The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-09-30

not 10 go beyond the hill, but he dis
obeyed. The wood-train arrived safe in
camp, but Col. Fctterman and his men
never returned alive. We apprehended
danger, and | was sent with small
squad to the top of the bill to watch
proceedings on the other side. / saw
Col. Fetterman and his men about two
miles away, down among the gently
sioplng bills. They were having a
lively skirmish with about 80 Indians.
and occasionally red-skin would tum-
bic Oft bis horse and roll over in the
snow to perish.
1.-The Indians kept banging away at
onr men, but their shot, were not very
ell ctIve. They kept riding farther and
farther away; part of the time they
would ride around in circle, and some
times back and forth in front Of our
men. The soldiers followed them up
and brought down man at almost
every shot.
Directly, | saw something that al
most chilled the marrow in nv bones.
Col. teiterman had taken bis men down
INTO ravlne, apparently to capture the
Indians, who were going pell-mell ahead
OF them. They no more than got well
INTO the ravine when 1000 warriors,
who were lying in ambush, poured down
upon them, and every man of them was
| killed and scalped.
The red devils did the Job complete.
They we're not satisfied in killing
and scalping them, but mutilated the
bodies They cut the soldiers heads off
and impaled them on long poles, and
the young warriors marched around
carrying their ghastly trophies of war to
the tune of an incoherent war song.
From my experience with the In
dams L knew what this meant. / imme-
diately sent word to the commanding
officer at the fort. He came to the top
OF the hill, took in the situation, and
ordered retreat to the fort, where he
began to prepare for siege. The siege
came
"Col. Darlington exhibited great skill
as master of Indian tactics. We were
now only about 800 strong, our pro-
visions were nearly all gone, and wood
was an absolute necessity in the terrible
cold days that soon followed. The next
day thousand Indians appeared at the
top of the hill, and scouting parties
could be seen going and coming in all
directions. The fort had large stock
ade around it, with a gate to The north
and one to the south. The Indians were
preparing to make an attack, and we
were all ordered to get ready to meet
the fate of our comrades beyond the
hill. / had been in many bloody battles
while marching to the sea, and my nerve
never left me before think it was the
same with all the men.
"The Colonel was going around busy
ing himself looking after things, never
saying word. Suddenly be gave orders
to form in line. We all filed up the
best we could in our cramped quarters.
Shoulder arms March, came the
orders, and we began to file out the
stockade gate on the north to what We
supposed meant immediate death. We
marched around the stockade to the
southern gate and in it.
I" | saw at once the ruse the Colonel
was playing. Just as the front ranks
entered the southern gate the rear of tho
formidable army left the northern gate.
This proved to be our salvation. The
circle of soldiers was KEEP. up for an
hour, when the Indians disappeared
over the hill beyond. The next day
they came back, but in greater force.
The same tactics was gone through at
the fort. The Indians kept their threat
ening demonstrations up till March.
Every day they appeared in large num-
bers on the hill, when we would form in
Inns and perform the circle of saliva
ton, as the boys called it.
Friendly Indians told us that the
Sioux thought we had 5000 soldiers in
the fort, or they would have attacked us.
We expected to be attacked at night,
and for three months every man slept
with his clothes on and kept bis gun by
his side.
"Those were dreary, cold nights. Our
was worse than the murderer
waiting to be hanged. There we were,
penned up for over three months, 250
miles from the nearest fort, and sur
by 1000 savages, and with
staring us in the face. The
snow was three feet deep most of the
time, and the thermometer stood from
20 to 80 degrees below zero.
1--WE had to have wood, the gettingof
which was the most difficult problem we
had to solve Old Red Cloud kept his
scouts out, but they never got close
enough to the fort to ascertain the num-
Der of men in it. When the wood-train
would start out on lis precious mission
he steady tramp of the soldiers, out one
loor and in another, would be kept up
Until the wood-train returned.
During the siege | would slip out
lnder cover of darkness with small
scort and take the mail to Fort Lara
nie and return. 1t required II days
81 ~ e IL