The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-05

hadn't no reports TO turn in ev'ry
mOrnin', but was free 20 do as he liked.
/ The Comanches was thick about us.
fightin' foot an fightin' horse, and I'm
I burned if the sQuaws an papooses
weren't putin in good ticks, too, so
they was. There was the night charge
on a village with snow a foot deep an
freeZin' hard. Twas before your time.
l got an arrow from a papoose that
night myself right in the shoulder.
| There's devils and devils, but they was
devils
1T was one day the old troops was
caught slick when we never thought
there was a COmanche or a Kiowa
within ten miles of US. 'Twasn't an
ambush, 'zactly. for Daddy saw it in
time, but it gave us the chiils for an
hour or two. There was a creek, see?
an we was going to camp near the
headwaters of that creek, we was. 1t
was getting towards shutdown, and we
was tired. Where the beggarS came
from don't ask me. but all at once it
looked as if the troop was surrounded.
Gee, they came. We fought and we
fought. SkiTmish line. mount and
charge, dismOunt, Skirmish line, COM
mence firing, rally by company, to the
rear. gallOp-O. say it was hot. and by
moonlight night, and the moon was up
when the sun went down. We was
dead tired after a long march and no
time for chuck, and by o'clock we was
nigh beat Curious for Injuns, they kept
on fighting after dark for it was a fine
moonlight night, see? There was a bit
of d hill with scrub bushes on it back
of the creek, and Daddy-he did it fine,
too. retreated to that hill, where We
mi no
could come up.
We couldn't get there at onct,
though. The InjUns saw what Daddy
was after, and they got there before
we did. Well, we was fighting down on
the creek side and Buck Bill he went
and got killed and worse'n that-hed
dropped off his horse. bein' wounded
he got scalped. Bill was all right, he
was, an we liked MIN, we did. When
we tumbed to what he'd got, we got
mad, and Daddy was mad, too. We
charged an scattered the blackguards
for a time, and we got Bills body be
fore they had time 10 mUtilate il, save
the scalping. We liked Bill, we did,
and Daddy liked him. He was fine
build of a man. The troop held the pO-
SitiOn. Hot shooting it was, and we
dug a grave and we buried Bill to save
him from mutilation. We blew taps over
T
were tearing around on their ponies,
shooting in on us like mad. Being SO.
we hadn't time to dig the grave very
deep, but we put Bill under all accord
ing to the rules and regulations and
revised statutes. We was sorry and we
was mad, for Bill was a fine build of a
man and played a good game at poker
"We-ell. we had to hurry up bit,
and then we retreated in good shape,
IL, - h. IN,
luns from the hill-lively, that was
and had time to think what we was
doing. We threw up a few bits of rifle
pits. and got a bite TO eat. Mind you,
all the night the COmanches were cir
cling round the hill and putting IN
good. steady fire. 1t looked almighty
rough for us, for there was no chance
20 send out a runner with word to Phil.
! So, when it was near morning, Daddy
spoke up.
d" BOYS saws he, we're trapped
/ says he. There's no way to get help
sent to us. So says he, as them dew
lis are all about us, and we're short OF
chuck and water and ammunition, he
says-not Just like that, but them was
his meaninSs-he says, I'm going to
cut my way out. Is it right| he says.
Right it was. 1t was our only
chance. for we were completely sur
rounded. and what he SAID ABOUT the
ammunition was correct. We had Fred
ColviIle with us. the bugler-you've
heard Of him. He'd played taps over
Buck Bill when we buried him. There
was no use in laying low. We didn't
care how much row we made. Fred up
and gives a roaring call. full blast and
10 hell with the rest. Boots and sad
dlesl Yupl 1 never got my fingers
twitching at a call as i did that time.
In we went into the saddles, revolvers
at the carry. carbines loose in the boots
ard faced the reds. | never thought
ia ike through it. but all | was mad
about was to empty them six chambers
into the COmanches that were thick
about US. They saw what we were up
TO Trust them They're cute. The
beggaes got together on the only road
we could take to find the command,
and waited Give me a Comanche for
a square fight They formed up in the
gray Of the morning to meet us, and
saws l 10 myself. says l, it's massa-
ere. so il is, for they were about five
to our one. Boys says Daddy. cool
as icechests, you see he Bays, I'm
going to charge in column of fours,' he