The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-04-04
The Colonel Now Makes His Home Near
the Scenes OF the Ancient
A4w. # s%- Wars.

'~J ~"J
World. Herald.
OF thess Col. Edmond Butler, but re-
Gently retired from the Second infantry, is
yesrs ago that Col. Butler and his com
msnd camped in the very spot on which
Miles City has since been built, while
the hunt for marauding Indians made
the lifc Of q soldier extremely live
ly. Col. Butler is now a resident Of
Miles City and the change from he hunt
ing ground OF Sitting Bull to q populous
municipality 10 most striking to him and 70
who hear him tell Of the old days.
Col. Buffers entire life has bscn given Up
to Indian fighting and his adventures
would All a r%retentious book. The colonel
began his campaigning against the red men
with the surrender Of the Navajo chief
Nanueleto i'll 1864. At that time he was
1 captain in the Fifth infantry at Fort
Wingate, N. M. Kit Carson was colonel il
command Of the post, having been placed
there By the United States government, and
CAPT. Butler WIS second i'll mmand
Naturally the captain was brought into
very closs association with the old scout
OF Carson are interesting. Kit was q mod
est man, who never spoke OF his campaigns.
He was mild III his way, and his weakness
Was ''yellow'ooversd" dime novels.
This was the man with whom Colonel
Butler entered upon his career az an In
dian fighter. The post was fifty miles be-
yond the outposts OF white men and was in
q e~tock-raiaing desert. Many hundreds of
head of stock had been stolen by the ma
rsnding Nayajos, and Captain Butler set
out with 500 men to beat them. he had
with him as sllies Pueblo and laguna In
dams, enemies to the Navajos. The ensmy
was treiled into the canon of the Chelle
riyor, and for two days, without %rations,
the pursuers were led OVER the villa est
country fighting men cvsr encountered. At
the end Of tho third day, after over 100
milsx Of chasing, they came upon the
Navaios at q Foint not less than four miles
from that at which the trail was atruck. the
Indians having followed a cir cuitous route.
Nobody was more surprised than Manuel
te's forces when the military swept in upon
them and took them clsall, looms and ell,
they having set up a permanent village.
certain OF escape.
soon after the Sioux campaign Of 1876
was completed, and the troops nndor Cen
8 ain Terry and Crook had retu ned to
their several posts, General n. A. Miles,
with the Fifth infantry and two companies
OF the Twenty-secoRd infantry took &ott at
the ~oantonmert Oh Tongue river, the pres
ent site of Eost Ksogh, Mont. About the
lMlAQiH OF OULGU0& On Lu&bf HA AllCjl
was recsived by Gen. Miles that Sitting
Ball, with a la fge following, was between
the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, bent
on mischief, and that he had sent word to
the commanding officer of a battalion Of
the Twenty-s oond infant y, engaged III
escorting supply trains from Glendlve,
Mont, to this c~antonlnsnt. that he must no
lorpar p&ka through the Indian country, as
the buffalo were becoming frightened and
| running away, causing the Indians t. ouhle
in hunting and killing them. As no atten-
ton was pAid to this by the conlrnandirss
officer, sitting bull sant a party to stttck
the train and compel q compliance with
his wishes. AS the escort was too small to
successfully rep~l t.'e attack, it returned
with the train to Glerdive and stsrtsd out
the next Gay with double the force, under
command of Lieutenant Colonel Otis,
Twents-secord infant y.
On the 10Th Of October. Gen. Miles, hay-
ing received no word from the scouts sent
ont to ascertain tue truth of tho repol and
the whereabouts of the Indians, decided
that no would proceed in person with a sui
teient force and punish the Indians If
necessary, and accordingly orders We g
issued that night for the Fifth infantry to
march at daylight the next morning, pre-
Jared for active field service.
Early on the morning of the 18th of Oc-
tober the Fifth infantry, 430 strong, moved
from the north bank of the Yellowstone,
opposite the cantonment, and proceeded i'll
the direction OF Glendivc, and about moor
met the train and escort and learned all
the faota which had previously been re-
ported. The two commands cnmped neat
each other for the night and the following
morning the train with Its eRcort, which
had been reinforced by forty men of the
Fifth infantry, proceeded 10 the oanton-
mont, and the command of Con. Miles, now
numbering $50 men, moved Iii .ho opposlta
ISr,atSN re ,,,i n N,S ftAT4r Hraak M
the 20th Of October, whom about eight miles
east of Cedar creek, Il large party of
Indians were discovered on the hills
near the left of the command which moysd
forward Il few hundred ysrds and took po-
sition, and soon aftsr received two Indians
from the hoatiie canp with a flag of truce,
who proved to ba runners from ono of ths
AGENCIES. Immediately after the arrival vi
these Indians Gen. Miles determined to
communicate with Sitting Bull and Invite
him to a council; ana to this end sent ont
Of his acting staff o~fiioars, Lieut.. III. X
Bailey, Fifth infantry, to tho Indians witt
instructions to carry out this desire if pos.
sible, which WAS soon accomplished and til.
two chisftGinB met midway between thai,
respective commands and talked the ques
ton OF surrender over. The council lasted
some two hours, at the end of which sit
would raturn to his people, talk the mnttel
over with thsm and bring to Gen. Miles
camp the following morning u deeisiv,
answer. Gen. Miles then returned with III
regiment TO the camping ground of the
previous night.
Not fully relying upon the sincerity o
Sitting Bull, Gen. Miles put his conman
in readiness to move out in line OF BATH
ut u moments notice. Lbs following
morning every man WAS in his place an,
J, felt that he might DO called upon to give U
his life during the day for the good Of hi
country. AT daybrssk scouts were nent on
to ascertain tho movements OF the Indians
and hearing that they had made MO rropara
ton to move towards the camp as agree
Gen. Miles determined to move forward t
Isull's answer there. When within
Indians rodo out bsdcohad in war psint t
) meet the command and inquire why 1t ha
not waited until they came down.
Having reached a position oyerlookin
r The village. Gen. Miles halted his comma
and ssnt word to sitting Bull that he wa
thsre and wanted 10 sea him. Altar Honl
delay the willy chief arrived and n council
ensued, in which ths terms of the govern
mcnt wore plainly act forth and mn oppor
tunlty to sur ondsr and benefit by thoi
WAS given. After nearly three hours spen
I Iii trlk, Sitting Bull again withdrew to con
suit his people, but mob until he was II
formed by Gan. Milea that unless he SUI
. rendered by one O'Clock hs would open III