The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-07-25
BY CY wARMAN.

copyright, 1897, by S. S. Mcclure Co.
See that old cottonwood back of the
roundhouse?" asked the superintend-
emit, as the car crashed by small sta
ton, far out ON the plains. 1 saw the
tree.
The light train was now swinging
round the long curves by the banks of
a slowly running river; the official
lighted fresh cigar, put his feet up
in an empty chair and began to tell
the story:
band Of bad Indians, under the
ferocious Bear Foot, had been threat
enlng US for three days. The scouts
had scarcely slept for as many nights,
ana at dawn of the fourth morning
trouble commenced. The Pawnees. who
were on pickett duty under govern
ment pay, were as willy as the Sioux.
VINO were planning the capture of our
little station. When the enemy had
crepE up, almost into our camp. keep
ing under the bank of the river. they
were detected by the trained ear of
the red scouts. The captain in com
mand of the government forces was
slow to believe that the river which
ran past the roundhouse was literally
alive with Sioux, but he knew the
scout was too sly to advise an attack
that was unnecessary.
II the Sioux were actually creeDing
UP IN the darkness, under the bank of
the stream, it was easy to guess the
object When they were there in suf-
fciem numbers they would swarm out
upon us like red ants before the drowsy
soldiers could get to their feet.
The scout and the captain crept close
20 the river and lay upon the ground
listening for any sound that might be
made by the crawling Sioux. Occa-
Sionally they could hear a shutting,
scuffiing sound, and now and then a
low ''kerplunk" as a pebble rolled down
the bank and fell into the water In
a little while the captain had become
convinced that there were Indians in
the river. How many he could not tell.
but he knew that Bear Foot would not
come alone.
The scouts were now awakened and
lined up near the roundhouse, between
the track and the river. We had so
men, mostly Pawnees, and they were
now placed ten feet apaut, so that we
covered about 500 feet of the river.
The captain passed along the line and
appraised the men of the danger. At
the flash of a bullseye lamp in tine
roundhouse the men were to fall down
and crawl UP to within ten yards of
the stream and lay quiet until dawn,
unless the Sioux came out before that
time. They had not been waiting ten
minutes when a ruff of feathers
showed UP along the bank. Instantly
every one of the scouts leveled his
gun at the Sioux, who, unable 10 see
the soldiers, poised upon the edge of
the bank to listen. The captain knew
that his men had their fingers upon
the triggers, and the first warning the
Sioux had was the officers command
to his men to fire. Before the Sioux
could gain their feet, or even hop be
hind the bank, the scouts blaZed away.
A dozen or more Indians rolled down
into the river, but Bear Foot knew
that we had but a handful of men,
while he had hundreds. The sound of
our rifles was still echoing down in the
grove down the river when the bank
bristled again with redskins. There
was no need for the captain to order
his men TO fire now-the Pawnee scouts
were hot stuff. They hated the Sioux
as bitterly as it was possible for any
human being to hate another, presum-
ing, of course, that the Indians are
human, and instantly they let go
again. The line of heads above the
bank seemed to WAIVER, but moment
later they reappeared, ten times as
many as before.
THE captain of the scouts saw at a
glance that at the rate they were now
coming from the river the Sioux would
soon outnumber his forces ten to one.
The scouts at the beginning had held
a decided advantage over the attack
ing party, and the officer determined
to hold it.
They didn't fight Indians with maps
and charts, and the officers command