Omaha daily bee., 1890-01-12

MHHffnyLl W Easy OF address
VNbN9Y a smooth, fluent
IHhsH8j N.&IYhMgUIhIr talkcr, pleasing
in speech and department, this could
hardly be otherwise. Then to add tc
the charm of this natural talent as q
talker, he is n veritable encyclopedia
OF the early history, political, CONNER.
ciai and otherwise, of this great and
glorious state of ours. and is never at q
loss for nm entertaining theme TO talk
upon, nor disinclined to divulge the
good things he recollects-''all OF which
he saw, and part of which he was.'
Mr.. Daily was born in the town OF
Madison, Jeffer son county, Indiana, in
the year of 1898. In 81 he emierated
west, settling upon a fine farm in Ne
mana county, ct the settlement OF
Peru, in what was then the territory of
Nebraska, where he has resided almost
un1nterruptedly e since, in
fact, up to last February, when
he removed to this city. His
farm life was that of a stock raiser and
breeder, by which he has acquired
a very comfortable competency. He
never sold a grain of corn off Of his
place, but fed it all no, and as an
evidence OF the character of
ms farm for corn produce
eighty acres in corn last season aver
aged twenty-five bushels to the acre,
and the land was upland at that, a per-
formance that could not have been eX-
pected of the virgin soil.
Mr.. Daily was appointed United
States marshal in 1871 by President
Grant during his first term, and ne was
reappointed at the expiration of four
years for n second term. He relates
the many thrilling episodes of his ca
reer as a government official with a
keen relish, yet accompanied with "a
modesty and grace hat is at once as
captivating as the subject matter is
interesting.
In 1868 Mr.. Daily was superintend-
ent OF the Indian grist and saw mills on
the reservation of the Otoes, under In
dian Agent John 2. Baker, and be-
came man of much influence among
the aborigines.
THE history Of an Indian battle I
witnessed once" said Mr.. DALEY to the
writer one day last week, II believe
would read as well as anything [ could
tell you. 1t was a spectacle | can never
forget and ] see it all now just as wildly
as the day on which it took place." And
the speaker half closed his eyes and
ceased talking a moment as if looking
back through the mists of long years
and living again through the thrilling
epoch of that distant October day.
The fight took place. he finally re-
sumed, upon the Saline fork of the
Smoky Hill river in western Kansas,
between the combined forces OF
the Pawnees, Iowas, Sacs and
Foxes, kickapoo and Otoe Indians
on the one side and the
fierce and rancorous ~Cheyenues, Arap-
ahoes and Sioux on the other. You
must know there had long been II Bit
ter Ieud between these western Indians
and the Pawnees of eastern Kansas and
Missouri; II feud that ran back farther
h IA the memory of man, and any mad
vertent collision of the two factions
meant a bloody and i%nternicine strife.
This i~rreconcilablc enmity had its ORR
gin, L suppose, as most all Indian hostil-
lty did. over their hunting grounds.
The ~Cheyennes and their allies were
nomads. roaming Indians not under
treaty stipulatiOns, who made their
headquarters in the farther west, some
where at the foot of the mountains.
They were cruel. treacherous and vim
dictive, and carried on their warfare
against the Pawnees and their friendly
"t'h Nv IN tlSSSltSS VI
Notwithstanding and massacreing
their hunting parties, running off their
horses and stock, abusing their
and committing every species of out
ragetheir deyilish ingenuity could sug-
gest.
However, when the battle to which
| refer took place, our Indians were off
on their annual buffalo hunt, to procure
meat to bridge them over the approach
ing winter. | had been detailed to ac-
company them, because there had been
some confederate emissaries among the
different nations of this section
endeavoring to induce the bucks
to Join forces with some of
the southern tribes and go into the SER
vice of therebel army on the southwest
border, which wa then, on account of
the occupation OF the United States
forces elsewhere, in a lamentably de-
fenseless condition. The confederate
leaders a taken advantage OF the eX-
isting state Of affairs to further harass
the federal government by moving
among the Indians and melting them
with insurrectional fire by their fatal
and insidious elOaUence. 1t was appre-
hended that some of our Indians might
become imbued with n thirst for war
and ally themselves with these south
ern hostiies for the sake of carnage and
plumber. Consequently i was sent
on this hunt with them. Anoth-
err precaution was taken by Agent
Baker in supplying them with
arms, and very few guns were allowed
them, and the hunt was to ba made al
most solely with bows and arrows and
spears.
"As was to be expected, we failed to
find any buffalo within 100 miles of the
agency, and our scouts were not slow in
discovering signs that told them that
the Cheyennes had beer ahead. OF us
n were driving the game out OF the
country, ~purposeIy, probably. to draw
us on further where they could have a
better chance to sweep down upon and
annihilate US.
4" We finally reached the Saline fork
and here found our first buffalo, q herd
embracing probably one hundred or
more, all Of which We surrounded and
killed. We had by this time had sew
eral encounters with the Cheyenne s |
ArapahOes, who were doing everything
in their power to annoy us, and / knew
that before the hunt could be COM
pleted we were IN for a serious en-
counter.
''The day before the battle a couple of
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