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

each, and had 400 rounds, but by the
! time those two charges were over I
| don't think we had more than about 20
rounds each.
But our worst trouble was our
I lack of food. In the trail in following
| the Indians we found they had killed
everything where they had been, SO
we hadn't killed any meat for several
did not have very much of anything
else.
"Of course all our horses had been
killed or wounded the first thing, and
kill ourselves because they were dan
gerous, kicking around among US.
There was one within arms reach of
me. We were all right as long as
the horse meat stayed good, but it was
hot weather and we knew it wOuldn
last long. Then L thought of drying
it, and another man and 1 got our
rubber blankets out and spread them
on the ground. We could not get up
for fear of being shot and we had to
work under difficulties. Then we cut
off strips of horse meat and threw
them out on these blankets to dry.
The rubber drew the sun and it work
ed first rate, but we couldn't dry
enough to last very long. Along to-
wards the last, after those carcasSeS
had laid there for days, some OF the
men cut off hunks of meat from car
casses that had fallen in, they were
L
that but it made me so sick couldn' t
keep it down. We were just about
famished when we were rescued.
Story of the Rescue.
''I suppose everybody knows the
story Jack Stillwell and another man
crawled out one night and succeeded
in getting past the Indians to go for
help. Then the next night two more
fellows crawled out, so that II Jack
and his companion were killed we
might have another chance. The last
two got to Fort Wallace first, Tor JACK
and his man saw Indians every day
and had to lie low. Jack told me
afterwards he came nearer death on
that trip than he did at any other
time in his life, and that was pretty
close. One day they saw some In
dams coming and they hid behind an
old buffalo carcass. The BUFFALO mad
died the winter before and the INSIDE
of the carcass had rotted away, leaV-
ing lust the framework of bones ana
the skin. They crawled inside the
carcass dirty as it was, and the IN
dams stopped just a few hundred rect
away and cooked their dinner. Wnie
they were there a rattleSnake craWleu
around at the opening in the carcass.
The bows laid mighty still so as not 10
excite the blamed snake, but he saw
them and coiled to strike. Inc pOyS
didn't dare move for fear OF the IN
dams and it looked like the snake had
them Mr.. Snake ratified away and
raised his head and stuck out ms
tongue. Jack said he had mouthtuI
of tobacco juice, and just on the spur
of the moment he let fly at MI, Snd tne
much for the snake and he craWled
off Jack said that was an actual
fact, and believe it.
'tWell, it was the morning OF the
ninth dav when we were rescued by
Colonel Carpenter from Fort Wallace
with a company of colored troops Al
first we thought they were more IN
dams when they came INTO slsht, pue
folks-at any rate they looked white
we were just about starved Why
tho wolves used to come around at
nisht attracted by the carbon smell
of the horses, and one night we killed
a wolf And that wolf was eaten all
ND Two men even quarreled over MS
brains That's how near starved we |
,yera And when those colored troops |
got there you never saw such sight. |
Some of the men laughed ana some
lust cried like babies and some just
cussed. Some made a dash for, the |
saddle bags to get something to eat
out of them and then fought over a !
cracker There was a big colored ser
yeant who knew me came and picked
me up had been wounded in the |
ee as we'll as in the shoulder, and the |
bullet is in my leg yet-and he carried
me over a ways and gave me some
stuff to eat and then made me cup
Of coffee, and never tasted such col
fee before or since.
81 tell you that was a pretty tough |
experience said the old scout as he
got through. 81 dream about the sights
saw in that fight yet. and they are
lust as plain to me as they were when
saw them, so you may know it i'm
pressed itself on my mind, all right
Through Sleeper to St. Louis, Stna Fe.