Arizona republican., 1891-03-06

one such was the gallant struggle of (sel
 q A Forsyth and a band of fifty scouts with the terrible Cheyenne and Sioux war riurS and their bandit allies on the line of the kansas Pacific in 1868. In August of that year there was an outbreak of savage fru !lshness along the borders of Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska east of Denver,
 The tribes of the region opposed the con struction of the railroad, and began to raid, rav.h and kill over a widespread territory ofthriving settlements. Their deeds were such that no white man able to handle a weapon could stay the passion of revange, Among the officers at Fort Wallace was Col G. A. Forsyth, a civil war veteran who had served with Sheridan. He was on staff duty and had no followers, hut in the excitement of the hour drumnea up fifty unemployed scouts, mounted and equipped in their own wild fashion, and placed himself and men under military or drrs. The second in command was h hero fitted to hold such relation to the gallant colonel This was Lieut.. r. II. Beecher lu,phew of Henry Ward Beecher), also a civil WAT veteran, and one who had been disabled at that He was under orders to report for duty in Washington at n later date, and volunteered, or even begged, to fill in the interval fighting Indians.
 The command started for the scene of the most recent depredations reported at Fort Wallace, and struck trail on II branch of Republican river on the 14th of September. They followed the trail two days without seeing a redskin, but evil denceS pointed to their presence in havicin- ity They were trying to mislead and am bush the daring party. On the afternoon of the 10th Col Forsyth halted and estab- lished camp on Dry Fork, stream with but q few inches of water. He was in the ceuter of plain skirted with hills and dotted with clumps of stunted trees. Late in the afternoon band of several hundred Indians rushed from cover and attempted to stampede the animals that were grazing near the camp. They were repulsta, and Col Forsyth, assuming this demonstration to be the fOrerunner of a grand attack, moved his force to an island in the middle of the water course. The island bore few low trees, On the morning of the l7th every luan was alert before daylight, and not a moment too soon. The horsies were ;ir.l in the bushes close ut hand. and while several picked marksmen kept up A fire on lIic uCdISot luhItatlN, NhtlI bphlptshi'A'S hu ', rifle pits and made a circle of them so as to receive the enemy on all sides. t.
 The Indians kept up steady fire with their improved repeating rifles aud cooily took position in easy range, boys wIth bows and arrows stealing up very close by crawl ing on the ground A shower of bullets and arrows soon announced the onslaught of numbers. Col. Forsyth bade his men hold their fire and save ammunition for the try ing moment. The elevations at safe dis tance were covered with non-eolnbatant savages, old men, women and children, and with wild, weird whoop they began to jump and gesture as band of mounted warriors, numbering several hundred, set out at full gallop toward the island Not q shot was fired by the scouts until the sayages came within easy reach, Then a rapid fire was opened, sending down the front lines of warriors. The charge had been made in solid column, as if to over. rle the brave little band in the riiiepits. At the head rode the war chiaf of the CAryennes, Roman Nose" a typical say age of the wilda. No gaudy calico, or flower sack staff, or cast of army blanket corrupted his regal figure, which was of giant build. But buckskin and beads, and feathers of the wild wing, and q robe of the rarest fur, distinguished him over all hls followers and above many noted chief of these degenerate Indian days. He was tawny colored war god. breathing fire and flashing lightning from his eagle eye. But all that heathen maynificence was not bullet clad, nor was that noble form in. vulnerable. Roman Nose' fell within a few feet of the ridepits, and the painted bucks that survived the terrible volley of dr'th shrank back appalled, at the spectacle,