Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-05-30
SO lHE INDIANS FOUGHT.
A Battle Of Cfsss and Blackhet Seen by a Trader.

OO~0S&>O~~ " ~V~~VVrSSS V "
taken, that their dogs had given them
faif warning, and dogs, they said, un-
like people, never lied. At last one
of them appealed TO her grandson,
lad of II or IA years, to go over and
look around the spring Mounting
his pony, which had net yet been un.
saddled, he rode away.
81 had just turned my horses loose
and was piling Tho harness in the
wagon, When I heard couple of shots
and turned just in time to see the boy
fall from his horse, which came gallop-
ing back toward us. The women were
busy putting up their lodges when the
shots were fired, and the men, as
usual, were lounsing about in little
groupa, talking and smoking. At the
sotnd Of the guns there was instant
excitement and confu1ion; half erected
lodges went down with a crash, and
shrieking women, squalling children,
bowling dogs, ran wildly about,
eventually making for the creek and
taking shelter behind its banks. The
men, with one accord, grasped theiE
weapons aud started on run for the
place where the lad had fallen, and be-
,lfeviug that whatever was about to
happen was no concern Of mine,
climbed up on the seat to take in tho
whole thing.
"The warriors: SO all told, including
few old men who Had long before
given up the chase and war, rushed
braveiy on, their chief, Crow Wing,
leading and encouraging them. I could
make out the form of the fallen boy
from my elevated position, but nothing.
else; the plain seemed to be devoid of.
a living thing. But from experience
[ knew, and so did everyone else, that
somewhere near were some cleverly
dug pits, and in those pits were some
determined Indians who would gtimly
aght and defend themselves to the
last. So it was. The Blarkfeet had
scarcely reached the dead lad when
clouds of smoke burst from the ground,
and with the booming Of old muskets
and the sharp crack of Winchesters-
tho Crees had both-.f saw four of the
charging band drop in their tracks,
and three more reel, fall, and start to
crawl painfully back. The rest kept
on, now shooting, too, aud several
more fell. Then, as suddenly as they
advanced they began to retreat, bring
ing with them the dead and wounded.
They could not stand the awful fire
from the pits. Out over the plain,
too, were running lot of frightened,
selping dogs in all directions, and
when we saw them we knew the enemy
were Crees, for they, only, take dogs
to war.
'.As the warriors, carrying their
fallen comrades, approached tile creek,
the women and childeh rushed out to
meet them, and tllen what walls and
shrieks rent the air as the dead father
and husband, son and brother were
recognized! The sight was heart
rending. I went over among them to
see what could do toward caring for
the wounded, but they would have
none OF my poor skill. The medicine
men waved me away, and instead of
washing and binding the gaping
wounds, they put chewed mp roots
upon them, beat their drums, md per-
formed lot of mysterious rites.
While + was looking on, the warriors
held short council, and then the
horses were driven in, each one caught
and. saldled his favorite, and once
more they went charging out toward
the pits. The plan was to circle round
and round the enemy as near as pos
si5le, and shoot into the pits, and de-
pend upon their tremendous ped and
the shelter of their horses to avoid
being hit. They did the best they
could, but, like the other charge, it
was failure; four horses and two rid
ers were killed in very short time,
aud the rest came sorrowfully back to
us.
Z" Pear Child said the chief, you
white men know more than we do.
Advise us; Tell MS how we can rout out
this burrowing enemy; how to make
them leave their holes for the open
plain, where we can get at them.
That I cannot do replied. I'VE
know nothing of such warfare as this.
Why not let them go? Hear the women
crying. Do you want to make widows
of them ALP
g 'Ah, he replied. it is for them
we must. carry this thing on, or they
will call us towards. They call for
revenge, and we haven't single scalp
to give them.
But haven't you killed some of
the enemy?'
" From some of the pits no more
shots are fired. But what good is
that? We must have the scalps.
"The wailing of the camp was un-
bearab!e, and 1 went away up the
creek some distance and sat down for
a quiet smoke, in position from which
1 could see whatever was going on.
Presently the warriors started out
again carrying huge bundles which I
made ont to be lunches of lodge poles
wrapped in the lodge skins and Sc.
curely lashea with lariats. They car
ried them within 100 yards of the pits,
placed them on the ground to the
north, south, east and west Of the am
bush and then, lying down behind,
began to roll them ahead. At first
sight the scheme promised well.
Keeping fat on the ground, the Black