Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-01-21

ern parts of Kansas were then in the hands
of the hostiles, many of the forts and posts
besieged, and there were no railroads to
transport troops. Indeed, the lethargy of
the government in reinforcing the troops
occupying stations greatly encouraged the
Indians and prolonged the war.
When l cut loose from the frontier had
as comrade scout and Indian fighter
named Reid. We were mounted on fine
and speedy mules, had Winchester rifles
and revolvers, and the pair of US were put
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 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. 1t
was then forty miles from the nearest mill
tary posS, but we reached it without acct
dent. We had not yet unsaddled our horses
when Tom made a discovery that furnished
us with clew. He picked up an Indian
tobacco pouch which had belon ged to a
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
tor 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 mus: not be imagined that we went
riding boldly around the country on our
errand. There were days and days that
we lay in hiding If we moved at all it
was By night, and then only short dis
n vnpnS flo
skins, and there was never an hour that
we were not in danger We were gradual
~ 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 rp 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 a
trail nywhere
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 dry ravine. About 9 in the
| morning, as / was on watch, espied a
couple OF Indians to the east. They had been
sent from some war party with a message
60 one of the villages. They were riding
at galiop when l 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 a jiffy.
Just above US was a sharp bend, and here
we took our stations, revolvers in hand.
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 a bit
| anxious for the next hour, fearing that the
reports of the revolvers might have reached
| the eaIs 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
nent chiefs and 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 a tepee with an In
dian boy about Is years of age and an old
bag of a 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 cutlery, 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
Suc MANU- duu Ndlkeu out OF Gne 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
blood stained tomahawk. We pushed back
to the ravine as fast as we could 90, and
after reaching it we lost no time in mount
| ing and heading to the south. We were
not followed from the camp, rs 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 band of thirty warriors. bu,
| after a race of two miles we beat them in
| securing possession of a grove, and for
| three hours we held them at bay. Troops
from the post then came to our rescue
/ had been hit in the arm, Tom in the
shoulder, Mrs. Cherry in the cheek and
the boy lost two fingers by bullet. We
had killed three warriors, wounded two
or three more and knocked over foul
ponies. The Indians were scared away
| from the post very soon. What they die
| with the captiyes among them we never