Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-10-06
COMMAND WIPED OUT
Minneapolis Journal Correspondent
Reports from Bear Island That
3rd Infantry Detachment
is Annihilated.
CHIPPEWA INDIANS DID 1T
United States Soldiers Sent Out Under
Conditions That Would Disgrace
Militia Sergeant Were He Re-
sponsible for Them

| OpUunlU1V lOl luOAis
Minneapolis, Oct. 6.--Arthur l. Peg
ilio. staff correspondent of the Journa
wired at s:3O.this morning from Walker
MIMI as follows: A force of so mer
under General Bacon, has been annihl
lated, / do not know whether Inspecto
Tinker has more information than
have, but he sent word to the War de
partment last night that the Sd infantr.
detachment had been wiped out. I go
| in very late from the exposition on th
Flora. We started out to carry supplies
and rations to the troops. 1t was yer,
| dark off shore, where we Signaled for al
| hour. Corporal Nettlekoven used tht
| code in use at Santiago. Either tht
| troops had been driven inland or there 1!
not a man left. No answering of any
sort was received, although we lay Of
and on the whole length of the ISLANDS
head
To land was an imposSibility in the
dark, as the endorsements from Bral
nerd have not arrived, and there was
only one Winchester rifle on the boat
Reddy Lazard, captain of the Flora, is
| a dead game man, and would have
| landed, but there is no doubt small
force on a boat would have been ami
hilated had this been done, although
there were men aboard who preferred tC
die in an effort at rescue however fu-
tile 1t might have been. We had oul
blankets and rations for the blue coats
Ii any survive, they slept last night in
the open. a heavy frost prevailed
There was not so much as coffee to di-
vide between the whole company this
morning. At a later date am going tc
tell the whole truth about this expedi-
ton. l never knew such gross misman-
agement or witnessed such criminal OBJ
stinacy as has been exhibited here. The
men in Bacon's command were taken
out under conditions that would dis
grace a militia sergeant were he re-
sponsible for them. Every life lost is a
useless sacrifice. Had proper force
been sent here in the first place, not a
shot would have been fired.
l hope Bacon may have intrenched
himself and that his failure to answer a
signal last night was due to his determi-
nation not to betray his location. The
men had 120 rounds of ammunition each
and l hardly think they had exhausted
the supply. Newspaper Correspondents
Brill, Beaton and Knappen are still
with the troops. went with force de-
termined to save them if possible, but 1t
was impossible to locate them. Immedi-
ately on my return from Bear Island |
sent my chartered steamer with Gus
Beauliu, who has Chippewa blood in his
veins, to pick the newspaper men up, If
possible. Unarmed, i'll clad, out Of con-
dition, without food or drink, the press
representatives with Bacon are in des-
perate straits. I do not fully indorse
the belief that every man in the com
mand is dead, because General Bacon is
an old Indian fighter, and however bad
~ handicapped, / doubt very much
whether he would permit twice that
number Of Chippewas to get away with
him.
Corporal Nettlekoven, sharpshooter,
dropped couple of bucks on the point
yesterday evening with Krag- -Jorgen-
sen at 1000 yards.
Major Wilkinson Killed.
The Journal boat brought out II. s.
Talinan, deputy marshal, and Colonel
Sheehan, who is shot in the abdomen
While the boat was transferring the
wounded she was fired on from the
brush. This was the signal for an i'm
mediate reopening of hostilities. The
troops opened on the Indians, and in a
second there was as fierce fight in
progress as that of yesterday. Beaulili
narrowly escaped with his life. He had
his shoulder bored clear through. We
handled provisions and medicines. The
firing became SO hot that we were COM
PEELED to weigh anchor and steam cut
into the lake. The Indians appear to be
IN great force, and Bacon's command is
too small to take the aggressive, but the
detachment Is intrenched in a good po-
sition, and can hold out as long as am
munitiOn lasts.
The steamer Chief was met by my
boat eight miles out, and has arrived
ere this. She carries a posse Of armed
men. Major Wilkinson was killed while
walking up and down, admonishing his
men to keep their heads low. No braver
man or better officer ever lived. His
command are crazed with rage. When
fe-enforcements arrive they will wreak
vengeance on the pllagers in their own
way. The biggest battle remains to be
fought
Major Melville C. Wilkinson, of the>3d
infantry, appears in the last Army Reg
lister as SD in the list Of infantry cap
ta1ns, with the brevet title of major. He
was appointed from New York as Cd
lieutenant In the 42d regular infantry in
1866, after an honorable record as an
of1icer IN the civil war. He was trans
ferred to the 9Th infantry in 1859, and tc
the Sd infantry in 1870 as first lieutenant
being made captain in 1886.
List of Killed and Wounded.
A special to the Journal from Walker
Minn., says: Major Wilkinson, six pri-
Yates and one Indian policeman are
dead. Colonel Sheehan is slightly
wounded. Thirty Indians are dead The
Journals dispatch boat has just returned
from the battle ground. There has been
desperate fighting all the morning.
Hold the Fort, For We Are Coming.
A special train left Fort Smelling at Z: A
this morning with companies B, F and
H, under command of Lieutenant Colo
@ouuBo qoIuM 'HIlueJuI ps 'uogqIeH leu
reach Walker before o'clock. There
are 200 picked men in the detachment
They have three days rations and an
abundance Of ammunition, with Cat
tling gun as part of the equipment
Further re e-pnfOrcnmnnfa will ha dototI