Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1901-08-08
A Famous Indian Fight.
By WILLIAMSON PALMER NJ D.

| Texan party opened fire at 40 yards,
| and shot Matthew Doyle through the
breast. Thomas McCaslin ran for
ward to avenge him, and was shot
through the body. The firing became
general from all quarters. The Tex
ans, finding their position in the trees
too much exposed, retreated to the
thicket, where they disloiged the rifle
men under cover of the creek, who
were in point blank range. by shoot
ing them through the head as often
as they showed above the bank.
In the thicket, where they were
well screened, they had clear views
of the hostiles on the prairie. 1--WE
baffied their Shots wrote James Bow
lie, "by moving six or. eight feet the
moment we had fired, for their only
mark was the smoke of our guns.
They would put 20 balls within the
space Of pocket-handkerchief in the
spot where they saw that smoke"
In this fashion the fight was kept
up for two hours. and James Correll
was shot through the arm. Seeing
that the Texans were not to be dis
lodged from the thicket, the savages
resorted to fire-for the double pur-
pose of routing the little party and
of carrying away their own lead and
wounded under cover of the smoke,
for the rifles of the rangers had
brought down half dozen at every
round. They set fire to the dry prai-
rie grass to the windward of the
thicket; the flames flared high and
burned all the grass as far as the
creek; but there they bore away to
the right and to the left, leaving
clear space of five acres around the
camp. Under cover of the smoke the
hostiles carried away their dead;
while the Texans scrapei away the
dry grass and leaves from their
wounded comrades, and piled rocks
and bushes to make a flimsy breast
work
The Indians re-occupied the trees
and rocks in the prairie and renewed
their firing. Suddenly the wind shift
ed to the north and blew hard. The
red men were quick to see the ad-
vantage and seize the chance. One
of their braves crawled down the
creek and set fire to the high grass.
Robert Armstrong killed him-too
late. Down came the flames, 10 feet
high, straight for the camp! The
shouts and yells of the Indians rent
the air, and they fired 20 shots in a
minute.
Behind the screen of smoke the
Texans held council of war. If the
Indians should charge them under
cover of the fire they could deliver
but one effectual round. Even then
the sparks were flying so thickly that
no man could open his powder-horn
but at the risk of being blown up.
Bowie's men determined if the In
Gians charged ito deliver that one
round, stand back to back. draw our
knives, and fight as long as one was
left alive" On the other hand, should
the Indians not charge, and should the
Texans still stand their ground, they
might be burned alive. In that case
each man would take care of himself
reached the ring of cleared ground
around the wounded men and the bag
gage; then they would smother it
with buffalo-robes, bearskins, deer
skins, and blankets. And this they
did the hostiles not charging.
By this time the fire had left so
little Of the thicket that the small
group Of fighters took refuge in the
ring they had made around the wound
ed and the baggage, and begun rails
ing their breastwork higher with loose
rocks and with earth that they dug
with their knives. The Indians had
succeeded in removing their killed
and wounded under cover OF the
smoke. Night was approaching, and
they had been fighting since sunrise
The Indians, seeing that the Texans
were still alive and dangerous. drew
off and encamped for the night with
their dead and wounded. BY 10 o'clock
the Bowies has raised their clumsy
rampant breast high the men filled
their vessels and skins with water.
and waited for the attack which they
supposed the morning would bring.
All night they heard the red men wall
ing over their dead; and at daylight
they shot mortally wounded chief.
as the customs of the tribes pre-
scribed. A little later they retired
with their dead and wounded to
mountain about mile away. where
a cave served them for shelter and
for tomb. At o'clock two of the
Texans ventured out from the little
fort, and made their way to the en-
campment where the Indians had
lain the night before, and there they
counted 4S bloody spots on the grass
where their braves had fallen before
Texan rifles. Finding ourselves much
cut up" wrote the Bowies, having
one man killed and three wounded,
five horses killed and three wounded,
we resumed the Strengthening of our
little fort, and worked until 1 p. m.
when 13 Indians appeared. but re-