The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-05-13


right and horribly mutilated.
After the Indians had done all the
deviltry they could they rode whoop-
ing away, and the troops, who, from
their safe vantage ground, had wit
messed the whole affair, came up to
investigate and ascertain whether,
according to the government policy
at that time, the Sioux had been
treated with proper respect. The
officer in command never gave any
satisfactory reason for his strange
conduct at the time in failing to
come to the rescue of the train, and
was court.martialcd and dismissed
from the service. The only part the
troops took in the engagement was to
bury the dead.
When they undertook to put Nc
Gee underground, however, they
found lively corpse, despite the
fact that he was scalped and had
fourteen wounds, any of which
would have terminated the life of the
average man, besides four minor in
juries.
After burying the teamsters the
soldiers hastened TO Fort Larned,
thirty miles distant, where young
MCGEE was put under the care of the
army surgeon. 1t was three months
before he was able to be moved. He
had during that time fair command
of his mental faculties and was able
to tell all the incidents of the at
tack.
Barrett, who had remained in
Leavenworth, Immediately on learn
ing of the disaster that had befallen
his train put IN a claim for damages
against the government and was
awarded big sum, but utterly re-
fused to do anything for the boy who
was the sole survivor of the mas
sacre.
McGee's case was laid before the
President aud in October, 1864, Mr..
Lincoln sent him letter and pass by
special messenger telling him to
come to Washington as soon as he
was able to travel and he would see
that his wrongs were righted. Gen
eral Curtis saw McGee soon after he
was scalped and gave him standing
order on the government for clothes
and nations, and DR.. Clark, the sur
geon at the fort, recommended in his
official report that the Brule Sioux
be assessed $4,000 for the benefit of
the boy so horribly maltreated at
their hands. This report was sup
pressed by the 'peace policy Qua
kers" ring then in power in the
Indian Department.
When MCGEE got able to be about
his mind, which up to that time had
been remarkably clear, began to
cloud, and he became possessed with
an insane desire to hunt Sioux to the
death. In one of his frenzied spells
the pass and letter of President Lin
coin and the order given by General
Curtis were stolen from his pockets
and neither the President nor the
army ever took notice of his condi-
ton afterward.
For a dozen years after receiving
his injuries MCGEE was a wanderer.
He sought the companionship of
various Indian tribes, learning many
languages and dialects, friendly to
and favored by all except the Brule
Sioux, of whom his tormentor, Little
Turtle, was chief. These Brules he
hunted mercilessly, and when one
day it was found that Little Turtle
had been mysterously "wiped out"
it was said that the biggest notch on
McGee's gun barrel commemorated
the full measure OF his revenge-a
long, deep mark for the chief and
nine shorter ones for the nine under
chiefs who had "bit the DUST at the
command of the trusty rifle that
never failed of fire when pointed at
Brule breast
After Little Turtle had gone to the
happy hunting grounds McGee's
mind began to regain its equilibrium
until at last he was perfectly sane
and has been for decade. He has
no education, such as comes of books
VI scuools, DuI Is intelligent and
entertaining.
No hair has ever been induced to
grow upon his scalp, though he has
been the subject of many novel ex-
perlments to that end by eminent
surgeons in both the new and the old
world, and the medical colleges of
the country are perfectly familiar
with ''the-man- with fourteen-lives."
The $4,000 asked of Congress was
appropriated from tile Sioux fund
held by the government for that
tribe, and is one of the few like
claims ever presented and recovered.
ISABEL WoRRELL BALL.
Washington, March 20, 1892.