Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-09-14
THE FIGHT AT SUMMIT SPRINGS.
The Story of "A Battle with the Indians by
capt. Charles King.

twG4Ne hours Inc DaIiaIlOu FCCG IHICuSu Aue LOb
July day, mostly at the trot, sending the dus
clouds sailing high over the winding trail and
powdering the troopers with a thick coating OF
their mother earth. TDeIe eight COM
parties in the long column when we came filing
out of the misty valley just at the gray OF
dawn, but those wagons had TO be guarded, and
so NJ troop was ordered to remain with ana
fetch along the train. The rest OF US are
pushing northward as fast as our
Fteeds can bear Us, for somewhere
ahead OF Us somewhere between
that low ridge, where the coyotes are velping
and sneaking about under the rays OF the wan
ing moon, and the broad valley OF the Platte
with its sandy wastes and shallow waters, big
hand of renegade Indians. Sioux, Cheycnnes
ana hrauahoes are ''stre aEing it, for the great
reservation TO the north, and every man IN our
army knows well that when they left the burn
ing settlement on the solomon they bore away
with them two poor women whose husbands and
brothers aud children they massacred in cold
III I kill every horse in the regiment" said
the co.on-I. when the news was brought to him,
''I'll run those scOuEdres to earth be. ore they
can REACH the river. FIVE hundred OF EN-, you
saw Rill?'' he continued as he looked NJ from
the Il patch he writing on hIs knee -
don't care if there's 5000.
And that was practically what the regiment
thought. All the Iivelong day. from dawn 20 4
O'Clock IN the afternoon, we had trotted IN the
wake OF our scouts. hoping vain'y that every
ridge we nplred would prove to BE- the one from
" hich the fleeing foe would be sighted. How
n,,vcr,ants of our few Pawneo allies,
dating about far IN the advance How We
followed every move that body made was
there ever such 8 prince among Hcohts as
..Eurfalo Pilg'' II "as ne who made the long,
,.,--llg. r..e eros country to where We were
Igr,.,--y far % the east; he who warned us Of
III pu1 and his savage war; Crg and OF thelE
rar.iC fCtre,at. scalp AZ. p.uuGer latru. TO sea-
- ~. viIIarrr Of the still dis; Mt res.r-
,-,.ious II was a W tr party, unaccgEIp tnleG by
women uncnCUmDeTed by lodges, that made
t,r dash along the solomon valley, but the
Payynccs swear that somewhere lover that
10. stiIl toward the snow peaked Rockies,
thcse narauders have a bag village OF their own:
II &c cfn only reach the Platte ahead Of them!
All day long, jog, jog, Jog, sometimes tbroush
doom ravircs, sometimes clambering over grassy
:luffs but all the while taxing the shortest pos
sible route that Bill Cody's plalnscTaIt enables
~, 70 select heading for the lordS of that river
Of guicLsand and shadows. Once there. II we
make it ahead OF them, We can turn and bar the
.'Eo water between here and the river" said
Bin ne the dusty column he ted on the bank or
ntiny rlvulet. ''Dismouut.' rang the trumpet
-.f'us7ddle - came the brief order. Herd the
horses well back along the slope and don I let
'cm near the stream III! they re peIlectly Cool
said the colonel. We rummaged our saddle
I,gs for cold lunch, washed 1t down with
what 'Rill Arp would call "branch waller,
and those OF US not detailed for guard or picket
tL-ry ourselves on the turf to snatch what
.Tpen we might. The sun went down unseen ny
80, man halF the ewes in our grimv little force,
"a hero II is midnight now and no report from
tba scouts There is little knot OF officers
gathered about the colonels pillow-an old Nc
CIeilau saddle, for there isn't stitch OF canvas
nearer than the wagon tram someWhete lar 70
i've rcar-aud leaning on his elbow that officer
explains the situation: -
worous If they reach US and we can gave the
horses ha;ful Of grain and the men cup OF
coffee well and good. If not, We'll push ahead
on snIptv stomach5. That 5 all there Is about
All oround the silent bivouac-silent except
for snoring troopers the herds OF the Inherent
cnn,naries are clustered ''stde-iined' upon the
rolling prairie. Most OF the horses, worn out,
ore Wing down. Out beyond the n the sentries
nv. iron ching for only three nights ago the
Ceayernes charged the camp, hoping 10 STAN
pede our stock, and very nearly suGCeeueu
out beyond the pickets the prairle "o!Ves are
inning nm TO the starry skies their querulous
vein. bu suddenly from the northeast comes the
soupd of rapid hoof beats-the chaIIenge OF inc
sentry the spirited, CHEEKY hail OF the coming
marty and in another minute buffalo bil!
hes ieaped from his horse before ths colonei =;
horses heels. bend over the necks OF their pant
i,lg ponies to listen:
over to the west They've moving, village ana
all They have their rear guards out looEing
FOR pursuit along their trace anu never .h
Of our trying this dodge. II my Dellei they are
canned to-uight within day marcn Of the
Platte and if we pull out now we can head 'em
pull out'' it Is. No trumpet call, no sound,
no excitement. Tumble up men IS the low
toned order of the serEeants, as they scatter
among The sleeping groups. And in twenty min
utes we are away, riding IN silent, shRdowy COZ
umn up the uorIhward slopes and moving at
steady walk. Some men have not been suihcien-
" aroused to prevent their doing OIL again.
,'rorc Of troopers are nodding over their POM
Inels as we reach the ridge.
For hours we glide along over the dew-iaden
syyari The dawn comes stealing up the east
ern skies. The dim figures of the scouts be
come slowly revealed-far to the front. The
NIGHT lamps in the heavens fade Giowly away
and O rosy blush spreads like a mantle over the
Orient Lighter and lighter grows the morn
inc and along the column the bearded faces
looked pinched and blue. How welcome would
orc tin OF coffee be! 'Confound those Indians,
anvvayl Why can they give re How chance
for \ breakfast?'' growls the captain of the
foremost troop. Five O'Clock: Blk Seven.
And Il last the Platte valley Is IN Sigh cottdn
woods Eleven, and the scouts are back with
stirring news. by the eternal, boys, we've
Noon and again in the saddle. The blue,
pinched look is gone from every iace-banished
by tidines that stir the blood. over TO the
Southwest. not sir miles away, big herds of in
dian ponies have been espled, grazing quietly
along the northward slopes. Hidden from the
pua,ded bv the vigilant scouts left back along
the trail, dreading no attack from any other
quarters. Tall Bull has pitched ms tepeeS at az
women and children over the reunion with their
braves There must be over eighty lodges. say
the Pawnee scouts, and no orc guards them
from our side. White men never played this
Look along the column now, as it steals away
rnder the shelter of the bluffs and ridges.
Gaunt and weary as were the steeds at dawn,
hungry and tired as was every man, the cry OF
.sIndiaus ahea6!'' has banished every siuggard
thought II we only approach unseen! II
we cFn only reach the village before they hBve
time mount ana meet us, we eau rescue tiOSc
poor women and deal vengeance to the murder
ers of their loved ones. ''Trotl' is the word
mass ed down the column, but the colonel's hand
warns The trumpeters TO silence. Look to your
carbines menl Loosen few cartridges in the
loopspi are the muttered cautions Of the officers
rs they move up and down along the trotting
ranks We are marching by fours now. and
heading just little south OF west
Crouching along the ridge line to
our left we can the Pawnees,
and still further on rldes Buffalo Bill, every now
aud then peering over the crest with his brown
curls tossing in the rising breeze, and stiii sig
mailing "straight ahead straight ahead!' AT
last we must be due north of their position. The
colonel canters away in answer to sign from
Cody and with eager eyes we watch them point
.pr southwark over the divide Then comes the
adutant at suffering gallop. Troops! Column
leftl' Is the order. And the next thlng we
know hall dozen little columns moving 6riskly
in parallel rows are popping up over That divide
Away 10 the south stretches a rolling plateau
Beyond that there is q deep depression wherein
as every troop leads will undersi and, the hostile
village Is lying, and beyond that. covering or
dotting the upland prairie for acres and acres
are almost countless numbers of Indian
monies The quarry is IN full view. One
hundred and fifty miles have we come on this
uight- and-day chase, sweeping around their
right flank and here square in their
front-the last quarter on earth from which
thcy look for attack. Mark the eyes of the
foremost men in every troopl See how they
CLEAN! Look at the colonel out in front OF the
center His old gray pricls Up his ears and