The Iola register., 1889-11-22
SHERIDAN In KANSAS.
The Last Struggle of the Red Nen
on Kansas Soil

on Kansas Soil.
"Reminiscences of Little rhiI" and His
Famous Troopers.
OF course these facts and the manner Of
the brave young soldiers death were
gathered from the Indians after the war
was over, and the story of how the gall
liant Major Elliott was decoyed from the
main command was told in the ssvages'
own graphic manner.
When l reached Camp Supply again
General Custer had returned with his
wounded end prisoners. The Niusteenth
Kansas, which had been virtually lost for
some time, was there, too, having been
found and piloted in by the scouts General
Sheridan sent out to find them The reg
iment was terribly demoralized through
its fearful experience of cold, hunger and
the loss of more than one-third Of its
horses.
General Sheridan ordered me north on
the second day after my arrival to convey
the Indian prisoners to more secure quar-.
ters at Fort Dodge, so receipted to Gem
eral Custer for them accordingly and left
Camp Supply in one of those raging bliz-
yards for which December on the plains is
noted
General Sheridan had now added to my
command one squadron and two hundred
and forty-nine dismounted men Of the
Nineteenth Kansas, and l remember per-
fectly we'll how the General called me into
his tent, just before / starte l, and kindly
cautioned me not to be too hard on these
Kansas troops. Don't forget" said he,
''they are young, the best boys in the
State. have had no experience. and if they
don't march exactly in fours like regulars
you will get along just as we'll, so care
full was he always that his soldiers should
be well treated, and so firm in his th cory
that too much book tactics in the field
was a source of delay and detrimeat.
The air was dirty drab with the thick
falling snow as we marched out of Camp
Supply; the wind howled furiously, and
the mules of the train were bumped up
like camels by the intense cold. l had to
depend upon my compass at my saddle
bow for the direction. Sc futile was it to
attempt to see more than a rod ahead.
Twelve miles only was accomplished that
day and we campe |, relatively comfort
able, on the bank of The Beaver that night
sheltered by the heavy timber and where
the abundance of wood permitted generous
fires. The storm abated somewhat by
but it was still intensely cold as
the forward" was sounded by the buglers.
Just as we had fairly left camp missed
one or two of the little prisoner children;
we halted, sent back and picked them up
out of the snow, where the squaws had
deliberately abandoned them; but, if there
can be any palliation for such an atrocious
act, the reader may possibly find it in the
fact that these cruel women were not the
mothers Of the deserted babies.
discovered upon mastering them that
had receipted to General Custer for fifty
ty-two prisoners, but l really had in my
possession one more the surplus individual
happening to be boy about eighteen years
old. So l instructed old John Smith,
who was now my interpreter, to tell the
squaws that if they abandoned the chill.
dren again l would hang the young
buck on the instant This threat had
the desired effect and the little ones were
properly cared for during the remainder
Of the trip.
General Sheridan also ordered me to
take about one hundred and twenty-seven
worn-o and miserably-thin horses of the
cavalry back to Fort Dodge for rest and
/ told him did not believe
It possible for them to keep up with the
train, with their only dependence for food
upon the dried grass which was now
buried under half foot of snow. He said
II could not get them along 1 could use
my own discretion as to their disposal. So
on the morning of the second day, the storm
not yet entirely over and the hungry
wolves following closely on the trail, I
was compelled to shoot the poor horses.
1t was humane act as will be conceded,
when it was certain that il / abandoned
them alive they would soon have fallen an
easy prey to the ghouls of the desert on
their track and their sufferings would
have been terrible.
1t was during this eventful trip that we
one afternoon discovered the trail of a
war party going north, and in the sand
hills, near where my ''fankers" first saw
the footprints of their ponies, were three
newly-made graves. 1t was the work of
but few moments to find out whom or
what they contained. The active shovels
OF the disinterring detail soon unearthed
the bodies OF three warriors wrapped in
buffalo robes, and upon their persons and
Mt their sides all their paraphernalia OF
savage warfare were intact-shields,
spears, trinkets, etc.
A mile or more farther on occurred the
strangest incident of all. In one of the
most seQueste-ed little valleys of the inter-
minable dunes was a tepee and
inside, on the rudest of biers, Law
a warrior dead, aud at his head,
kneeling, and with hands clasped
as if in prayer, was a young squaw. frozen
TO death. The warrior had been mortally
and his faithful wife had re.
NAMED with him. preferring death to |
abandoning the one she loved. Which of |
The two faithful hearts first ceased to beat |
whether that of the wounded husband or |
devoted wife-will never be known. re.
Ter to this incident simply to prove that |
hose who attribute a lack of affection on |
The part of the despised Indian do not |
know their character. could relate many |
such strong scenes that during half life !
lime passed among them have come under |
ny personal observation, but they are not |
,ermane to this article.
The secret of the isolated graves and the |
spectacle of the faithful wife lies in the |
'act that before their accidental discovery |
'ome two or three weeks, / think it was, |
General Sheridan had ordered two of his |
,ouriers north from Camp Supply with |
dispatches for Washington and private
nail for various points. He also gave them
IN order directing me to pay them one
rnndred dollars for their perilous trip.
The scouts never reached their destina. /
ion. More than a month passed away
md all knew well that they had fallen a
prey to the ever-watchful savages.
The next day or two after we had dis
covered the graves aud the solitary tepee
n the sand hills was riding with Colonel
Aeogh at the he al D: the column, when
as W, were approaching the