The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-24
BY cY wARMAN.

copyrighted, 1885, by Cy Warman.)
One of the most daring acts in the
history of Lieutenant Creole was COM
nitted in Western Nebraska in 1866. From
boyhood days he had been noted as a
hunter, and during the years which the
spent in tho scouting service his splendid
craftsmanship and extraordinary achieve
ment in the pursuit of game earned for
him the reputation of being the best
hunter west of the Missouri river.
Here is the story as l had it from
Creede's old friend. 1t was this incident
which first gained for him the full con-
idence and unstinted admiration of the
Indian scouts:
Game, through some cause, was very
scarce near our camp, and one day
Creede saddled his faVorite horse ana
rode southwark, determined to get meat
OF some kind before returning. He went
ABOUT uIteen miles from camp, and after
hunting some four or five hours without
success, made up his mind the game had
all LETT the country, and started TO return
py clrcultous route, desiring TO cover as
large scope OF country as possible, ana
get some meat If Il was at all TO be
found. After travelling perhaps an hour
through the sand hills, he came upon
fresh trail of pony tracks, and knew the
tracks were made by Indian ponies and
hostile Indians, too, for none of our
scouts were away from camp He deter
mined TO follow the trail and ascertain if
Llit pOli4CS d4t pore TlQSTS, anu, IL
possible, to get close enough unobServed
10 see from the appearance OF the In
dams who they were. They were headed
IN the direction IN which he desired to go,
and after Tightening up his saddle cinches
and looking to his pistols. he took up the
trail. He judged from the trail that there
We're about twenty-five or thirty Indians
in the party, and soon learned that his
estimate was a nearly correct one.
A DESPERATE CHANCE.
when he reached the top of the first
little hill he came in full view of the
party not more than a quarter of a mile
distance. They saw him at the same time,
as ne knew from the confusion in their
ranks. His position was d critical one.
If he tried to run, they would scatter and
get him, and in less time that it takes to
Tell ii, he had made his plan and started
TO put it into execution. He saw that his
only chance, Il ugh desperate one,
would be to make them believe he was the
head of party in their pursuit, and TAX
ing off his hat he made frantic motions TO
the rear, as if hurrying up body of
troops, ana then putting spurs to his
horse, dashed right toward them and
when close enough, began hrirg at them
WIN his rife. The plan worked beauti-
fully. for without firing a shot they SEEM
ed 10 become terror stricken and fed on
through the hills. The course lay through
low sand hills which often concealed them
from view, but the scout pressed on, FIR
ing at every chance. He chased them for
captured three ponies which fell behind,
and then left the trail and made for
camp. He found it hard to make the
scouts believe his story, and some of
them quite plainly limited that he had
found the ponies in the hills and had seen
no Indians. Creole saw at once that they
doubted him and determined to convince
them of the truth of what he had told
them. The next morning he took a dozen
or more of them and went back to the
scene of the chase, and they were not
long in finding all the coyotes had left of
the two bodies.
THAT affair firmly established his
reputation with the scouts, and ever af-
ter they fully relied on his judgment as
a war chief.
rode out from Ogallaia, where the scouts
we're stationed, guarding the builders of
the Union Pacific railway. Creole was,
and IS yet, for that matter, a famous rifle
shot, quick, cool and sure, and upon this
. occasion his skill came in good play, as it
did IN later years when he fought two
grizzlies single handed in the presence of
two witnesses.
1t was customary for some one to take
d look about at the close of day, to see if
any stray Sioux were proving around.
About six miles from camp, he came to
a clump of trees covering half dozen
acres of ground. Through this grove the
scout rode, thinking perhaps an elk or
deer might be seen, but nothing worth
shooting was sighted till suddenly he
found himself at the farther edge of the
wood and on the banks of the Platte.
Looking across the stream, he saw
small band OF hostile Sioux riding in the
direction of the river and not more than
a mile away. His field glasses showed
him that there were seven of the Sioux,
he could see that they had a majority of