The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-14
LITTLE BAT IN THE LEAD.
The Story of the Escape From Hostile

! The Story of the Escape From Hostile
J Indians in Overwhelming Numbers.
"The Iong-haired man from the West
may be all right, but there are others, ;"
remarked a dark, swarthy, stout man
in this city yesterday. He was Frank
Grouard ex-chief of scouts of the Unit
ed States army, the hero Of a hundred
Indian fights and hairbreadth escapes
| There is nothing romantic in the APP
pearance Of this big, braWny man; his
black hair now we'll streaked with sill
YER but his exploits are literally blaz-
I oned on the army reports by Crook ana
Sheridan. Born on an island in the
South Pacific in 1850, the son of mis-
sionary through stress of circunl-
stances at the age Of he was left to
shift for himself Doing chores about
the California mining camps and driv-
ing an ore wagon was his training for
carrying mail over a lonely star route.
He was captured as youth by Indians
and adopted as a son by the famous
Sioux chief, Crazy Horse living five
years in Indian camps, eating his meat
without salt. forgetting the taste of
bread and intrusted with the mysteries
of medicine making" by Sitting Bull.
This school Injured him to hardship and
led him to meet and overcome dangers
that few men have experienced.
When he saw the telegram in the
newspapers relating the tragedy at
Crawford, Neb., that sounded taps
for Baptiste Gaunier, better known as
the famous scout Little Bat, he quite
forgot the overhanging wonder of The
elevated road and the tall buildings to
tell his regret at the passing of one who
had shared with him many perils. Did
you ever hear of the Slbley fight?" he
asked. 'If you have not John Flnerty
can tell you one lively side of it. Little
Bat might have told you some more
about it, and L might say something
myself. Yes, we were all in it un to
our chins. and as an all-around close
shave i think all accounts agree that
it was about the limit. The idea of
man living on a diet of that kind and
getting killed in a saloon fight! 1t
seems tough. Poor Little Bat! Bad
whisky was worse medicine than Sit
ting Bull ever made in all his years of
devlltry.
But you want me to tell you the
years ago last July, about a week be-
fore the battle that wiped out Gen.
Custer and his entire command. Gen.
Crook assigned Little Bat and myself
to go north on the Tongue river and
meet a body of friendly Crows that
were joining us to fight against the
Sioux Much to my regret, Lieut.. f. w.
Sbley and "a picked men of the Sec
ond cavalry We're detailed as an es-
cdrt. The men were splendid fellows,
but all more or less new in Indian fight
ing. We had been moving north twu
days when the dawn of the third morn
ing [ discovered the Sioux moving
toward the Tongue river thicker than
buffalo in the valley of the Platte l
called Bat softly and when he saw the
great painted procession stealing over
the plains he said: My God! We are
gone!'
81 waited until I saw them strike our
trail Immediately the discoverer be-
gan circling his horse and waving his
blanket, and about ten minutes later
every Indian in that section knew that
white men were somewhere about.
thought we might possibly get away
from them by getting up into the noun
tains. | told Bat to follow with the
men as fast as he could, my idea being
to get beyond where the Twin Creek
trail crossed our own in the mountains,
knowing that the Indians would natur-
ally make run to cut US off at that
point. l suppose went UP the hills
rather fast, for at length / got tired
waiting at the trail crossing and went
back for the soldiers. Imagine my sur
prise when I learned that the party had
stopped to make coffee. Lieut. Sibley
admitted his inexperience in a running
fight and had yielded to the Emporium
ings of his men, who wanted breakfast.
I told him the chances were that none
of us would eat any more between that
time and kingdom come, as the Indians
We're probably waiting at the point we
should have passed long ago.
II made a wide detour from the trail
as we toiled up the mountain-very for
tunately, for they We're ambushed for
us at the crossing of the trails between
two high tree-erowned buttes. If we
had passed through that natural gate
none of us would have been left to tell
about 1t. AS we passed up the noun
tain to the left they got onto our
and about 200 did some wild |
target practice in our direction. Strange
to say not a man was hit Correspond |
dent John Finerty's horse was hit and (
he came 10 and Joined me in leading
the line. The horses We're inclined to
ginning of the thick timber / ordered
the stock tied in bunch The Indians
tried in every way to draw our fire,
out Sbley at my suggestion, ordered
10 firing unless they charged right up
% us, which is not the way an Indian
1gths.
we got to the timber at 10 o'clock in
he morning, and we did not fire a
not until o'clock in the afternoon
Every man had his tree, and he stuck
% it closer than brother. Early in
he day a leather-lunged Sioux yelled
1t me that he knew Bat and myself
we're there, and they We're going to
rave great fun with us--particulary
ne, | knew what that meant without
map, so l told every soldier to save
good cartridge for himself before sur
endering to the fiendish fortunes. for
he Sioux have very original methods
# making man die by the most pain
III process possible