The Yazoo sentinel. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1878-1916, 1891-04-23
A FIGHT FOR LIFE.
STORY OF A BIG COMBAT ON
THE PLAINS

Stuck Full Of Arrows and Riddle,
With Bullets.
The old smoky Hill trail across th,
plains, the route now followed by wha
was formerly the Kansas Pacific Railroad
I now the Kansas Division Of the Union
Pacific, was the scene Of more desperate
and bloody battles with the Indians in
early days than perhaps any other local.
" in the West. IL was the fayorite
Southern route for emigran: trains and
stage coaches, and Immediately after the
war the Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Kio-
was made II their business to lie in wait
for the richly laden wagon trains, the
prairie schooner Of the emigrant and the
mail coaches with which the road was
dotted at all times. The freight trains
and emigrants managed generally to
travel in large companies, aud thus defy
the Indians. In fact at times when the
redskins were particularly troublesome it
was the custom Of the commanders of
the military posts, which we located
here and there along the line Of the
road to hold the emigrant teams which
came along until sufficient number
had collected to make the men numer-
Gus enough TO cope with the Indians and
thus be able to prevent the murderous
fends from killing the whites and rob
bing the trains. Occasionally adventur-
Gus people came along who avoided the
vigilance Of the military authorities and
took the chances rather than to delay
t11afw af
through safely, but the remains Of burned
wagons and human bones bleaching up
on the prairie told the tale of the fate
of many Others. OF course, the military
authorities could not control the move
ments OF the mail coaches, and it was
customary to dispatch with each coach
load CT passengers another coach loaded
with United States soldiers as a guard.
A non-commissioned officer was usually
in charge.
On the morning of June Is, 1867, at
4 o'clock, says the Pueblo (Colo.) Chief
tain, one of the coaches of the United
States Express Company rolled out from
ort Wallace, Kan, bound for Denver.
1t contained four passengers, and was
drawn by six mules. The passengers
were Messrs. Charles F. Blake, of Den
yer, now of this city; Louis f. Bartels,
of Denver; Harrison, of Boston, and
Brownell, of Illinois. In this coach, in
addition to the passengers, was the
driver, the Sergeant in command of the
military escort and one soldier, seven in
all. In the, coach following, drawn by
four horses, were thirteen soldiers. The
Indians were numerous along the trail,
and had committed many depredations.
The Sergeant who commanded the party
had but little confidence in his own abil-
ity as an Indian fighter, and hence it
was arranged that In case of an attack
Mr.. Blake, q man OF undoubted grit,
who had been there before, should take
command of the party.
1t was also agreed that when the fight
cQmmOnced the coaches were 10 be drawn
az side byside. leaving a space of ten
feet between them, and that the passen-
gers and soldiers should get out OF the
coaches and fight on foot, dropping be-
hind them when 1t became too hot
The distance between Spring Hill
Station and Big Timber Station is about
ten miles. Every station on the lines Of
the stage roads in these days was small
fertilization, and was at all times pre-
pared for an Indian siege. Most old
timers will remember the "coyote forts"
which were usually located short
distance from the station buildings, and
accessible from them only by an under
ground passage. They were not very
great specimens Of military engineering,
being composed of square hole in the
ground, covered by thick dirt roof
couple of feet above the sur
face Of the surrounding prairie, so as to
allow loopholes through which the in.
mates could fire cd their approaching
enemies with but little danger of being
injured in return. They were effective,
however, and have been the cause of the
retreat of maya band of red marauders.
When about half way between the two
stations above indicated band of In
iians was noticed coming in single file, /
from the bluffs, and in few
minutes after another band advanced |
rom the creek bottom on the other side |
If the road in the same order. They APP
one another until the two
parties met in the middle Of the road,
Gaming a V-shaped line behind the
coaches. The Indians soon opened fire
md those in the passenger coach dis
and formed a skirmish line,
opening fire with their rifles, with which
hey were all armed, upon the advancing
indians, and expecting those in the I
,ther coach to Join them. To their T
they soon discovered that 4
he coach which contained thirteen gal +
ant defenders Of their country was
making its way as fast as a good team
ould take it on dead run toward Big
Timber, leaving those in the other
zach which was drawn by slow moving
mules to shift as best they could. One
( the soldiers on the roof Of the runaway
zach fell off and was killed by the In
ians while attempting to join the other
arty.
Finding themselves LETT to their own
the passengers and soldiers in
he remaining coach commenced one of
be most desperate fights ever known
d the history of the West. Seven men
ought over 155 Indians commanded by
ID Roman Nose. one Of the meanest red
kins ever known in this section of the
ouutry. The whites soon found that
hey could not cope successfully with
heir numerous foes and concluded to
AXE to the coach and do the best they
ould to beat their assaiiants off until