The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-06-17

pany would make one of the most thrill
ing chapters in the romantic history of
the winning Of the West. 1t has never
been adequately told. During the Indi-
all troubles OF the later sixties General
Forsythe, who was on General Sheri-
dams staff, conceived the idea of organ
izing company to be composed en-
tirely of picked frontier scouts who
knew every mile of Indian territory then
being operated in. He finally, in 1868,
got General Sheridan's permission to do
so. Fifty scouts were selected and the
company started out on its valiant car
Ger. Besides General Forsythe the only
other regular army men were Lieuten-
ant H. w. B. Beecher, a nephew of
Henry Ward Beecher, and Surgeon
Moores. All the others were frontiers
men.
During fierce battle between "For-
sythe's Scouts" and the Sioux Indians
ON branch OF the Republican River,
in western Nebraska, most thrilling
incident occurred which has never yet,
to my knowledge, appeared in print. 1
write it now for the first time.
1t was late in the year 1863 After
fighting stubbornly with overwhelming
numbers of Indians in the region of this
river the redskins finally got the better
OF the whites. Every horse belonging
to Forsythe's forces was killed, rations
were gone and horseAcsh was eaten. At
the end of several days steady fighting
only fourteen of the fifty white men
were able to shoot The others had
been killed or so terribly wounded that
they could not fight Forsythe himself
was terribly wounded with bullets and
arrows.
AT this point the Indians formed a
Gordon about the remaining whites and
started in to starve them out This they
could have done easily. Forsythe and
his Rough Riders" were in desperate
straits That any one could pass through
the Indians lines seemed impossible and
the hardest scouts hesitated. 1t was de-
cided that some one must risk his life
in an effort to reach an army post and
hasten rcinforcements to the spot.
"Jack" Stilwell. now known as Judge
S. Z. Stilwell, United States Commits
sioner at Cody, Wyo, was one of the
volunteers in "Forsythc's Scouts" He
was the youngest man in the outfit and,
it appears, the bravest. He volunteered
to attempt the seemingly fatal feat OF
breaking through the band OF savages.
Making himself up to look as much like
an Indian as possible, he waited until
toward midnight, when most Of the red
skins were asleep. Then he wormcd
himself noisclcssly through the bushes,
across the lines and right in among the
enemy.
Slowly he crcpt between the sleeping
savages until, at day dawn, he thought
himself safely beyond the furtl,est In
dian outpost.
But he was not. The old warriors
had moved their women, children and
younger bucks back from the fighting
line about six miles. At daybrcak Still
we'll found himself in this temporary VIII
lagc surrounded by peacefully sleeping
Indians, but peaceful in their sleep
alone. He could not escape unnoticed,
for it was already getting light. To
move about much would be fatal.
Near by laid big buffalo carcass.
Wolves had eaten it all but the skin and
bones, leaving the skin dried hard on
the ribs, a thing often seen on the plains
i'll those days.
Being a small man. Stilwcl found
that he could crowd himself into this
buffalo carcass, so into it he crawled.
He knew he had hard, hot, hungry
day OF imprisonment before him and ran
an awful risk of being found in that
carcass; but not to get into it would be
| ii invite instant death
All day long and until late in the even
| ing he crouchcd in that narrow CELL
| From time to time Indian bucks came
and sat on the dried buffalo, dangling
their feet carclcss1y above the man dest-
incd soon to bring United States troops
to kill or capture them.
Stilwcll's hiding place proved efficient
Under cover of darkness he stole out
of the village, reached the nearest army
post and sent rcinforccmcnts to For
sythc and his gallant scouts. Gen. For
| sythc is still alive
Those were the original rough riders.
That was the same spirit that prompted
the Rough Riders OF 1893 to deeds OF
| valor