Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-28

the opportune arrived Of a relief party
that had made q forced march. the entire
command would have been snnihilated in
the few hours following, So desperate was
the condition OF the b@eleaugured command
that they decided to first kill the two
women, one the wife Of Lieutenant Wand.
and another, a Mrs. Fessenden, and then
themselves before submitting to what
seemed almost inevitable capture.
Strange as II may appear. the two
women. who were angels Of mercy during
the entire all-day fight, caring for the
wounded. they agreed to the proposition
Of their own deaths. The Indians engaged
were under command Of Chief Red Cloud,
and while not numbering but about 100
at the beginning Of the fight at 9 o'clock
that morning, had received reinforce
ments TO the number Of nearly 1000
by shutdown when the battle ended. The
troops had retreated to a small knoll
about a quarter OF a mile from where the
attack began in the morning. and fortified
II by digging rifle pits in the sand and
thus held their own. until rescued about
shutdown, by a party OF 800 men under
General Burroughs, who was enroute back
from Fort Phil Kearney to Fort Reno for
supplies.
Fight Almost Daily.
"skirmishes and battles followed almost
daily with the Indians both az Fort Reno
and Fort Phil Kearney. In the meanwhile
a new post. Fort c. F. Smith had been
established in the Crow country, ninety
miles west of Fort Phil Kearney, and was
garrisoned by two companies OF the
Twenty-seventh infantry. All of these
posts were ~stockaded posts. and neither
ia -..-o sIn- 40 r,.-, 20 ,oryt9, than,
at the beginning Of the fall of 1866.
Fort Phil Kearney was in the very
heart of the hostile Indian country and
e]ncounter with the Indians were of daily
occurrence. Twenty-Five or thirty men
were killed during the early fall and win.
ter. including Lieutenant II. f. Bingham,
Of the Second Cavalry, a gallant and noble
fellow. Several men were killed while
on guard duty on the stockades and pickets
were constantly ambushed and killed.
Climax of the Tragedy.
9TH climax of the tragedy Of those
terrible years Of war was reached on
December 21, 1866, when a detachment OF
eighty-three men under Lieutenant Colonel
w. ]. Fetterman, Captain Fred H.. Brown
and Lieutenant George w. Grummond,
with two citizens, Jim Whcatley and Jim
Fisher, were massacred by the Indians
under Red Cloud, while out to relieve the
wood train which had been attacked by
the Indians. The entire command was
annihilated within three hours after leaving
the stockade at Fort Phil Kearney. and
within less than four miles OF the post
The firing could be distinctly heard from
the fort, at which was left scarcely 9
hundred souls, including the sick In hospi'
tai, citizens, women and children. TT
long roll was sounded and every man who
could carry a gun fell in, to go to the
rescue of Fetterman's party. A detach'
ment of fifty soldiers under command OF
Captain T. f. TenEyck hurried out tc
where the firing was heard, on the double
quick. Before the party reached the ridge
west OF the fort, which had obscured Fet
terman's command from the view of the
outlook on Pilot Hill, the firing had
ceased.
Great Numbers of Reds.
Great numbers of Indians were observed
going off toward the northwest, carrying
their dead and wounded with them, while 9
party of 200 or 800 braves dashed dowr
toward Ten Eyck's relief party and defiec
them to come on. Captain Ten Eyck was
prudent and, fearing the worst, refused tc
march down toward the ambuscade, and
the Indians drew off. The relief command
moved on cautiously and within a shor'
while found the dead bodies of Fetter'
mans command lying in two groups about
an eighth of a mile apart. The furthest
detachment of about twenty men were
found huddled closely together, all dead
scalped and namelessly mutilated. The re
naming part of the i'll fated comman
was piled up on an area OF scarcely more
than an acre in area, all dead, scalped and
mutilated. Captain Brown and Colonel Fet
terman were lying close together, eacl
with a bullet hole in the temple
the wound powder-burned which in
dicated that they had killed themselves
or each other, when all hope had fled
Lieutenant Grummond's body was founC
nearer the farther group. Wheatley ant
Fisher were lying close together, and abou
them were a hundred or more empty Henri!
rifle shells, indicating how dearly they haC
sold their lives,
'oThe bodies OK the dead we're brough
into the post. The remaining men of tn
command contributed of their own scant!
clothing to clothe the naked bodies of tn
dead, and on Christmas day the poor fl
lows were buried in two long trenches oil
a little rise back Of the fort.
Sad Christmas Day.
1T was a sad funeral, that Christina
day. For the had been MAXIM
arrangements for weeks before for a gran,
Christmas festival, only as such an enter
tainment could be designed in the remot
and indian besieged fort. But instead o
a day of joy, it was the saddest day tina
any similar number Of souls had had I
experience.
Still no achievements came to the be
leagured and decimated force, though Gen
eral Darlington had made repeated re
quests for them. For the remainder o
the winter 1t was one of incessant skirm
ish with the Indians, and so desperate ha
the situation become that the followin
summer and fall the tattered remnant
of the Eight anth infantry and Second cav
airy abando. ID Forts c. F. Smith, Phi
Kearney anC Reno and came down ont
the Platte river. Several months later tn
belated achievements came. Fort Caspe
was abandoned and Forts Fetterman an
d. A. Russell were built.
The two regiments that for nearly thre
years were trying to do the work assigne
to 10000, were at last given a little rest /
the posts nearer civilization, but not unit
they paid the penalty OF over 300 lives fo
someone's blunder.
1T was not General CarElngtonrs blundeI
Neither did Captain Ten Eyck blunde
In going TO the relief of Fetterman. II