The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-01-21

| up against four or five large tribes of In
| dams. Scores of prisoners had been car
ried off along the entire frontier, and TO
| look for any particular one seemed a hope
less task. We knew, however, that the
two we wanted had made their start from
the grove on Mink creek, and we decided
TO make that our point of departure. It
was then forty miles from the nearest mill
tary post, but we reached it without acct
dent. We had not yet unsaddled our horses
when Tom made discovery that furnished
US with clew. He picked up an Indian
tobacco pouch which had belonged TO
Sioux. Up to this time we did not know
whether the pair we were after had been
captured by the Sioux or Cheyennes. This
gave Us big start in the right direction.
Although the two tribes had joined hands
for the war, their territory still remained
the same, and their villages had not been
moved. We must bear more to the west
and search among the Sioux
1t must not be imagined that we went
riding boldly around the country on our
errand. There were days and days that
we lay in hiding II we moved at all it
was By night, and then only short dis
tances. The country swarmed with red
skins, and there was never an hour that
we were not In danger. We were gradual
ly working toward the villages on the
Smoky Hill ford and its territories, and
our game was to play hide and seek. AS
both of US understood the Sioux dialect, we
picked up bits of information let fall now
and then by parties passing our hiding
places, and such were our precautions that
we worked our way over seventy miles
into the Indian country without leaving
trail anywhere.
We had one close call as we neared the
villages We had advanced about five
miles during the night over ground so hard
as to leave no trail, and were lying up for
the day in a dry ravine. About 9 in the
morning, as / was on watch, l espied
couple of Indians to the east. They had been
sent from some war party with message
to one Of the villages. They were riding
at gallop when first saw them, but of a
sudden they halted, held a council, and
both rode into the ravine about eighty rods
above our position. They could not have
seen our trail, nor had they reason to sus-
pect our presence, and never could fathom
their action. They were coming right down
upon us, and had Tom awake in jitfy.
Just above us was a sharp bend, and here
u.
The ponies of the Indians came scrambling
along the rough path, one closely follow
ing the other, and the first rider never
knew what hit him. The second saw US,
but was dead five seconds after, and we at
once secured the ponies. We were bit
anxious for the next hour, fearing that the
reports of the revolvers might have reached
the ears of Indians riding about; but no
one appeared, and the day wore away with
out the slightest alarm. This was the
fourteenth day Of our advance, and the
thirty fourth day of Mrs. Cherry's capture
Let us now return to her.
The prisoners were marched across the
country to the villages on the Smoky Hill
fork. The first idea was to put them all
to the torture, but the chiefs finally de-
cided to hold them For while and see how
events would shape. Two sons of promi-
nent chiefs and a great medicine man had
been captured by the whites. and it might
be that they would have TO be ransomed
by giving up prisoners. Mrs. Cherry and
the LawtOn boy were kept in one village,
while all others captured with them were
sent to another. They were made to carry
wood and water, live on the food thrown
to the dogs, and every hour in the day
were told of the fate in store for them.
Both were beaten by Indian women and
boys, but they did not feel their lives in
peril. They slept in tepee with an In
dian boy about Is years of age and an old
bag of squaw.
On the afternoon of the day we killed
the two Indians in the ravine Mrs Cherry
secreted tomahawk under the dried grass
composing her bed. 1t belonged to the In
dian boy, but he did not miss it, She
heard them talking that day about NOV
ing camp, but nothing was done because
no orders came At midnight, when every
thing was quiet. Mrs. Cherry crept over to !
the Indian boy and sunk the blade of the |
tomahawk in his skull. He raised his |
arms, but made no outcry, and was dead |
in two or three minutes. She disposed of /
the old woman in the same way, and then /
waking up young Lawton she took him by |
the hand and walked out OF the village
At l o'clock in the morning, as | was /
scouting on foot to locate the village and /
was within mile of it, met Mrs. Cherry !
and the boy. She had the Indian boys /
bow and culver, and Lawton carried the I
blood stained tomahawk. Wepushed back I
TO the ravine as fast as we could go, and /
after reaching it we lost no time in mount |
ing and heading to the south. We were |
not followed from the camp, as an order |
reached it at daylight TO move to distant /
point, and we lodged the war parties until /
another two hours would have carried us /
into post. We were then suddenly con- /
fronted by a band of thirty warriors, but /
after a race of two miles we beat them in I
possession of a grove, and for 4
three hours we held them at bev. Troops 4
from the post then came TO our rescue.
/ had been hit in the arm, Tom in the
Mrs. Cherry in the cheek and 1
the boy lost two fingers by bullet. We
had killed three warriors, wounded two
or three more and knocked over four
ponies. The Indians were scared away
from the post very soon. What they did
with the captives among them we never
learned. Y ork sun.