The National tribune., 1904-09-01

ing that the train would be attacked; So,
quickly saddling up my mule, mounted
and struck out for the fight. After cross
ing Grand River, l overlook Hugh Po-
land, Assistant Wagon Master of the I'd
We had not got far from the bank of the
river when we met the Sd Wis. troops,
with the corpulent Maj. Stout i'm the lead,
coming in on a brisk trot, long way
ahead of the leading teams of the train.
The brave Major looked scared, and l be-
lieve he was.
We soon began to meet the teams The
teamsters probably taking the fright con-
tagion from the cavalry, seemed greatly
excited as they popped their whips and
yelled at their mules to hurry them along
as fast as possible.
They seemed astonished to think any
one should want to go in the direction we
were heading, one volunteering the ad-
vice to us.
You feliers must be crazy. Better go
back! There's the very devil out there.
Trains all captured but a few of us.
Prairie an woods is swarmin' with
rebels.' And as he trotted his team on
toward town others behind him offered us
similar kind warnings.
1t was plain that these SINNERS were
badly scared. and so Hugh and laughing
ly thanked them for their good advice, but
concluded to go on and see the circus.
As the teams went trOtting by us l
noticed one teamster whose throat had
been cut by bullet, but not seriously. as
he went jogging along, popping his whip
vigorously. holding his head well up. and
looking mighty serious. but unable to
'cuss," as the hole across his windpipe let
the air out before it reached the "cussng"
point. / think / understand how much
mental anguish that fellow must have suf-
fered to find himself una BILE to say a word
at such a time: and what a relief to him
1T would have been to be able to do lit
tie scientific swearing just then.
As We gallOped on through the timber,
meeting excited and frightened teamsters
hurrying their teams along the road. some
warned us to go back to Fort Gibson;
others asked anxiously, How far is it
to Fort Gibson" but many had nothing
to say. but kept looking back over their
shoulders as if. to see if the rebels were
coming after them.
We heard some discharges of artillery
and concluded that Kauffman's hcwitzers
were introducing themselves to the enemy.
As we neared the edge of the prairie the
firing began to slacken. and as we We're
still meeting teams coming hurrying along
the road, it seemed evident that the rebels
had not made complete success of this
job, any way.
THE FIRST DEAD MAN
we came to was a Sd Wis. cavalryman,
lying in the edge of the road just where
he had fallen, with his legs sticking out
Into the track OF the wagons, so that the
wheels had been running over his limbs
and had nearly worn them off up to the
knees. Thinking that he might still be
alive, Hugh and / dismounted and lifting
him up carried him back from the road
a few steps and laid him behind tree,
but on examination found he was dead
After this We saw but few dead. and not
many wounded, as the fight had been scat
tered over a large extent of ground.
Just as We reached the prairie we met
Col. shorty" mounted on a mule. sur
rounded by lot Of soldiers. Seeing me,
he called ont:
See here, Peck. my riding mules
and let me have the one you're riding:'
l agreed to exchange with him, but
when he came to notice that / was riding
that banked Jim Lane mule he de-
clined my proffered kindness. He was d.
recting the firing of one of Kauffman's
howitzers, near by. A cluster of rebels
who had crossed the road and cut off part
of the train. and then been driven off TO
the old military road farther east by
''ShOrtys" men, were now seen to be
gathering near little house in the edge
of the timber about half mile away. and
Shorty" had directed Kaufman to drop
shell among them. Zeke Proctor, a
long-haired half-breed Sergeant of the bat
terry, sighted the piece, and succeeded i'm
dropping the shell right in the midst of
the rebel crowd. We found several
badly-torn dead rebels lying near that
cabin afterward, but the living wounded,
if any there were, had succeeded in get
ting away.
After cutting of portion of the train
hnd rhnI e ~.
wagons toward the Verdigris, but had
been finally whipped away from them by
"Shorty's' men,
Finding themselves defeated in every
direction, the now discouraged enemy be-
came panicstricken, broke and fed i'm the
widest confusion across the Verdigris,
and then on through the timber i'm scat
tered parties to the Arkansas and across
II. We followed them to the Arkansas
occasionally getting near enough to a party
to pepper them enough to accelerate their
speed, now and then finding a dead rebel
along the route.
/ don't remember to have seen living
wounded rebel or prisoner taken during
the whole affair, and don't think our am
balances brought in any such after the
fight. | think that probably, as the fight
was much scattered. our Indians, i'm re-
taliation for the brutal numbering of our
herders and pickets shortly before this.
WITCH our HeFuS were captured Dy the
rebels, had killed all the prisoners they
took and all the wounded they found
One of our ambulances, while looking
up our Notwithstanding a red flag as
signal of hospital seryice-was seized
by party of rebels, with it's driver and
attendants, and carried off. This was a
gross breach of the rules of war, but
our enemies in this part of the country
pay but little regard to the war usages of
civilized nations.
i: REBELS CO OFF IN PANIC.
1t was not a retreat that the rebels
made after the failure Of their effort to
capture our train-they did not withdra w
from the field in any orderly or organized
shape-but on finding that their plans
had miscarried they seemed to become so
badly frightened and utterly demoralized
as to lose all semblance of organization,
and breaking up into small parties made
panicky rush to get back to their
camp across the Arkansas-every fellow
for himself. Splitting up thus. they had
availed themselves Of every road and COW
path leading through the timber i'm the di-
rection of their camp; and at every mar.
row place or mudhOle in the roads signs
OF the mad scramble to escape We're visi
BILE, such as hats, muskets belts. cartridge
boxes. hayersacks, blankets, and even sad