The San Francisco call., 1897-11-07

20OO feet below the arid plains, were en-
cam ped in permanent headquarters com
bined tribes nun bering 5000 bucks, squaws
| and opposes. Here were stored immense
quantities of provender, ammunition,
utensils and valuable furs. Grazing in the
bottom were 300 head of Comanche
horses.
The position was in reality impregnable
and but for the frenzy of fright which
took possession of the Indians a great
slaughter of troops rather than a rout OF
the tribes would have resulted from the
blind raid made down in to the canyon. The
scouts having located the big camp and
reported night march of sixty miles was
ordered across dusty and waterless tract
of country. About 400 men were en-
gagged In this movement. The rim OF the
canyon, which might be better described
as deep corniced sink sixty miles long,
was reached at day break.
At the very moment the scouts had dis
covered the buffalo trail down the steep
decivity over which the advance must be
made in single file, horse packed with
pans and cooking utensils broke loose and
plunged headlong past them toward
plunged down the tortuous path, the
din of rafting pots and pans would have
walked the dead.
The scouts were at his heels, and the
troops, urged ON by Mackenzie, came pell-
NELL after. The soldiers massed at tho
crest Of the canyon, the serpentine line
of sharpshooters firing as they advanced,
aud led by the thirst-m maddened horse
with the cookhouse battery, were too
much for Comanche courage.
The stampede began with the first yell
of alarm and spread throughout the
camp.
The stores were all captured, and to-
gether with the tepees destroyed, while de-
tachments kept up running fight all day
with the retreating Indians. Forty were
reported killed; the number of wounded
was never known. Harley, who was in
the front OF the assault, lost his horse, a
famous prairie races named Forest
King" which was shot under him. In
the fall the chief of scouts broke three
ribs and his collar-bone. He had been
shot twice besides.
Twenty-Five hundred Comanche horses
were taken. Tney were herded back that
night to the permanent camp at Tule
Canyon, in hollow square formed of the
400 troopers. Next day they were turned
over to the infantry for slaughter to pre-
vent their recapture. The carcesses pol
luted the water of the Tule as far as the
Colorado River, 200 miles, for two years.
Steps were then retraced to the Brazos,
175 miles distant, for winter quartering.
After arrival there an Indian came in
one day with white flag and asked for
bad Hand" This was Chillais of the
Quohada Comanches. When taken to
Mackenzie he said iaconically, 'Blue Blan-
ket five suns" pointing to the western
horizon. You come; he fight!'
Mackenzie replied: mo; soldiers all
tired Stay here this winter. Fight
Blue Blanket when grass gets green"
"Pah - said the warrior, you heap no
good. Bad Hand little squaw. No fight.
You like eat and sleep. Soldier, he heap
no good. Pah!"
Just the same, Chiilalis was filled with
"chuckaway," and entertained as lavisDly
as if he had been an ambassador o: peace
Mackenz es hospitality only seemed to
aggravate his poor opinion of bad
Hand" as fighter, and he departed over
the sandhils, still gesticulating and pro-
claiming his judgment in words that are
best confined to the ciIcumam bient si-
Ience of prairie lana.
Immediately upon his disappearance