The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1896-04-30

+ whites. came luiO ] or lldh5- o0itiiS
IDLY for protection. He had no wcap
+ ons. seemed to be honest aud straight
forward. and all the men had a goo,
word for him On the third day b,
came to me and asked my assistance
to recover bis rife. blanket. d lot oI
powder and lead. and various Other
articles which he said. he had cached
at Il spot about twelve miles down the
Smoky Hill Fork Ia a grove. When
he described the spot. | remembered
it very well. and next morning, having
permission OF the cOmmandant. we set
ont | was on horseback, and the In
dian afOot' [ had my usual weapons,
while he had an army musket. He
/ gave rs his name as Little Smoke. and
was-a typical warrior in build and de
moauOr Before we left the fort an
old hunter called me aside and said:
DO You believe thar is cache?"
Why not"
'Bckase an lndjun says thar Is
AllHS take 'em contrary 10 what they
say. Is your 5calp p nailed on!,'
DO You misIruSt the man -
Never saw one that l didn't I'm
going to bet my rife agin keg of
powder that you don't come back"
As soon as we were out OF sight Of
the fort [ motioned for the Indian to
take the lead He seemed TO take il
as matter Of Course. and he led of
with a lope and held it for six OF sey-
en- miles without a halt. | had not
only to keep an eye on him, but scan
the country as we'll He appeared to
be on the lookout, as well he might be
if his story were true, and abont Ii
o'clock we approached the spot where
he claimed to have hidden his proper
ty. ] had kept him in the lead all
the time, and We had had more or less
shelter along the bank of the stream.
Half a mile from the grove j drew
rem ana said:
Il will wait here while my brother
goes forward after his property..'
Is the Swift Rider tired with his
ride" he sarcastically answered.
One must keep watch for danger
! will do that, for you will be busy"
IF my white brother is afraid he
need Aot ~o."
IF my red brother has a cache in
the grove let him look for it. If not,
W" Will return to the fort
He hesi5ated moment. and then,
satisfied that [ was on my guard he
walked away and soon disappeared in
the grove | had every confidence
that the trees sheltered band Of red
skins. and it would not surprise me
iu the least to have seen = body of
them dash out. | was therefore tax
en- ahack, At the end of about a quar-
ter Of an hour, to see Little SmCke re
appear with batkload of stuff from
his cache. He came straight toward
me bat very slowly, and halted every
few yards to adjust his burden. [ was
carefully Watching him when my horse
shifted the air uneasily and all at
once IL came to me that | was being
7talked | left the shelter Of the cot
tonvood for the open ground, and as
| rode away two bullets tipped close
to my head having been fired from
the opposite bank Of the stream. At
the same moment. Little Smoke drop
ped his goods and fired on me with
his musket. While half a dozen Ind
ians in my rear were yelling and shoot
ing, | rode down to within 200 feet Of
the smooth tonguad traitor and drop
ped him dead in his tracks. There
were five Indians in the ambuscade.
and they mounted their ponies and
pursued me for three or four miles.
but l got safely away.
The second attempt was made in
December. \ half breed Cheyenne
an old man with very honest face
came into the fort and reported that
white man, a trappcr, was in camp on
the river above Us with a broken leg,
and hc had volunteered to come in and
report the case. The distance was
not over five miles, but the snow lay
deep on the grouud and it was very
sharp weather The old man prOba-
bly, reasoned that | would be sent out
to guide the relief party. He was
asked TO do so, but refused. even und
er promise Of a gallon Of whiskey.
This refusal aroused my suspicious,
and instead Of going out as a relief
corps dozen men went armed to the
teeth. The place designated was a
grove, and we approached it as near
as possible under cover. and then
made sudden dash. Eight mounted
Indians rushed ont on tlc other side
There were evidences that they had
been there i'll camp for two or three
days.
In the spring, when war had been
formally declared, most Of my work
was along the Smoky Hill stage route
When the stages finally ceased running
| carried food and ammunition 10 the
station employees. or guided them
safely to the posts. Lookout Station,
% miles beyond Fort Hays. was more
exposed to attack than any other on
the route The hut for the shelter Of
the men was half wood. half mud
Two stables filled with hay and oats
tlanked il, stood dangerously near
While at every other station the men
had made dugOuts for Interpretation.
this precaution had beenneglected at
Lookout Small bands Of Indians had
appeared and been stood off by the
well armed men, and they had come
to believe that they could defeat any
force likely to appear. On the morn
ing of April Is, was approaching
/ Lookout with 800 Winchester car
tridges for the men, when Just as day
fairly broke. / was discoxered and
pursued by band Of about fifty In
dians, | got into the station after a
lively chase, and within an hour it was
( surrounded by over a hundred red
skins. | had been recognized. and
/ they sent flag Of truce to offer the
three their lifes if they would hand
me over. The offer was twice repeat
ed, and then the Indians settled down
to besiege the station. During the
7 day tho firing was kept up at long
range. Al the horses IN the stables
were killed before noon but none of