The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-06

sixteen months and had been in a
number of Indian fights before, and I
thought 1 knew something about In
dams. [ knew they had been watch
ing US from the time we got into their
neighborhod, but itafwas some time
before 1 could make the colonel be-
kept out on the left flank, and we rode
from one to three miles to the left
of the company.
Indians on the Lookout.
Now an Indian never shows him
self on hill at time like that. He
goes around through the little valleys,
but never goes up on high hill, and
we ola the same. Every little While we
would see just the top of moving OBJ
| Jects over the hill ahead of u.s. but by
the time we got around there we
would find nothing, but there would
! be fresh pony tracks. So we knew
the indians were watching us, but the
colonel wouldn't believe it till took
him out and showed him the tracks.
We'll, that night told the colonel
| believed we would be attacked be-
fore morning if we stayed there and
thought we ought to pull out along
about midnight, but he said we would
stay and go after them the next day.
stayed up with the man on watch a
good share of the night, and after I
went to sleep the first thing heard
was the cry of Indiansi' l had told
every man to sleep on his Iar1at rope
next to the picket pin, and if a SIAM
pede was attempted to jump up and
put his foot down on the rope close
to the pin and hold the rope down.
That kept the horses from pulling up
the pins and getting away.
"Of course. the Indians tried to
stampede our horses first, but every
man obeyed our orders and only two
horses and some pack mules got
away. The band that had come down
on us rode past and seemed to be
talking about the matter some dis
lance below US. 1t was just coming
light. We saddled our horses, and
got the colonePs permission to go up
on high bluff about forty rods away
and see what was doing L got up
there and looked off to the west, and
the country was just black with In
dams on both sides of the river. They
were coming with their lodges and
women and children and everything.
II hurried back and reported, and
then some of the fellows who had
been so anxious to fight wanted to get
on the horses and make run for it,
but 1 knew that was what the Indians
expected and that we would never get
away that way. We just had to stand
our ground and fight. Then Jack
StiIlwell saw this island out in the
bed of the river an dsuggested we go
over on to that, SO the Indians could
not crawl up on us under the bushes
and sand hills. That's what we did,
and we laid there just nine days.
Indians First Attack.
Pretty soon the Indians came down
on US. My, but there was a lot of
EN-, They started in to circle around
US, coming closer all the time, as In
dams do expecting when they got
close enough to rush in on US. AS
soon as they got close enough we be-
gan firing, because it looked as though
we would be kept busy if we killed
EN- all off. But they kept coming in
and finally We're almost on top of US.
We were lying down, of course, try
ing to keep out of range. I pumped
hn CiIrfa hot Of riff ID
by that time they were almost over
US. [ grabbed one revolver and emp
tied that. 1 believe those Indians were
only six or eight feet from me and it
they came one right after another. I
emptied that revolver and fired three !
shots out of my other one, and then |
the Indians suddenly vanished. If !
they had stayed and fought we would |
have been killed in a few minutes, |
because we had no time to reload af- |
ter our guns were once empty. And |
there We're only i of us to a couple |
of thousand of Them.
after that charge we looked up |
and the sand in front of that island |
was just covered with Indians. Some |
were dead and lying still and others
were trying to crawl off. I never saw |
such a sight.
1--WE loaded our guns again as quick |
as we could, and I told the boys to |
scoop out holes in the sand for them |
as soon as they could The Indians
were some distance away, and we
could see the chiefs making speeches
to them 1 could hear and understand |
enough to know that they were tell
ing them not to let man get away.
We had canteen plates that we could |
cut the sod with and then scoop out
the sand. so it didn't take very long
to make a hole big enough for a man
to lie in, but before we were through
they came back for a second charge,
They came riding back altogether and
a mt int Io1
over u.s. 1 didn't expect to live long
then.
He Got Roman Nose.
THE colonel told the boys to keep
COOL and be sure to take careful aim
so that every shot would count Roman
Nose led the Indians. L knew him well
enough to tell him quite a ways off. He
wore no clothes except a breech clout.
and he rode on a mighty fine horse for
an Indian pony. He had nothing on it
except strap around it's lower jaw to
guide it. The colonel told one of the
boys that was considered the best shot
to get old Roman Nose. He didn't get
him the first shot nor the second, but
he did the third.
THE colonel let them get pretty close
before he gave the order to fire, and
then it looked just like those Indians
were melting. The boys were as cool
as could be, and the Indians just melt
ed away. When they reached the is
and, instead of riding over us they di-
sIQ6Q anu went around. linen L knew
they had had enough and wouldn't try {
that again. And they didn't. They tried
10 starve us out and to creep up on us.
A fellow who lay next to me hadn't
got his trench deep enough and his back
showed above the ground. He told me
an Indian had crawled in and was be-
hind a clump of bushes just a few feet {
away where he could see him. but the /
indian could see the fellow next to me
md was plugging him on the back. {
The bullets would just pillow along on s
OPP of his back, some times breaking ]
he skin and some times only making