Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-08-22

our supper, and by the use of blankets we
put up tent for the colonel's wife, though
against her protests. After the one single
effort of the Indians, which was doubtless
more Of q reconnaissance than an attack,
we were left in peace, though all through
the night We heard sounds to prove they
were taking up positions on all sides of US
and making ready for the morrow.
None of us except the woman slept an
hour all night long. We used levers to
loosen powders and roll them into the
circle, and with our knives we cut of
limbs and cut down small trees to further
strengthen our fort. We got the horses
into a sort Of gully below us and made the
position as safe as possible, and when day
light came there was nothing more to be
done. We had above 900 rounds of am
munition, food for three days and water
was at hand.
Daybreak found us ready for an attack.
The colonel's wife took her place, rifle in
hand, between two men, and for half an
hour we expected a sudden rush. At the
end of that time a single warrior appeared
to view at the base Of the hill and in bro
ken English demanded our surrender. The
sergeant answered him that we were ready
for them, and at the same time fired a shot
which rolled the redskins pony over.
Three minutes later there was a circle Of
fire about us. Indians had mounted into
trees to the right and left Of us to get a
plunging fire, and from the tops Of two
lower hills they poured in their bullets at
random. We simply crouchod down be.
hind the rocks and smoked our pipes,
pleased that they were throwing away
their cartridges. At the end Of an hour
they ceased firing. Not a man Of us had
been touched, but stray bullets had killed
one of the mules and wounded two horses.
There would be a rush now, and as we
made ready for it the %colonel's wife sank
down beside me and quietly said:
"I've tumbled over sage hens and jack
rabbits, and l ought to be able to hit an
Indian. Do I look frightened"
"You are as white as a ghost, ma'am,"
! answered as I turned to her.
"But I'm all right, she smilingly said,
land here they come"
So they did. With every painted war.
rior yelling at the top Of his voice the en-
tire band charged us at once, taking in the
whole circle. 1t was not until they got
close up that we could see anything to
shoot at, and every few seconds the ser.
geant cried out to us to hold our fire. 1t
was over in a minute. They did not ex-
pect to find us intrenched, and we knocked
them over like ninepins.
I believe we killed or wounded a full
score, and 1t took the fight out of them so
thoroughly that not a rifle was fired at III
again until afternoon. Then, soon after 8
O'Clock and without the slightest warning,
We were charged again, and for three
minutes 1t was a wild melee. We fired into
their very faces as they sprang upon the
d~efensss, and two warriors were shot down
inside our fort, and both by the c6lonel's
wife. It was their final and supreme Of
fort, and we'll 1t was for us that 1t was
thus. When We had beaten them of, Ser
geant Gregg and another man lay dead,
four men were badly wounded, and they
had out our animals out of the guloh and
run them off. Had the attack lasted a
minute longer or been renewed two men
and a woman would alone have opposed 1t.
And among the queer things Of that last
dash was the behavior of the colonel's wife.
With my own eyes I saw her shoot down
the two warriors who leaped the breast
work, and I believe she killed two or
three more outside Of 1t, and yet when the
attack had been repulsed the little woman
fell over in a dead faint, and for ten min
utes we believed her dead from a bullet.
When she came back to life, she had a ft
Of weeping, and when that was over she
turned to and attended our hurts and was
ready for another brush.
We put in another night right there, not
knowing that the Indians had drawn of,
but soon after sunrise next morning were
relieved of all anxiety by the appearance
Of a scout, who passed on and sent us aid
from the fort. The colonel's wife did not
get down to the railroad, for that was the
opening Of a war which lasted for months,
but there was no blame attached to any Of
the living who returned with her. On the
contrary, the old martinez Of q colonel
took each one of us by the hand, breaking
over military etiquette" once more in his
life, and said:
"You did well, my man, and here's M,
hand ON 1t, and I won't forget you'll"