The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-17

moving about one-half OF the fifty dead
bodies which they had left on the hillside
The Indians had been dancing until Q
o'clock In the morning. and after that
time nothing could be heard Of them up-
til about o'clock. Then they began
preparations for another assault. This
time they all massed In one body and
climbed steadily up the hill. The band Of
white men again waited until the assault
ing force was within easy range and then
again they fired with effect that was tell
ing. Every one Of the besieged was a
crack shot. every man felt that he was
fighting in a desperate last chance for his
life, and every shot told. The carnage
was awful. but still up the hill came the
surging mass. At longer range the braves
were usually only wounded. but when
they were within 100 yards Of the men be-
hind the gums nearly every warrior who
was hit was killed.
Nothing human could long Withstand
that terrible fire, and after struggling up
to within fifty yards of the breastworks
most Of the attacking horde broke and
ran from the hill. A few daring leaders.
however. with about nifty braves. charged
right up to the defenses. They only
rushed to their doom, for only a few sue
ceeded In climbing the works. and for
these the whites had their loaded pistols
in reserve.
1t was like the final charge on Clusters
little band at the scene OF the last stand.
But in this case the Crows did not sue
coed in annihilating their hated white
foes, but those OF the reds intrepid enough
to engage In that terrible death strug-
gle were almost annihilated themselves.
Scarcely a man who succeeded in climb
ing over the earthworks got away with
his life. The Indians, dead and wounded,
were piled up in heaps, while the whites,
grimy, blood-stained, desperate, fought
like men who only cared to send to eter-.
nifty az many foes az possible before the
bullet intended for them should strike
home. In this final, fieroe. hand-to-hand
conflict the losses were not all on one
on the ground or had vanished down the
hill the sturdy defenders counted their
losses. Four Of their number were dead
and eleven had been wounded.
That Il the story of the fierce and
bloody battle fought within sight Of Ana
conda-a battle where the odds were per-
haps as overwhelming against the whites
as at Clusters battlefield or In any Indian
battle of Western warfare. With the last
charge the Crows had had enough, and
the whites were much rejoiced that they
did not want any more. The surviving
Crows, still numbering many hundred
men, retired to the valley. Soon some Of
them advanced with a flag Of truce and
asked permission to remove their dead
from the hill. Capt. Mckenzie, big and
brave. perfect whirlwind in the fight,
advanced to meet them and granted the
permission. He stipulated, however, that
only 100 of them should engage in this
work, that they should be unarmed and
that only twenty Of them should come in
side the fifty-yard range. After the In
dams had removed their dead they
marched away and disappeared through
Silver Bow canyon.
That afternoon the whites went down
through the valley, made a detour and
then again climbed from the opposite side
the hill which to them had proven such a
friend in time Of need. They suspected
that the Indians had merely drawn away
as decoy and that they would attack
again on level ground. The whites car
ried their dead with them on their detour
and then took them up the hin once more.
That night the four dead were placed
in the unmarked graves on the bald butte.
These men were John Marks, an English
man; Riel Roques, a French Canadian;
Hans Sweiger, German, and John Forbes,
native of Ohio. For two days the sur
vivors remained close to the hill while
the wounded were recovering. Then Jean
Pierre and Robert Marks reconnoitered
Silver Bow canyon. They found every
thing safe, and the party went on to vir-
ginia City without further molestation.
In 1875 twelve years after the battle,
headboards were placed by Chris johnson
over the graves of the four men who lost
their lives In this desperate conflict. These
headboards, however. have since rotted
away, leaving nothing to mark the rest
ing place of these brave men save four
heaps Of stones.