Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-12-12
S5:55S5s s5sss5.s5 | A Fatal x Indian Rush. BY CHARLES B. LEWIS. :. :. :. :. :. Copyright, Is97J A -s
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BY CHARLES B. LEWIS. :,
Copyright, Is9zJ

\ line from Fort J ohnSOn to the rall- road, or at least for the northern 15 miles of it, we had to go over on Pine mountain, ten miles from the fort. As the poles were cut they were slid down the mountain side and then drawn along the line by a. span of mules or carried on mems shoulders. The work was hard enough for q gang of lumbermenl but it was made worse by the peril from Indians. While there was a peace treaty in force, TO Indians who had a chance to pick off soldier or settler felt bound to observe it. 1 Therefore, when it came the turn of company SC" to send out a sergeant and six men to cut and distribute and set up five miles of poles, the colonel at Fort Johnson warned us to be on the | lookout for trouble and to neglect no precantion to add to our safety.
 We went into camp at the head of narrow valley, close up against the precipitous side of hill, and were safe from attack except by the front. As it was fine midsummer. weather, we made foundation of rock, and then erected hut of poles and brush; and in day or two we were snug enough. For the first four days there was nothing to create alarm. One man was left in camp to act as sentinel and cook, and the other five were more or less scattered as they cut and distrib- uted the poles. The sergeant took charge of the mules and the hauling, and this work took him beyond our support much of the time. He was veteran Indian-fghter, however, brave as lion, and had no fear.
 On the morning of the fifth day, while he was returning with the mules, after hauling pole to a spot two miles away, a party of ten Indians suddenly confronted him. They were led by Il sub-chief named Little Bear, who was a frequent visitor at the fort and well known to all the soldiers. During the war, which had closed only few months before, this sub-chief had shot and scalped 8 corporal near the fort, and after the treaty he had come swaggering into the post with the sealp-locl1 attached to his belt, an ae- tion which so provoked Sergt. Mill ton that he snatched the ghastlY trophy away and offered to go outside and fight Little Bear in any manner desired. When the Indian demanded his trophy it was refused, and he left the post vewing vengeance. Since then they had not. met until now, and the soldier had but to look into the eyes of the red-slSin to see the pleasure he fa1+ R,I l .e o1n and seemingly helpless. As the meet ing took place the sergeant backed up against a mass of rock, got his carbine and revolver ready for shooting, and was so cool and determined that the Indians were awed and puzzled. They were anxious enough to kill him. but had only just arrived in the neighbor- hood and did not know how many men he had behind him, or how near some minutes they were determined on a row, yet the sergeant's quiet way acted as a bluff, and they finally drew off. Before going, however, Little Bear said to him:
 "When my father and other chiefs signed the treaty of peace'I told them I would be against it until had killed you. There is no war, but shall not go into the fort again until can wear your scalp at my belt"
 The sergeant replied that if his scalp was wanted it was a good time to take 1t, but the Indians had other plans in view and left him. When the sergeant returned to camp he related the inci- dent, and for the next three or four days one of us accompanied him on his trips, and signals were arranged by which we might quickly come together in case of need, but nothing was heard of the Indians. On the afternoon of the fifth day we were cutting poles nearly mile from camp, leaving man named Brisbane to act as cook. He had been instructed to fire his musket in ease he saw Indians, and having heard nothing from him, we started for camp at about five o'clock, with feel ing that all was well. We reached camp to find the man missing. His musket had been left behind and nothing about camp had been dis turbed. For an hour we expected his return any moment, thinking he had wandered away, but when. night came and passed we were sure that the h. dians had had something to do with his disappearance. They had. Instead of being watcbful and yigilant, the man had carelessly wandered down into the larger valley in search of bef- rien, with no weapons, and Little Bears band had bounced upon him and made him captive. They took him up into the hills and at first decided to torture him. That idea was given up, however, that they might mGl1e him messen- ger to capture the rest of us. Why, after Brisbane was captured, the red skins did not enter and destroy our camp was a puzzle, but as matter of fact they hastened away. and we heard nothing of them until about srTf- rise next morning. We were about to set out in, search of our missing man, when he appeared at the mouth of the