scalps Of three whites.
Hennessy was well prepared for de-.
fe1lse, an immense rock behind, rocks at
the side and In front also, which was the:
only point at which an attack could be
made, and there over the rock cleaned
with deadly menace his 10-shot Win
chester. Swift now and hot the fight
Over 300 against one, but that one cool,
determined md desperate, a host In him-
self. Into the advancing horde go rifle
balls on errands Of death, killing and
wounding as they tear through the red.
ranks. With insane courage the savages
r,lshu within ten yards OF the rock.
Pat no longer sighted his gun; he rests
it on asrock, cocks 1t with hand and pulls
the lever and trigger with the other, and
point blank into the red devils he sends
an almost continuous stream Of leaden
balls. They waver. break, retreat, but
only for a moment.
n HIS FIRING CEASED.
The chief has been killed, but Black
Scar takes command, waves aloft the
scalp Of Korison, points to the dead
braves, calls for vengeance and orders
the fight to be renewed. This time the
attack is made In front and at both sides
If they can scale the rocks at the sides,
Pat will be at their mercy. From the
death dealing point in. front the good old
Winchester again pours forth It's terrible
destruction, and at the loud command Of
Black Scar they surge round In front.
face to face with their desperate foe
Pats revolver, self cocker, does. deadly.
work, fired into the yelling mass ten feet.
away, the last load gone, and again the
Winchester at close range covers the
ground with dead and dying. The red
monsters are forced back from that death
vomiting rock, back from a asingle gun,
Z back. from one man. back from brave
Pat Hennessy.
In. q few moments the whole band;
would have fled, when sudde1lY lYSthe fir.y
ing ceased. Pats gun had become so:
dirty and hot by such constant firing
that, horrible to relate, while attempting
to put ina cartridge itBtuck fast and could
not be forced either in or out. The In
dams supposed he was out of ammuni-
ton and with savage yells rushed In to
secure their prize. Pat met them with
dubbed gun. and broken heads and bones
were plenty Us they came within sweep
Of his strong arms in tho death struggle;
but those behind still pressed on and he
was 0oon overpowered and secured. In
furiated ut tho loss of 30 many of their
number, they took poor Pat, tore llis
scalp from his head. bound him to one
of his own wagon wheels. emptied sacks
Of oats around him and set them on fire
Just as they commenced their devilish
torture and dance urouhd their victim
they heard q shot echo from the dis
lance. The alarm was raised that the
soldiers were coming and the stampede
at once began. Picking up the wounded
and some Of the dead, the Indians
mounted their horses and scampered off.
The evening shades gathered darkly
and all was gtill as the fire burned, and
the spirit of bravo Pat passed away and
found rest In the land of the hereafter
There he was buried the next day by
some other freighters. The bodies Of
thirty dead Indians were also found and
were afterward removed by their red
brotliers Pat was known as brave
man. His friends have erected a head
stone.- simply inscribed with his name
and date Of his death. And thus Is
marked the grave Of q hero and the spot
on which occurred the most remarkable
fight Of one man against so many re-
corded in border annals.-St. Louis Re
public.
THE WINGED JABBEaWoK.