Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-01-26
COS, created a demand for a

route across the nOrthw estern
Hains, and it was in trying to open Il
trail across the hunting grounds of the
Sioux in northwestern Wyoming that
! the government had its greatest trou-
/ BILE with the Indians. In the summer
! of 1866, Col Ii. B. Darlington with
/ a force of troops began building Fort
| Phil Kearney on the headwaters of
! Tongue river, near the Big Horn noun
tains, and on territory over which the
| Sioux claimed jurisdiction. no treaty
for right of way having yet been
completed The soldiers were CON
tinually harassed by the savages but
not until December q, 1866. did the
trouble eliminate in one of the blood
lest massacres on record.
About ii o'clock that day a force of
some 80 men, who were two miles
away preparing Pine timbers with
which to complete the fort, were at
tackled by band Of Indians. A look
out stationed on a hill near the fort
gave the alarm and relief party was
at once started out in command of
Brevet Lieut. Col William ]. Fetter-
man. The detachment numbered 81
men. Ignorant of tue fact that 1000
Indians were skulking in the ravines,
waiting for a favorable moment in
which to strike. Fetterman led his
men over a ridge. thinking to cut off
the retreat of the band which had at
tackled the party in the pine grove.
Anxious watchmen at the fort saw
Fetterman's command disappear over
the crest of the ridge and soon heard
the firing. 1t became more rapid. and
they grew fearful of results. Rein
fOrcements were sent out after little
and the only story of the fight is the
one which they read on the bloody
field and sadly reported on their re-
turn to the fort, for not one of Fet-
terman's men was left to tell the aw-
full tale. Clustered on a space less
than 40 feet square were found the
bodies of Capt. Brown, Col. Fetterman
and So of the men. A more horrible
sight could not be imagined. They
were stripped naked. scalped. and so
terribly gashed and mangled as to
be almost unrecognizable. Years af-
terward the Sioux showed a rough
knotty war club of burr oak. driven
full of nails and spikes, which had
been used to beat their brains out
1t was still covered with brains and
hair glued to it In clotted blood.
No empty cartridge shells were
found around the bodies. and there
were no signs of a struggle. Instead
every bit of evidence seemed to show
that after their ammunition became
exhausted these men had started for
the fort and been surrounded and
struck down on the way. 1t was also
evident that rather than endure tor
! ture, Fetterman and Brown had each
used his last charge to end his own
life.
The bodies of the others who made
I'D Fetterman's command were found
f! further on, and here the empty shells
/ denoted that last brave stand had
! been made and a strong effort on the
| part of tie heroic remnant of the force
to hold the savage foe at bay until
/ their friends could escape TO the fort
! The bodies here were shockingly mu-
/ tilated.
The Indians say that Red Cloud was
| not present at the Fetterman massa-
ere. Be that as it may. he certainly
/ got the credit of having planned it,
a circumstance which he did not hes
| itate to fully make use of'in gaining
/ absolute control over his tribe. He
continued fighting against the govern
ment until about p years ago. when
he signed peace treaty.