Sistersville daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1902-1905, 1904-01-26
4 FR|GHTFUL LEAP

"Tt's now scarcely twelve months
ago." said Jack Coleman as party
of us drew around our camp fire,
chat l was plotting small party
| of Uncle Sans men up to one OF
the new forts on the upper Brazos-
l believe they called it Fort Belknap
or some such name. The soldiers
were a precious set of greenhorns--
new recruits, should think.
"Well, these fellows were under
the command of a white skinned,
girlish looking young chap, fresh
from West Point. But young and
green as he was the lieutenant was
a gentleman and at heart as good a
fellow as ever lived.
"The party was mounted on such
! nags as the quartermaster could pur-
chase for them in hurry, for
though they were infantry the jour-
new before them was too long to be
undertaken afoot over the grassy
prairie.
"I'd been down in San Antonio
about three weeks, and when the
quartermaster engaged me to pilot
the soldiers Strawberry had had the
quiet range of the prairie all that
time, and when we took the trail he
was in prime order.
"The more l got acquainted with
the lieutenant the better | liked
him. But the fellows he had along
with him were of no account, and L
knew if the Comanches or Kiowas
should cross our trail they couldn't
be depended on.
eve had reached the foot of the
Black Hills, where the country is
badly cut up with deep barrancas,
crossing each other in every direc-
ton, and, having had hard days
travel, proposed an early camp.
While looking for suitable spot |
discovered fresh horse tracks and
knew that large party of Indians
were in the vicinity. l Informed
the lieutenant of my discovery and
advised him to secrete his men as
soon as possible, for as yet l was
convinced our approach had not
been detected.
but as soon as the men heard
the word Indians they set up such
a hurrah that you'd have thought
them the bravest chaps in the
world, and it was not long before l
knew that the Indians had discover
ed us, for we could hear them calling
to each other in the bottom of one
of the deep gullies, and presently
score or two showed their heads
above the edge of the bank and, let
ting fly volley, lodged out of sight
again.
81 was for getting out of the prai-
RE as soon as possible and reaching
spot among the rocks at the COM
mencement of the rising ground,
where we could receive them at a
better advantage, but the lieutenant
was so greedy for a fight that he
wouldn't listen to me moment and
gave orders for his men to dismount
and form in regular line and await
the attack.
"But scarcely had some of them
obeyed the order than we heard
yell, and the next moment the prai-
RE was covered with a host of
mounted kiowas that came pouring
out of a barranca and charged right
down upon us. The soldiers who had
not obeyed the order, trusting more
to their horses heels than to their
rifles, put spurs to their broken
down nags and attempted to escape.
But they might as well have essayed
to flv from the swift tornado as to
get beyond the reach of those wild
riders. :. part of the whooping saw
ages made a dash for the cowardiy
fools and soon had their scalps,
while the rest, ranging past us with
headlong gallop and lying over
upon the farther side of the fiery
little mustangs, sent volley into
our ranks. And now, taking my ad-
vice, the lieutenant ordered his fell
lows to remount and in close order
make an effort to gain the rocks.
But two of the men were past
mounting, and we had to leave them.
1--WE had about half mile to 60
to get among the nearest rocks, but
to do so We had to run the gantlet
of the Indians, who kept up a hot
discharge which made desperate
work in our little ranks. We spur
red through the savages, who at
tempted to cut in ahead of us, and