The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-28
VOW AM F,Qo7E AND IT'S GARRISON WROUGHT
HOSTILE sIoux-sTIRRING WESTERN WAR
TOLD AN
fconvrirbt. 1855. The S. S. Mcclure Coz

Smoky Hill was the emo Oh INC u
at that time" said the old engineer
shifting his lame foot to an easy posi-
ton. I'VE had built a round house-a
square one-with only two stalls ana
room at the back for three or four
hunks and a work bench To protect
ourselves from the Sioux we had lined
or wainscoted the house up to about
five feet from the ground and hlled IN
behind the lining with sand.
Indians were thicker than grasshop-
pers in Kansas in the days of the
building of the Kansas Pacific, and
scarcely day-never Week-Went Dy
without fight. At first they appeared
to be awed bv the locomotives but IN
little while their superstitious fear
had vanished and they we're constantly
setting lures to capture the big boss,
as they called the engine. One day we
were out at the front of the train OF
STEEL some eight or ten miles west of
the Hill. 1t had been showing all day
in little fits and spits, and near night
fall the clouds became thicker and
darker and before the sun had gone
down the snow was falling fast By
the time the last rail had been unload
ed it was pitch dark, and as the engine
back up all the way to Smoky Hill.
The conductor and the captain of the
guard, composed of government scouts,
took a stand on the rearmoSt fiat car
and when l got the signal l opened the
throttle and began to put the blunt
end of the construction train into the
darkness. Ordinarily l hate running
backwards at night, but in case OF
this kind it is a real relief to know
that there are a dozen or more well
armed soldiers between you and what
ever the darkness holds. Three or four
men with white lights were stationed
at intervals along the tops of the ten
or twelve cars that made up the train.
The house car. or caboose, was next
to the engine, and upon the top Of
this car stood the foreman of the gang
and from him I was supposed to take
my tokens
I'VE had been in motion less than
ten minutes when l saw the conduc-
tors light 1--WE were going with the
storm stand out, and following this
movement all the lights along the
trains top pointed out over the plain
and l began to slow down. Instantly
a dozen shots were fired from the
darkness. Muff1ed by the storm, the
sound came. as if a pack of firecraclz-
ers were going off under dinner pail
and we all knew what we had run
into. "Injuns," shouted the fireman.
leaping across the gangway, and
they're on my side. Keep your seat,
said l, they're on my side, too
Now all the white lights, following
another signal from the conductor, be-
gan to whirl furiously in a short cir
Gle. That was my notion precisely If
they had prepared to ditch us we might
as well go in the ditch as to remain
OF the top of the cars sid be picked off
by the Sioux. so l opened the throttle
and began to back away again as fast
as possible. The Indians had prepared
to ditch our train. They had placed a
great pile of cross ties upon the track,
expecting that when we struck them
out train would come TO a, dead stop.
This small party which had fired upon
us was the outer watch, the main band
being huddled about the heap of ties
where they expected us to halt and
where most Of the amusement would
occur. The track was newly laid and
as biliOwy as a rough sea, but this was
no time for careful running. The old
work engine soon had the empty train
going at a 80 mile gait and then we
hit the tie-pile. The men on the rear
car, which was now the front, had an
ticipated a wreck and retired in bad
order to the centre of the train. The
Indians, who had only a faint notion of
the power and resistance of a locomo-
tive, stood close together about the pile
of ties. The falling snow had made the
rail and timbers so wet and slippery
that when we hit the stack of wood the
ties few in all directions. Some of
them were thrown to the tops of the
cars and others flew into the mob of
redskins, knocking them into confu-
sion. A fine buck, who must have been
standing on the track, was picked up
in the collision and landed upon the top
of the second car, right at the conduc-
tors feet. The fellow was considerably
stunned by the fall. and, taking adj
vantage of his condition the scouts
seized and bound him with a piece Of
bell cord, taking care to remove an
ugly knife from his raw-hide belt. The
band was so surprised to see the train
plough through the wreckage that they
forgot to fire until we had almost
passed them and a great flood of fire
from the engine stack was falling
among them. They then threw up their
guns, those who were still on their feet,
and let go at US, but none Of the bull
lets affected our party.
when we had reached the station,
the Pawnees, who were among the
scouts, recognized our captive at once
as Bear Foot, noted and very wicked
chief. When the Sioux came to him.
self and realized that he was a captive
he became furious. He surged and
strained at the beil-rope. but it was all
in vain, and finally he gave up.
When we had eaten our supper we
all went into the nd-house-soldiers
and all-for we knew the Sioux would
make a desperate effort to secure their
chief before the night was out.
1T was long after midnight when ore
of the men on duty heard q low scrap
ing sound like that made by hog
crawling under a gate. A moment
later the noise was repeated and when
the same sound had been heard three
or four times, the lieutenant in COM
mand flashed a bull's-eye lamp in the
direction of the door and the light of it
revealed three big braves standing
close together while a fourth was just
cleeping in under the door. With
we-are- discovered expression the tall
Indian who appeared to be the leader
glanced at his companions. Then as
though the idea had struck all of them
at once, they threw their guns up and
let go along down the ray of light and
the lieutenant fell to the ground, Sc
verely wounded.
Approaching the Importance of our
capture the captain in command had
set four powerful Pawnee scouts to
guard Bear Foot the Sioux chief. 1t
was no sure thing that we would be
able to stand the Indians off till morn
ing, and as the storm had knocked the
wires down we had been unable to tele-
graph to Lawrence for reinforcements.
The fact that their brave chief was
himself a captive would increase the
wrath of the red-men without, and TAX
ing even a moderate view of the situa-
IN hla rd hnl for