Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-09-18
BLOOD FOR BLOOD.
A Victory Over Indians That Was Re
 xenred With fIle IIxes nI cnnfIrn.

| We struck the trail of tho war party on Medicine crock, near its headwaters, and followed it down to within n couple of miles of its junction with the Republican fork. Then it became SO dark that the scouts could no longer keep the trail, and VIC went into camp. To the west of us was dry ravinc 800 feet long by 100 wide connecting two valleys. In the spring time the water poured through and cut a ditch along either side. The trail was so fresh when night came that the Indians could not be far ahead. At the junction of the streams, two miles away, there was a large grove of cottonwoods. They were probably camped in the grove for the night. They had with them three women and four children as captives from the wagon train.
 Our horses were staked out to nibble at the parched grass, and after n bite to eat every man not on guard flung himself down to sleep. There wcre no fires, no cooking, no light even for n pipe. When the camp with its 50 men grcw quiet. an Indian scout might have stood listening within 100 feet of tho pickets and heard no sound to indicate our presence In camp or post where no danger menaces cavalry horses groan out ns they sleep. In troop they are moving around the length of the lariat, winding themselves up, whimpering and paving and lying down and getting up again. On this night the horses were so wonderfully quiet that their very posturcs told of danger in the air They licked the dew from the earth as it fell, but up to midnight not one of them lay down to rest.
 At o'clock every sleeper was aroused A shake of the shoulder or n whisper in the car was sufficient. The trooper stood up, rubbed sleep from his eyes and then joined the line of dark figures facing the west. By and by n sergeant passed from man to man to sec if each hnd his carbinc and cartridge belt, and then the one line became two, and each moved down the valley. At n whispered word of command the lines suddenly vanished. Forty men crcpt into the ditchcs, 20 on n side Each ditch was natural rifle pit. No man asked n question. Each one fully realized what the movement meant. If the In dians had sighted us in pursuit, they would muster just bcfurc the break of day and attempt to surprise the camp. They were thrCc to one, and suS. odds mako m Indian brave
 Ono in the center of the valley could not have heard the troopers slide down into the ditchCs. Two minutes after they wcre sheltered the eye or the ear of n wolf would have caught nothing to alarm him. If tho men spoke Ht all, 1t was in whis- pcrs, with mouth to car. The crickcts ceased their singing for n brief minute and then began again, and WIG had not been in ambush 10 minutes when pack of coyotes truttCd mp the center of the val ley almost into camp and set up n howl ing and snarling and had no suspicion of our presence. Some of the men slept again, even as they knclt and Clutchod their car pines, but 1t was sleep 50 light that as the darkness of night began to fade out II nudge aroused them. Of sudden tho coyotes scampcrCd away, and WIG knew they scented danger. They were quickly out of sight, but down at tho other mouth of the valley they halted for moment to scrrnndc Ills in their queer fashion. Then for 10 minutes there was q gravclikc Si- lcncc. The cricket which had been sing ing almost in my car for nn hour hushcd his song, and we knew the Indians wcro creeping forward.
 They came on hands and knees. Wolves stealing forward tu dash upon their prey could not have moved morc quietly. Seen through the weird shadows of the fading night they seemed to he wolves indeed. We let them advance and waited for the shot from the captains fcvolvCr which was to bc the signal. Each warrior was blotch against the fading darkness. You could only make out that something was moving. Now and then the figures halted for moment, as if those in advance had become fearful or dCSir'd tO consult, but by and by the head of the procession and 20 followers had passed between Us and camp. Then the signal rarf, out. and be fore 1t had ceased tu echo iU CarbinCS wCrC playing upon the mass in the center of the valley. With the first report came screams and shricks and warwhoops and answering shots fired at random. It was over in thrce minutes. but we rested in the ditchcs n quarter of an hour longer until the breaking day gave us light to sec from ditch to ditch. Between our lines lay B dead warriors, and there wcrc n dozen bloody trails to show which way the wounded had gone. Thirtytwo war riors in their hidcous paint, with rifle and tomahawk and knife, some hit by three or four of the great ounce bullets, and there would be mourning for many day among the Sioux. We cheercd and cheer cd again. We had given them n lesson to be long remembered, and we were joyful over 1t. Not for long. however. As the sun rusc and wc pushed forward to tho grove WIG found no one thcrc, no ono but the dead. Each captive woman and child had been butChcrCd out of hand in re- vcngc, and th'.ir st.ll warm and bleeding bodies had hrn iriI foe uS tO bury. It had been blood f'r hl,' ... NJ. QUAD.