The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1906-02-15
AND RETREAT.
Continued fronn na1a 4

report or our rifles, the smoke and
cracking noise Of the fire. together with |
the great odds against US. the shouts of /
the soldiers and the yells OF the In |
dams. betokened the deadly peril from
which seemingly naught but Il miracle |
could effect our deliverance Each |
man, after discharging his rifle. drew
his revolver and used IL with terrible |
effect. as the warriors. in many in
stances. were within few feet of the |
muzZle or our arms. Stubbornly did
my brave men hold their ground: again |
and again they drove the enemy back
to the edge and in rear of the burning
mass OF weeds In our front when final
~ the Indians charged desperately and
forced our line back a few PAGES in the
center Having discharged my shot
gun, i rode at once with revolver in
hand to that point. rallied the soldiers.
who again drove them back, whilst our
horses. in some instances. were beaten
over the head with shields. The con-
test was at such close quarters that q
warrior bore Off rifle which had been
used and hung by one OF the men upon
his saddle. Meantime the Indians as
quickly as they discharged their arms.
handed them to their squaws, who ran
to the rear. reloaded and returned
them. At this juncture ] WAS pierced
in the left hand with an arrow which
passed through the reins and the fourth
finger. pinning my hand 10 the bride.
Severely wounded.
/ instantly broke the spear head and
threw Ii aside. Cnmindfui of the fact
that the feathers could not pass
through the wound. | pulled The arrow
in the direction in which IL had been
shot, and was compelled finally in or
der to free myself Of IL To seize the
feathered in lieu of the barbed end.
Thus ragged this hand-to-hand con-
fiict until all our shots were expended,
~, n o
tiveness of the horses we could not re-
load while mounted. We then fell back
about so yards and dismounied for that
purpose. Soon afterward arose from
beyond the burning heap one con-
tinuous mourning howl. such as can
alone come forth from the heart of the
red man in deep distress. These
sounds of sorrow revealed 10 me that
we were in little danger of a renewal
or the assault. and / was. | may in
truth say. most thankful for the truce
thus proclaimed. Two Of our men had
been killed and four besides myself.
severely wounded; we had also one
horse killed and several disabled. Had
the combat been renewed / would have
had, after leaving a guard with the
horses, but five or six men 10 fight on
foot.
The Indians Retreat.
Nightfall was approaching: the In
dians gathered up their dead and
wounded, and moved off toward the Rio
Grande. Our thirst, which was great
at the beginning Of the combat, had
now become intense from excitement
and loss of blood. l therefore moved
at once to Devils River. where we BIZ
vouacked about 10 p. m, and sent a
messenger to Camp Hudson for sup
plies and medical aid.
Thus closed this terrible scene. and
often since have / felt most grateful
that our horses were SO broken down, |
as but for their conditions they would. |
doubtless. when beaten over the head
with shields, have become totally un- |
and have caused the mas |
sacre of my entire command. | at |
tribute also our escape To the fact tina
the Indians did not have the self-pos- |
session to cut our bride reinS. which
act would have proved fatal to US. We
were nigh meeting similar fate TO
that of the gallant Custer and his noble
band.
/ learned after the fight. through 9th
er Indians as well as through my guide,
that the party which attacked US were
Comanches and Lipans. The exact
number of their killed we We're unable
to ascertain. owing chiefly TO the COW
er afforded by the Spanish bayonets,
but we We're confident at the hour that
it amounted to not less than nine or
10; we were equally certain that four
to one were engaged against US.
Lieut.. Fink came up the following
day with a detachment OF infantry. Our
troops returned to the scene of action
and buried the dead, as i had neither
pick nor shovel at the time of the en-
counter. Moreover l could not have
delayed thereafter for any purpose, on
account of the extreme suffering Of the
men for want Of water.
Compliments of Superior.
After a respite of a few days /
marched to Fort Clark and there made |
q brief report of the affair. which is |
now, / presume. on file in Washington. |
Gen. David f. Twiggs, commanding the
Department. shortly afterwards pub |
lished the following order:
Headquarters. Department of Texas.
San Antonio, Aug. 5. 1857.
"Sir: Lieut.. Hoods report was trans |
mitted last mail: from subsequent in |
not official, l think Lieut.. |
Hoods estimate of the Indian party |
was much too small. The same party, |
1t appears. attacked the California |
mail guard five days after, and near the |
place where Lieut. Hood had the fight, |
and they estimated the Indians TO be !
over 100. These affairs We're in the vi |
cinity of Camp Hudson. where Lieut.. |
Fink, of the Sth Inf. is stationed with |
a company of infantry. If this COM
pany had have been furnished with |
some Ii or 90 horses. the second attack |
would not probably have been made. |
Lieut.. Hoods affair was "a most gallant
one, and much credit is due TO both the |
officer and men. |
Il am, sir. very respectfully, your
obedient servant, |
"(Signed) d. f. TwIGGs.
"Brevet Major-General. L. S. A., Com |
manding Department
ITO Lieut.-Col. l.. Thomas Assistant |
Adjutant-General. Headquarters |
of the Army, West Point. New
York"
I also afterwards learned through |
the Indian Agent that the Indians at |
the Reservation stated my command
had killed - warriors during the fight, |
and that Gen. Twiggs's estimate was
about correct in regard TO numbers. |
The comparatively small loss we sus-
tanned is strong evidence that our shots
proved most destructive, and that the
Indians labored under an intense ex-
element which caused them generally
to miss their mark. The fact that we
were mounted and above their level
seems to have rendered their aim very
imperfect. as shown by the circum-
stance that one of my wounded men
whose horse had been killed, was
pierced in the back with three addi-
tional arrows Zone of which pasSed