Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-08-14
SCALPED ALIVE.
How It Feels to Have the Top or
 Ones Head Torn Off,
crivste Sanbertson's RecOllections of an 1n' dian Campaign-The Morning Attack A Hand-to-Hand Struggle-A Mo-
 ment of Agony.

The story of soldier named Delos 9. Sanbereson, of Monroe County, Mich, Is the first actual description, believe, that any one has ever heard of how it feels to be scalped. While he was in the hospital at Laramie heard him tell the story many times, and every time it made me shudder, as it does still whenever think of 1t.
 Sanbertson belonged to the United States Infantry, which was part of General Gus ter's command in his campaign against the Indians in 1860. He participated in many ot the engagements of that campa1gn' the most important of which was the fight With the celebrated Black Kettles band on the Ouachita It was in this fight that Sapbert- son was wounded and scalped by the h. dians, and remember that nearly all of the old frontiersmen said that he was the only person they ever knew up to that time who had been thoroughly and enthusiastically scalped and lived to tell of it.
 For some days before the meeting with Black Kettle Custer's scouts had been bringing in reports that the willy chief was cambed with a large following somewhere on the Ouachita, and that he was sending out predatory bands of his warriors to plum der settlers and immigrant trains. Custer decided to hunt him up and punish him. The infantry was two miles in advance o1 tho cavalry, when one day, just at daylight, it came in sight of the enemy's camp.
 ''We were on a high hill overlooking the valley" Sanbertson said, in giving the ac- count of tho affair, "and the Indians were below It was in the middle of winter and the snow was deep. The Indian camp was in rocky spot, and as the women and chil- dren were there it was evidently the head quarters of the band. It was determined to surprlsc tho village, and portion of our command was sent through the woods to tho right to get in the rear of the camp, while the remainder advanced quietly down the mountain, from the top of which good trail led to tho valley through the thick woods This maneuvering was so success full that before our presence was discovered by the Indians VIC were within four hundred yards of the camp, nnd the detachment that was sent to open fire in the rear had arrived in position. We knew by the yells of the Indians and the great commotion among them that we werc discovered, and we be- gan tho attack Firing began on both sides of them at once, and this caused what at first promised to be panic among the 1n- dians that would make our victory an easy l one. but suddenly an Indian of enormous stature and build, his face hideously streaked in crossbars with bright yellow and vermilion paint, camo dashing into the midst of the surprised and panic-stricken | band from some place among the rocks, rid ing black pony His yell could be heard above every thing else as he dashed to and | fro among his warriors, and the effect of his l presence immediately changed the whole | situation. In less than two minutes every Indian was in position behind some rock or | tree and we knew that the fight would be a desperate one.
 i've were in secure position, but the Indians were just as secure as we were. The only way we could hope to defeat them was to charge upon their stronghold, dislodge them, and settle the affair by q despefate hand-to hand fight. We were epefhy, and we rushed headlong right into the Indian camp, every man of us yelling as hideously as the red devils themselves. AS soon as ve had emerged from the woods we were met with rifle balls from every side, and good many poor fellows never reached the camp. The detachment in the rear o1 the camp came into the conflict from that side, aud we forced the Indians out from their hiding places to the open ground, and the battle ragged right among their tents Black Kettle seemed to be everywhere. His hideou$ presence alone prolonged the fight lie held his warriors to the ground, and the women, and even the children, took part iu it, and among the dead that soon strewed the snow squaws and papooses were min
 gled. In few minutes the snow for rods around was dyed as red with the blood from the dead and wounded as the paint on Blacl Kettles face.
 'sIn hand-to hand fight like this of course
 it was every man for himself, and I soor
 found myself on one edge of the camp firing
 and bayoneting, and clubbing my gun jus
 as the situation for the moment required.
 messmate of mine who was fighting by ID,
 side was killed by an Indian who fired iron
 behind a tent, and he fell so l was obliged t.
 step over him. As did that a ball shattered
 my arm at the elbow, and it fell helpless a
 my side. Immediately following that sho
 big Indian, doubtless the one who hat
 killed my messmate, spYang from behint
 the tent and rushed at me with his toma
 hawk raised. My gun was empty, and m,
 left hand being useless could not load.
 would have run my bayonet through th'
 advancing Indian, though, before he coult
 have used the tomahawk on me, but an In
 dian woman had stolen up behind me, ant
 she threw ono arm about my neck ant
 ierkcd me backward in the snow.
 "None of our men were near me. as thu
 ckest of tho fight was in another part O