New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-12-31

A FTER a Well-nlgh GREATNESS dash across the
u big Sioux reservation, having been chased
for one hundred and fifty miles by Spotted
Tails Young men," our small party had reached
the goal of endeavor We had gone into tent
quarters for the summer at the mouth OF Clusters
Gulch and at the upper end of the Custer Mining
District, then two weeks old And this was on
French Creek in the Black Hills, at that moment
brand-new colorado
Our little party of eleven rounded out, to
the number of sixty, the first mining camp OF the
Black Hills. In our own camp were several frontiers
men OF the old regi1e-C California Joe Felix Aichaud
and Tacques Bover-1nen of the days of Kit Carson,
grown griZzled and weatherbeaten the plains.
We soon located claims French Creek three
hundred feet in breadth and from rim to rim of
the hills on either hand. Our status at this time
was that OF the sooner. We had run the blockade
Of both military and Indians. But as 1t was known
that the United States commissioners were to meet
at Spotted Tails agency in August to treat with
the Sioux for their coveted territory, felt secure
in our tenure And also because of certain super
stion we had some reason to feel safe from attack
of the young men" OF the feathered scalplocl;
for the Black Hills was to them a sacred country
on account of its hot springs and wonder-caves.
They believed that many good spirits had here their
abding-I1ace and therefore had neither fought nor
hunted upon the ground The CheEennes to the
north had no such superstition, but these were a
mere handful and the log wall of a makeshitt fort
offered ample protection against them
We had been camped in the shelter of Clusters
Gulch for weeks feeling safe IN our situation,
when one morning we got up to find an Indian
camp pitched across the creek. There were dozen
or more tepees. of srnoke-tanned buckskin, from
the tops of which blue smoke was curling sky
ward.
California Joe the first to make the discovery
and he awoke the rest of us. Say, boys, he sad,
'.look over yonder, Will We? We've got some red
nelqhbors | don't like the looks OF EN-, but
reckon we had better make their acquaintance
before night.
But we did not need to 60 to the tepees. About
mid forenoon our attention called to the tact
that some of the Indians were about to
pay us a visit. At the time / was busy
oing and cleaning my rifle, and | looked
UP with no little curiosity to see three
blanketed figures approaching
In the course of four i've minutes
the Indians were squattcd at our camp
fire one of them was a big fat man with
a face like that Of woman, but with
searching PAIR Of black eyes, which
seemed 10 look one through and through -
w, had little idea who these Indians ~
were and It was not until alter a halt g
hours talk, in which exchanged
smokes" that we discovered that Our 80 :
chief visitor was no other than the
celebrated Spotted Tail. When this
fact dawned upon us, there was, as you -
7g lnis + Mas II rs H''s ya o19as @sa Who ~
had chased rs nearly two hundred 1nites, nAE
aid ne had every reason to believe
tl.t tie Chef himself was as hostile
II. intent Is any 81 his braves had been