The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-28
FIGHTING INDIANS TO THE DEATH
Thrilling story Told by "A Cincinnati
Policeman.

From the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.
When the subject of Indian fighting is
on the tapis there is an authority to be
found within the ranks of Cincinnatrs
policemen. Don't forget Sergt. Louis Be
dinger. the organizer and present head
of the mounted squad.
Sergt Bedinger is better acquainted
with the Snake Indians than with any of
the others. He was among them for quite
a while at Camp Bldwell, in Upper Cali
fornia, and at Fort Klamath, in Oregon.
He enlisted in 1856, and became a member
of Troop A, of the First United States
Cavalry. His company relieved Company
F of the Second California Cavalry at
Camp Bidwell, and remained there eleven
months. Then they were sent to Fort
klamath, in June, 1867, to relieve Com
pany l of the Mounted Infantry of Ore
gon, who were under Capt. Sprigg, an old
resident of Lebanon. o. Bedinger grave
ly asserts to this day that the Oregon
troops didn't know the war was over un>
til his company arrived to relieve them of
duty.
Bedinger's first brush with the In
dians-the Snakes-was in October, 1866
in the Abbott Lake mountains. The Snakes
were a hostile tribe, wandering over the
country and committing murder and theft
wherever they went. Scant courtesy was
shown them whenever and wherever the
soldiers ran across them. They simply
charged and routed them off the face of
the earth. That's what they did at Alb
bolt Lake. They killed seven bucks and
took four squaws and three papoose
prisoners. There were sixty Indians in
the party and forty regular soldiers, to-
gether with twenty of the mounted in
fantry of the state. Dan Hogue was their
guide Bedmger was a corporal, and
with eleven soldiers, headed off the In
dams who were trying to get an outlet
through the ravne. They dismounted
and fought on foot. Lieut.. Small in the
thick of the fray. That's where the kill
ing was done The rest of the savages
escaped into the caves, for which the
mountainous district is famous.
The soldiers camped that night where
the Indians had been surprised, and the
squaws and papooses remained with them.
The women kept pinching the babies and
made them cry all night. They did it
that the rest of the tribe, numbering
about thirty, who had gone off on
fishing expedition, might be able to locate
the camp the soldiers having carefully
extinguished all fires. They managed to
carry the message in that manner, and
during the night the other Indians re-
turned and at once fired on the camp
at random, without doing any damage,
however, beyond sending three bullets
through Lieut. Small's tent.
Bedinger's most exciting Indian adven-
ture occurred on Sept. S, 1867. The Snake
Indians were under Chief Chachachee, in
Summer Lake Valley, ore. The water
was called Summer Lake because it con-
tanned warm springs, which always kept
IL tepid. The soldiers had left Fort Kla-
math on a three months reconnoitering
expedition, accompanied by ten peaceful
klamath Indians. These Indians were
pretty well civilized and wore blouses
and caps Among them were two fight
ers The others didn't 40 much Of any,
thing, except rob the bodies Of the In
dians slain by the soldiers, and dance
about their PROSTATE forms. There were
fifty men in the party. on the seventh
day out they met a fishing party and
charged them, killing three bucks and
fatally wounding one squaw. They didn't
mean to Kill any women, but the squaws
dress so much like the bucks, and look
so much like them, mat the mistake
might readily occur This squaw, when
dying, betrayed TO the soldiers where the
camp OF Chachachee and his b raves
might be found. Two scouts started out