The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-03-30

n had done. but stopped at last and
Went back. They counted twenty-five
more dead Indians. The sun fell over
the horizon ledge suddenly, and the
sky clouded Rain began to fall. The
men lay or their backs with wide open
mouths, gasping for new life.
They won't do anything more to-
night" Grover said. From the hill
came the wailing of the squaws, mourn
ing over their dead. They counted sew
en- OF their own men dead, and eight
more wounded We're tossing in delirium.
That gave Forsyth thirty-five men to
light more than 500.
And the thirty-ffve were eating raw
meat of the horse. The rain began to
fan more heavily. and they worked in
it strengthening their pits.
The Targets Wait.
There We're no charges neNt lay. The
ri1emen shirmished along the river
banks; Something's their dropping shot
fell like hail. The sun swung across
the Sky again. and the hours went
wearily. Forsyth sent two scouts out
that second night with a letter to Sank
head at Fort Wallace. The men starved.
and watched. and fired and waited. The
bodies of meE and horses lay in the
sun. The Indians closed their lines
around them and waited. too.
The third day passed like the sec
ond. The mems heads We're dropping.
lhelr eyes were tired. The wounded
wandered half crazcd. he stencil OF
dead horses and the acrid smell of
burning powder seemed to soak into
them They felt loathsome and filthy.
-Four. five. six. seven eight: they were
not days amy longer, but alternating
sheets OF blackness and fire unrolling
painfully above them. The fight took
on some quality of unhealthy. The
parched river banks looked like colored
cardboard With rows and rows of red
men painted on it. Sometimes they
seemed to the tired eyes and weary
brains of those starving farmers not
men. but toys that moved about
spitting tlre; They felt like dream men,
only their hunger and the searching
bullets We're real. 1t was the business
or those dream men to knock over those
toys when they came near enough.
When any toys fell the painted men
moved across the screen erratically.
The passing of light and darkness
seemed bewilderine, eternal. When
night came they slept ftfully.
But tomorrow, they thought wearily.
That painted screen would unfuri UNI
der the red Sky and those red toys
would dance and spit fire again. The
hunger had stupefied them.
forsyth's account of those last days is
vague and confused. They were auto
matte. a dim hate was in their hearts,
q DINNER impulse. 10 watch and shoot.
IN thelr brains. They lay there on that
little brown patch of island in the vel
ow river bed. surrounded by those
baft1ed Indians. starving. fighting and
undaunted, waiting for death, but new
er thinking of surrender.
On the ninth day they looked again
across the sand. but there We're no In
dams. Instead, a troop of cavalry, their
w cavalry. was riding up out Of the
west. There was nc cheering. They
We're too tired to rise. 1t was some
sort of dream still. some weary, unend-
ing agony. They had been fighting In
dams for ages and the Indians had
gone. That was all.
TIL "elief column cantered to the
river bank. walked across the sand to
the sland and halted. Colonel Carpen-
ter slipped down from his saddle, found
Forsyth where he lay, and saluted.
Good morning, colonel"
Good morning. colonel" said For
syth leaning OF his elbow to return the
salute.
That was how they ended the fight of
Arickaree.