The National tribune., 1904-08-18

L u
been wodndA and concealed the fact.
What's {he matter. Dickf are you
hurtY" I asked.
He managed to answer "No;" but offered
no further explanation, and sat down on
After resting a while without speaking .
word. he got up, and, with my assistance,
climbed ,onto his mule, and We started
| He had jhst now begun to realize the
danger He had unconsciously been exposed
nearly to death. l never saw person
before so badly frightened after the dan
ger was. ALL past. 1t always has a diff
ferent effect on me, and / could not un-
derstandN for some time what was the mat
ter with Griswold. After danger is over
look upon it rather good joke than as
cause for fear. We are apt to say or
think, well. I'm glad I'm alive" or, "A
miss is as good as a mile," and give the
matter no further serious thought.
Before going very far on the way back
curiosity, to return to that part Of the
prairie where the herds had been driven
| OIL by the rebels, to see who and how
many had been killed or wounded, and
learn what | could about the raid. 1 pro-
posed to Griswold to ride over in the direc-
ton of the Tahlequah road for that pur-
pose, but he begged to be excused. with a
| pale, sickly smile, but assured me that he
was able to make his way back to our
camp.
Leaving him to go it alone, 1 turned of
and rode towards where the lost herds
the Tahlequah road l saw at a distance
| south of it some ambulances and men on
foot going about over the field apparently
looking up the dead and wounded who
were much scattered.
knew that a picket guard had been sta
toned on the Tahiequah road not far
from that point. and as the relief parties
had not reached that part Of the ground
yet: | galloped towards the picket station
which l could see by some of their
| blanket awnings still standing-to see
what | could find there. On reaching it 1
found the conditions very similar to those
of the vdets we had found killed on the
Fort Smith road when we first came out
The men of this party also seemed to have
been nearly all surprised while asleep un-
der their blanket shades, and shot where
they lay. One or two of them, however,
seemed to have awakened and made some
| attempt to fight, or run, before the relent-
| less rebel Indians had brought them down
| found one man still alive, but he had
| been shot. in several places, was covered
| with blood and scarcely able to speak. AS
L turned him over 20 see how badly hurt he
| the myariable plant Of wounded man.
| raised his bloody head and gave him
a drink from my canteen, and then direct
ing him how to assist me to get him onto
my mule, which he seemed to understand;
| after quite an effort got him onto his feet
alongside the animal-which happened to
| he my gentle old Kate" and not Jim
| Lane'-and tried to get him into the sad
die; but he was too heavy for me to lift,
and too weak to assist himself, or even to
| stand on his feet; go ! laid him down
again, mounted my mule and galloped to
the nearest ambulance party, brought them
to the placey and they took him up.
| "a DUEL TO THE DEATH:
At aIlittlA distance off came to the
| bodies of two dead Indians, lying not far
apart--pne, a Union Indian, the other q
rebel The signs around these two were. to
| me, ra ther mysterious, as to the manner
| of their,deaths, but was explained by one
| of the Ehergkees of the ambulance party,
who recognized the features of both dead
men, and called their names, which | have
| forgotten. Both had been shot several
| times and .one-the rebel-had been par
| TALLY barned-part of his clothing was
still afire, bis powder horn had exploded
and blown hole in his side. These dead
men, of course, had all had horses, before
the attack, (Which had been driven off by
the rebels, as they retreated.. The Cherokee
3
| this exlIanafion of the affair:
These fWo Cherokees were bitter enc
mics of old, the one a rebel, the other
Corporal of our picket guard, and seem
to have CHANGED to meet here. Judging by
the signs. the Corporal has jumped on his
horse and started to rlin when the pickets
were attacked; the rebel. singing him ont,
| rode after, overlook him, and while riding
alongside they had shot each other till
both fell off their horses about the same
time; or else the "reb'' fell first and our
Corporal rode back-fnding himself NOR
| tally wounded-to finish his enemy before
he died. The Corporal has stripped his
own shirt off, and wrapping it about the
rebels powder horn against bis side, set
fire to it and then got away a little piece
where he lay watching his enemy blown to
death; after which the Corporal has died
where he lay, or been finished by some of
the other rebels; but, no doubt, gObbling
his defiance to them with his last breath.
Brave man, and died like true Cher
okee," added the narrator.
This man, quite an intelligent half-breed
seemed to think that the Corporal must
have died happy, after finishing his old
enemy in this gallant Indian STYLE
A BRUTALLY MURDERED MAN.
After leaving the scene | rode on out
small herd grazing, which belonged to
Mr.. Putnam, a sutler: and on riding over
| the ground | came upon the body of Jonas
Conroy, a teamster, who had formerly
driven team in my train at Leavenworth
| and Scott, but who had lately been work
ing for Putnam, and was herding puts"
mules when killed. He was lying full
length, fiat of his back, with arms spread
| out, and had but a single bullet hole in
his left breast-shot through the heart He
had probably surrendered to the rebels
and then been murdered by them, after
giving up his arms, while pleading with
them to spare his life.
l felt very sad as looked down on the
face of my old teamster and realized that
he had been wantonly murdered by some
| of the blood thirsty rebel Indians, after
surrendering and trusting to their honor
| to treat him as a prisoner of war. Jonas
was we'll known and quite q favorite
among the old Wagon Masters and team
sters from up the country, and was one of
| those jolly, good honest fellows who would
never have wronged even a rebel; and
how such wretches-and they seem to be
| in the ma jority among our enemies here
can bring themselves to murder such un-
armed, inoffensive, helpless prisoners, who
| have surrendered to them relying on the
honor of manhood is someth hinO hard 70