The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-06
A SCOUTS STORY.
e. A. Gilbert Relates His EX-
perfence for Journal Readers.
New and Thrilling Details OF
the Arickaree Fight.
DAYS OF SUFFERING.
How the Indians Charged Up to
Line of Soldiers.
Herofsm Of the 81 Told With
Startling Realism.
DAYS OF SUFFERING.

Among the visitors who have been in
Topeka attending some of the numer-
Gus conventions this week was large
man with a grayishs mustache and a
little stubby goatee. The hair is get
ting pretty thin on-nis dome of thought,
but he is alert and active just the
same
His name is E. A. Gilbert and his
home is at Fontana, down in Miami
county, where he is now farming. Thir-
ty years ago the was known as Lewis a.
Mclaughlin, and he was one of the best
scouts in the west. He was one OF
Colonel, now General, Forsythe's
guides at the time of the famous Bat
tie of the Arickaree. and ne is one of
the survivors of that famous Indian
fight.
Mr. Gilbert came to Topeka primarily
to attend the good roads convention.
When that was finished he discovered
that Miami county had no representa-
ton in the PopuliSt convention, and
as he was elected as an alternate to the
convention last spring. he went in and
cast Miami county's IL votes whenever
any voting was to be done. Mr.. Gilbert
is Il Tom Kelly Populist-think of that.
He says he intends to vote for Kelly on
the grounds of personal friendship.
The most interesting thing about Mr..
Gilbert, however, is his history as
scout and especially his story of the
names is that some time before the
Arickaree trouble ne was instructed to
go down into the Indian Territory and
break up a gang of traders who We're
supplying arms to the Indians. He did
so but some of the gang got away and
SWore vengeance against him, and in
order to escape them it was necessary
to borrow a new name for few years,
as was customary in those days. AT
the time he was with FOrSythe he was
known MCI1aughlin.
Just previous to the Arickaree eX-
petition Gilbert, or Mclaughlin, was
stationed at Fort Harker, near Ellis
worth He was ordered to Fort Hays
to act as guide for Colonel Forsythe's
little command, as ne had been over
northwestern Kansas and southwestern
Nebraska a few months before looking
for Black Kettle, and he was acquaint-
ed with the country. Jack StillWen, a.
young scout from Fort LaFned, was afl-
other of the guides.
F'orsythe's whole command numbered
only 81 men. They went from Fort
Hays west to Fort Wallace and then
turned north towards the Republican,
where it was known the Indians VINO
were uprising were. The idea was Tor
ForSythe to keep track of the Indians
until General Sheridan could come with
a larger force to defeat them
When the Republican was reached
the trail of the Indians was found and
followed for some distance north, until
it turned and went southeast to the
river again. There it turned west and
the troops followed it for three or four
days. By that time other trails had
come into it until it was evident THAI
they We're fol- o,vIng a big force.
Big Force of Indians.
1.-The trail WAS wider than one of these
Streets" said Mr. Gilbert i'll telling the
story, land every spea- . 5 ass was
worn off from H. We could tell that
they were taking their lodges with
tnen-it was what We call Il lodge trail
and 1 estimated THAI there must have
been three or four hundred lodges. And
as there are nom four 10 six "lrrlo'S
to a lodge, you can see We were traii1ng |
good sized force a. Indians
''When we first started on the trail
[ thought we could whip them if it |
became necessary. but after all these |
other trails came into the main one
began to get scared about it. finally !
-old the colonel that I thought we had |
better get out of there, but there were |
4 lot of fellows in the command that
we used to call 'hell-roarin' fellows |
who wanted to fight. They were all |
he time Dragging what we could do |
10 the Indians, but 1 knew better. |
Colonel Forsythe thought they were |
not very well armed, but 1 told him |
hey were, because 1 had seen the |
raiders giving them arms and ammu- |
lition.
but the colonel thought we better !
keep after them, and one night when /
We had been trailing them three or
Jour days we went into camp down
near the river. The colonel said we
would follow them the next day and