Omaha daily bee., 1895-12-28

lowstone' valley pursued a sanguinary cours,
up through the Gallatln valley and into Mon
lana. II was marked by rapinc and plumber
They besicged Fort Reno and killed man,
or Its garrison. including a brother of A. X
Mcclure. They environed Fort Phil Kear
ney and wiped from the face OF the eartf
every human being whose walls IL failed e
protect. Then they surrounded Fort G.. +
Smith, where 200 union soldiers found them.
selves surrounded by more than 1,oOt
death-seeking Indians. Escape seemed
impossible. A courier got word OF this con.
dition OF affairs to General Hancock, who
was then stationed at st. Paul, and he sent
a message TO the governor OF Montana at
Bozeman, calling upon him to relieve the be-
sieged garrison. The chief executive of the
territory Of Montana at that time was Green
Clay Smith, who, by the way, recently died
In Washington, a Baptist clergyman. He
had been a member OF congress from Ken
lucky, but President Lincoln made him ter
ritorial governor of Montana. He was seated
on the porch of his residence in Bozeman
when Hancock's message was handed to him.
To a visitor from the east who was seated
by his side, and who is authority for this
narrative, he said: What in the name of
heaven can l do? Fort C. f. Smith is $50
miles away. The country between here and
there is filled with Sioux Indians. Our mill
tia force consists exactly of 427 men. Not a
man of them could reach Fort c. f. Smith
alive. l am absolutely powerless. However,
L VIII SEND Tor Colonel HOWE
HOWE KNEW THE INDIANS.
At that time Colonel Nell Howie was
United States marshal for the territory Of
Montana. He was a typical frontiersman. He
commanded the Montana volunteers, and 1t
has been said of him that General Sherman
might have been at Bozeman City with 5000
troops and the people of theoGallatin could
not have escaped the scalping knife of the
savage, but Colonel HOWE, with less than
400 men, protected 100 miles of exposed 'front.'
Ter but a little distance from the hostile
tribes"
1t was to this man that Governor Smith
addressed himself, handing him General Han
cocks dispatch. and saying: Colonel, we
can't do anything for those poor devils in
Fort c.. Il. Smith. We haven't enough men,
and those we have couldn't get there. Am
l right"
NO." said Colonel HOWE, quietly, with
out any exhibition Of excitement, and with
the gentle voice of a woman. There is no
trouble about that, governor. We can ar
range that matter and still leave the Mon
tana frontier protected. l will need some
picked men and a good leader for them. |
think Captain McCabe is the best fitted for
this undertaking. l will go out and find
HIM"
McCabe was another gentle voiced man
with blue eyes. He didn't make much noise.
He acted. He said to the governor: "Oh,
yes, 1t is easy enough. But I'll need forty of
s'o pNSS 4NNiA 4 van tShSN " 'oh NSNp
the rest of your volunteer force here" Gov
ernor Smith looked at him in amazement. |
So did the visitor from the east. They both
thought that he was either insane or a
braggart. Governor Smith said to him:
How in the name of heaven do you expect
to raise the siege of Fort G. f. Smith with
forty men when you know that it is sur
by more than 1000 bloodthirsty In
dams and that the country between here
and there is covered with thousands more
murderous Sioux"
II PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.
Said McCabe quietly: "Why, governor, it
is easy enough. The Indians know us and
know that we know them better than they
know themselves. You folks from the east
have an idea that what you call Indian
are simply unmeaning exhibitions
Of brutality; that scalping, for instance, is
simply a form of torture. In that you are
The Indian believes that no man
can go to the happy hunting g~round-heaven
We call it-who has been deprived Of his hair.
Their motive in scalping a victim is to carry
'ut fendish hatred to its utmost by prevent
ng him from having a happy hereafter.
to deprive an Indian of his scalp
s to rob him CT his hopa Of a happy here
lfter. My men never kill an Indian without
calping him and the Indians know that. The
orty men / will select for this expedition ,
re unerring in their aim with the rifle. They i
an shoot sixteen shots in siXtesn seconds
md every ball means a dead Indian and g
very dead lndlan means a scalp and every I
calp means q warrior deprived eternally I
f a chance Of ever reaching the happy hunt G
ng ground. Ny forty men will walk from t
ere to Fort G. F, Smith without firing a
Incredible" said Governor Smith. $
True" said Captain McCabe. S
What was the result. c
Forty men walked $50 miles from Bohemian u
D Fort G. f. Smith. Indians watched them .
n evsry side. By days their progress was :,
lgnaled by circling columns of smoke and 7
t night by fire from mountain tops. But not =
shot was fired. When they got within sight q
Fort C.. F. Smith the 900 whooping Sioux A
'ho held the garrison in siege fed, and the r.
,rty frontiersmen from BoZeman marched :,
and escorted the 200 union soldiers back =
the territorial capital without the loss of .
life. Not a shot had been fired. Not a
had been lifted. n
This is unwritten history. II
We VIII Give You n Check ~