Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-01-06
A DASH TO THE VILLAGE

Midnisht and the scouts are not Yet
in. For twelve hours the battalion
rode Though the hot July day. mostly
at the trot, send ny the dust clouds
sailing high over The winding trail and
powdering the r inward Troopers with
a thick coating T their mother earth.
There were eiel companies in the long
column yhen sc came filing out Ok
the misty va ~ just at the gray OF
dawn, but I ose wagons had 10 be
guarded. and 80 NJ troop was ordered
TO remain with and fetch along the
train.
The rest Of us are pushing north
ward as fast as our steeds can bear us.
for somewhere ahead Of us-somewhere
between hat low ridge where the coy
otes are yelping and sneaking about
under the rays Of the waning moon
and the broad valley Of the Platte,
with its sandy wastes and shallow wa
ters, is a big band of renegade Indians.
Sioux, Cheyennes and Arapahoes are
''streaking it" for the great reservation
to the north, and every man in our
army knows well that when they left
the burning settlement on the Solomon
they bore away with them two poor
women whose husbands and brothers
and children they massacred in cold
blood.
If ! kill every horse in the regi
ment. said the colonel when the news
was brought 10 him, I'm run those
scoundrels 10 earth before they can,
reach the river. Five hundred Of 'em,
you say, BilF' he continued. as he
looked up from the dispatch he was
writing on his knee. Il don't care il
there's 5000"
And that was practically what the
regiment thought. All the livelong
day, from dawn to 4 o'clock in the af-
ternoOn, we had trotted in the wake of
our scouts, hoping vainly that every
ridge we neared would prove 10 be the
one from which the fleeing foe would be
sighted. How we strained our eyes in
watching the movements of our few
Pawnee allies darling about far in the
clAh ahAIEs IlbN We lOllDNNu every
move that body made,
Was there ever such a prince among
scOuts a. Buffalo Billg' Ii was ne
who made the long, perilous ride cross
country 10 where we were camping far
10 the east lie who warned Us of Tall
Bull and his savage warriors and of
their rapid retreat, scalp and plumber
laden, TO scatter among the villages of
the still distant reservations. II was a
war party. unaccompanied 10y women,
unencumbered by lodges. that made
the dash along the Solomon valley. but
the Pawnees swear that somewhere
lover that way, " still toward the snow
peaked Rockies, these marauders have
a big village of their own. If we can
only reach the Platte ahead Of them,
All day long, jog. jog, jog, sometimes
through deep ravines, sometimes clam
berihg over grassy bluffs, but all the
while taking the shortest possible route
that Bill Cody's plainscraft enables him
to select, heading for the fords of that
river of q~uicksand and shadows. Once
there, if we make it ahead of them, we
can turn and bar the way.
NO water between here and the riv-
er. said Bill, as the dusty column halt
ed on the banks Of "a tiny rivulet
.Dismount, rang the trumpet. I'm
saddle. % came the brief order. Herd
the horses well back along the slope,
and don't let EN- near that stream till
they're perfectly cool. ~ said the colonel
We rummaged our saddle bags for a
cold lunch. washed IL down with what
4sBin Arp" would call branch water"
and those of rs not detailed for guard
OF picket threw ourselves on the turf
TO snatch what sleep we might. The
sun went down unseen by more than
half the ewes in our grimy little force,
and here il i midnight now and no re-
port from the scouts. There is a little
mot Of Officers gathered about the
soloneIs piIlow-an old Mcclellan sad
ale, for there isn't "A stitch Of canvas
nearer than the wagon train some
where far 20 the rear-and leaning on
his elbow that officer explains the stu
alton.
'sWe pull out at ? o'elOck-wagons
Dr no wagons. If they reach Us and we
can give the horses a hatful of grain
and the men . cupof coffee, well and