Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1901-04-18
A NOVEL WEAPON.
The Story ola Dilemma e. Peril and
Its Solutiou.


BY =. s. ELLIss
Major G. A. Forsyth. nth fifty
picked men, reached the Repu bll-
can River on the eighth da5 Of his
parsuit Of Q maraading band OF
Arapahoes, aud prepared - 20 into
camp on the Arickaree Fork, select
ing 9 point where the river divided
80 % 20 inclose . sandy strip Of is
land barely . hundred yards long.
On the bank Of the main stream
the little band was assailed By fully
Q thousand Brules, Sioux, Cheyen-
mes and "Dog Soldiers" who
swsrmed from the hills to the west
and north, shouting aud brandish.
ing their weapons, anJ making q
picture terrifying beyond dsscrip-
tion.
Surrender was not theught Of for
it meant torture and death for every
man. Maj Forsyth ordered his
command to lead their ponies across
the shallow water to the. sandy
strip, there tie them in circle to
the stunted bushes, aud then lie
down and fight to the last. The
Indians also dismounted and creep
ing to the river bank, opened q
fierce fire with their Spencer end
Henry rifles. With the lid Of their
knives. and BY working desperately,
the defenders threw mp little hill
ocks Of sand in the form Of q circle,
but 90 hot was the FREQ the red
men that two Of the soldiers we're
killed and several severely wound
ed. Among the latter vas Major
Forsyth. who fev miputes later
vas struck again, his left leg being
shattered below the knee. Within
the same minute. DR.. Movers, sur
geon Of the party, fell dead from Q
ball through his head. Before the
Indian fire slackened, every horse
belonging to the white men was
killed.
The lull lasted but brief while,
when fully 800 warriors, under the
lead of the famous chief, Roman
Nose, led furious charge. but they
we're repulsed by the unerring aim
of the soldiers, Roman Nose being
one of the first to tumble from his
horse. The charge was repeated
several times during the day, but
in each instance was repulsed. (.
When night closed in, four of the
defenders were dead, four mortally.
four severely, and ten slightly,
wounded. Among the slain, be-
sides the surgeon, was Lieut.. F.
b. Beecher, nephew of the late
Henry Ward Beecher. All the pro-
visions were gone, there were no
medical supplies, and the Indiane
had completely invested them.
Moreover, the nearest post from
which help could be obtained was
Fort Wallace, more than q hundred
miles distant.
On the other hand the soldiers
had plenty Of ammunition water
could be secured By digging in the
sand, and the bodies Of the mules
aud horses insured against starva.
tion, though in q few days their
presence under the hot sun would
become intolersble.
The only possible hope vas in
getting word to Fort Wallace.
Trudeau and Jack Stillwell, both
among the best scouts in the West,
left the island 40 soon 90 il waa
dark, stealing silently down the
river until lost to sight in the
gloom. Their comrades listened
long, but heard nothing, and,
knowing their enemies would bs
on the alert for such ah attempt
agreed that both had been captured
aud put to death.
The firing continued ell the nexi
day, and at night two more scouts
were sent out, but they we're dis
covered. and barely succeeded in
getting back to the island. The
third night two others made the at
tempt, and msnagei to get through
the lines. By this time there va,
no food that could be eaten, and
ell knew that death was certain be
fore the last couple could reach th,
fort and bring help to the defend
era. whose situation vas desperat,
and pitiful in the extreme.
Our interest however, lice will
Trudean and Stillwell, the first tw,
scnuta Who left the island. IL wa,