Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1894-09-19
BLOOD FOR BLOOD.
One Of the Sangufnary Lessons Uncle
SANS Troops Taught to the Sioux.

Sam " VIC
BY and by we struck the trail of the
war party on Medicine creek near its
headWaters, and followed it down to with
in 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 we went into camp. To
the west Of us was dry ravine 500 feet
long by 100 wide, connecting two valleys.
In the Sprlngtime the water poured
through and cut 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 q large grove of cotton
woods. 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 bite to
eat every man not on guard flung himself
down to sleep. There We're no fires, no
cooking, no light even for a pipe. When
the camp with its fifty men grew quiet an
Indian scout might have stood within 100
feet of the pickets and heard no sound to
lndlcate our presence. In camp or post
where no danger menaceS cavalry horses
groan out as they sleep. In troop they
are moving around the length of the lari-
at, winding themselves up, whimpering
and paving and lying down and getting
up again. On this night the horses were
SO WoGdertully quiet that their very post
ureS told of danger in the air. They licked
the dew from the earth as it fell but ND
TO midnight not one of them lay down to
rest
At 2 o'clock every sleeper was aroused
a shake OF the shoulder or Il whisper in
the ear 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 sergeant passed from
man TO man to see if each had his car
bine and cartridge belt, and then the one
line became two, and each moved down
the valley. At whispered word of COM
mand the lines suddenly vanished. Forty
men crept into the bitches, twenty on Il
side. Each ditch was a natural rifle pit
No man asked a question. Each one fully
realized what the movement meant If
the Indians had sighted us in pursuit
they would muster just before the break
OF day and attempt to surprise the camp
Ihey were three to one, and such odds
make an Indian brave
One in the center of the valley could
not have heard the troopers slide down
into the bitches. Two minutes after they
were sheltered the eye or the ear of a
wolf would have caught nothing to alarm
him. If the men spoke at all, it was in
whispers, with mouth to ear. The crick-
cts ceased their singing for a brief min
ute and then began again, and we had
not becu III camp Ten minutes WDen Il pack
of coyotes trOtted up the center Of the
valley almost into camp and set up a
bowling and Snarling and had no suspicion
of our presence. Some of the men slept
again, even as they knelt and clutched
their carbineS. but it WCs sleep so light
that as the darkness of night began to
fade out nudge aroused them. Of a sud
den the coyotes Scampered away, and
we knew they scented danger. They were
quickly out of sight, but down at the
other mouth of the valley they halted for
a moment to serenade us in their queer
fashion. Then for ten minutes there was
a gravelike silence. The cricket which
had been singing almost in my ear for an
hour hushed his song, and we knew the
Indians were creeping forward.
They came on hands and knees
Wolves stealing forward to dash upon
their prey could not have moved more
quietly. Seen through the weird shadows
of the fading night they seemed to be
wolves indeed. We let them advance and
waited for the shot from the captains
revolver which was to be the signal. Each
warrior was a blotch against the fading
darkness. You could only make out that
something was moving. Now and then
the figures halted for a moment, as if
those in advance had become fearful or
desired to consult, but by and by the
head of the procession and twenty fol
lowers had passed between US and camp.
linen the SlSndI rang out, ana before 1t
had ceased to echo forty carbines were
playing upon the mass in the center Of
the valley. With the first report came
screams and shrieks and warwhoops and
answering shots fired at random. It was
over in three minutes, but we rested in the
bitches quarter Of an hour longer until
the breaking day gave US light to see
from ditch to ditch Between our lines
lay thirty-two dead warriors, and there
were dozen bloody trails to show which
way the wounded had gone. Thirty two
warriors in their hideous 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 cheered and cheered again. We
had given them a lesson to be long re-
membered, and we were joyful over it.
Not for long, however. AS soon as the
sun rose and we pushed forward to the
grove we found no one there, no one but
the dead. Each captive woman and child
had been butchered out of hand in re
venge, and their still warm and bleeding
bodies had been left for us to bury It
had been blood for blood.-New York
Recorder.