The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-26
FAMOUS SCOUT
NEARING DEATH
Jack" StiIwelI Said to Be Dy-
ing of Bright's Disease.
CHARACTERISTIC INCIDENT
HOW THE COMMAND OF COL.
FoRsYTHE WAS SAVED.

In the shadow of Eagle mountain
Judge Jack" Stilwell. famous Indian
scout. is dying. He is in the grip of
Bright's disease and can not live many
weeks longer. Knowing this he moved
in from his ranch to be. nearer medical
treatment and while the doctors may
prolong his life, they can not save it,
says the Kansas City Star.
Giles Stilwell. known eli his life as
Jack, was the friend and contempo-
rary of General Custer. wild Bill, -
Texas Jack, Buffalo Bill" General
Miles and the Indian fighters, scouts
and frontiersmen of the days gone by.
When Custer fought his last fight and
the resultant fury among the whites
stamped out the Indian uprisings;
when there was no longer need for the
old scout, Jack Stilwell retired from
the army, from cattle raising and
ranching, and studied law.
Brilliant scout and Indian fighter, he
made brilliant lawyer, and his argu-
ments before the courts of Arizona,
Texas. Wyoming and oklahoma will
long be remembered for their wit and
comprehension of the law.
StilWei saw wild BnT' assassinated
and comforted Texas jack in his
last hours when he was dying of con-
SUMPTION
General Miles Story.
His most noteworthy achievement
took place while he was a scout under
General Forsyth, during the summer
of 1858 General Miles tells the story
most interestingly as follows;
Jack StilweIl was the hero of one of
the most remarkable affairs with In
-, -
frontier. During the year 1868, when he
was a beardless youth in buckskin. he
did the thing which made him famous
throughout the west and stamped him
as one of the most courageous scouts
in the army.
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel George A
Forsyth, commanding a small body Of
about thirty citizens enlisted as scouts,
camDed beside the Arickaree river. a
small stream in northern Kansas. The
Indians had been reported as rising
and the purpose of the expedition was
to ascertain the true state of affairs
There was very little water III the
river. it being the dry seasOn-Sept II,
in fact-and the party, fearing attack,
encamDed on an island in the middle
of the river. Jack Stilwell was one
of the scouts. About Q o'clock in the
morning they We're attacked by a band
of geo warriors, who shot at them from
both banks ~
The men placed themselves in a cir
Gle, lying down. and each one instantly
began digging a rife pit for himself
The Indians We're repulsed and re-
treated. Roman Nose, their leader,
was killed in the charge. and the river
banks were strewn with dead war
riors.
A Desperate Situation.
All was quiet until , O'Clock in the
afternoon. when the Indians, thirsting
for vengeance. came again, more
fiercely than ever. But by that time
the defenses were finished. and the In
dians were again driven off final
and more feeble attack was made about
4 o'clock, and then it began to rain
Every one knew that the next move
of the Indians. finding that direct at
tack did not accomplish results. would
be to surround the devoted little band
and starve them out, or pick off the
unwary by long sharpshoOting from
cover.
Taking account of the damage done
they found that they had suffered Sc
verely. All the horses and mules had
been killed. making it impossible for
them tc get away Lieutenant Beech
er, second. in command, and five men
ed, and seventeen men, including Col
onel Forsyth, had been wounded.
Practically only seven men out of the
thirty were unharmed. Obviously the
thing TO do was to get help, and that
was the very thing which the Indians
were on the sharpest lookout to pre-
vent.
Fort Wallace. the nearest military
post, was 100 miles away. and Forsyth
L.
rounded by 900 Indians from all the
northern nations, including northern
Cheyennes. Ogalalla, Sioux and that
queer combination of many tribes
known as Dog Soldiers" The situa-
ton was desperate.
The dead horses were cut into strips
for food and a well inside the circular
breastworks was dug for water. The
defense was strengthened with useless
saddles and dead carcasses, and,
watchful against surprise, they passed
four days with noasign from the IN
dams but an occasional shot when a
soldier incautiously arose to stretch
himself.
Stilwell Went For Help.
On the fifth day the meat could no
longer be eaten. and the suffering be-
came intense. Help must be summoned
or the command must perish. Jack
Stilwell. one of the few who had es-
capped unframed so far, offered to go
to Fort Wallace. II looked to be sure
death to venture outside of the
charmed circle. Old Pete Trudeau.
a frontiersman, volunteered to accom-
pany him.
There was nothing else to do, and
Lieutenant Colonel Forsyth was COM
PEELED to accept the offer. At midnight,
q mid fha Uhfcparc ar erond It,olr ord
the farewell handshakes of the boys"
who never expected TO see them again
alive, the two men crawled over the
breastwork and waded the river to the
shore. They initiated the wear
ing apparel of the Indians by wearing
blankets and moccasinS-made from
their boot tops-so as not to leave the