Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1908-09-26

n few other survivors Of old For
Phil Kearny recently revisited the
scene of the Fetterman massacre
In Wyoming and took part In exer'
clses commemoratlng the slaughter
OF eighty-three men by Red Clouds
Sioux in 1856. AS in the Custer bat.
tie, there were no survivors to tell
the story of Fetterman's annihila-
tion. The bodies of the men who
were led into a trap now rest on the
brow Of Custer Hill, which has been
converted into national cemetery,
The Government has erected an Inn
pressiVe monument of powders
where Fetterman and his men fell,
and there is bronze shield thereon,
telling OF the tragedy In few sim
pie words.
The Fetterman monument is on
top of what is known as Massacre
Hill, between Sheridan and Buffalo,
Wyo., few miles north of the site
of old Fort Kearny, which was the
first outpost of civilization in that
part of the West, and where General
Darlington was practically besieged
for two years by the great chief, Red
Cloud, who Is now near death from
old age on a Dakota reservation.
Fort Phil Kearny was established on
the old Bozeman trail, over which
many pioneers were pushing their
way westward In the COS. Travel
over this trail was very dangerous,
and hardly a wagon train passed
through the hunting grounds of the
Sioux without being attacked. When
the fort was established Red Cloud
and his warlike braves were furious
and renewed their attacks upon the
white men with redoubled vigor.
General Darlington himself superin-
tended the building of the fort. He
made a strong stockade, which sur
rounded the buildings and parade
ground and constituted an impreg-
nable defense. Red Cloud was too
crafty to try to assault the fort, but
he laid constant siege to it, and no
body dared venture beyond the stock
ade without a heavy guard of SOL
diers. In the first six months after
the establishment of the fort the In
dians killed 154 persons, including
citizens and soldiers. There were
fifty-one demonstrations near the
fort, and every train that passed on
the trail was attacked.
Captain Fetterman's Boast.
The Indians particularly delight
ed in making life a burden to the
wood cutters. Near the fort was a
hill called Sullivant Hill, on which a |
sentry stood al |ay long, watching |
for signals from the wood cutters.
If an unusually large force of Indians
attacked them, the wood cutters
would signal for more help and an |
additional detachment would be sent |
from the fort. On December 2l,
1865, the lookout signalled that the
wood train had beer corralled and
was attacked in force about mile
and half from the fort. A relief
party of forty-nine men from the
Eighteenth Infantry and twenty-sev-
en- troopers from the Second Cavalry
was ordered out Captain w. ]. Fet-
terman, who had little experience in
Indian fighting, but who was brave
If somewhat impetuous officer, asked
to be put in charge of the relief par
ty. General Darlington acceded to
his request and gave him positive in
structions to relieve the wood train
and drive back the Indians, but on
no account to pursue the Indians be-
yond Lodge Trail Ridge, long, high
ridge near the fort, extending from
Sullivant Hill. With Captain Fet-
terman's party were two civilians,
Wheatley and Fisher, both armed
with new breech-loading, rapid-fr-
ing rifles, which they were eager to
try In Indian warfare.
Fetterman had made the boast
that with eighty men he could ride
through the whole Sioux nation. He
now had eighty-three men, and the
sequel proved how little he knew of
the Sioux as fighters when he made
his boast. The Indians who were at
tacking the wood cutters were soon
aware Of Fetterman's approach and
withdrew, allowing the
wood train to break coral and go on
its way unmolested. The Indians
seemed to realize that the man in
command Of the soldiers was not an
experienced fighter. They kept Just |
out of range and taunted the soldiers !
and made insulting motions, and; in
short, tried by every means to keep
the command following them. In
this they succeeded. Fetterman was
80 eager to punish the redskins that
he forgot his orders and pursued the
Sioux across Lodge Trail Ridge. Once
over this ridge he was in the power
Of the Sioux. Red Cloud had posted
hundreds of Indians in ambush.
General Darlington soon found
that something was wrong. He had
a surgeon with an escort
Of four men to Join Fettermans par
ty, but the doctor soon returned with
the information that the wood train
was all right, but that when he at
to cross the valley to join
Fetterman he found It was full of
Indians, who were swarming about !
On Lodge Trail Ridge, and that there !
was no sign of the soldiers to be OBJ t
The alarm caused by this in
was deepened when the
sound Of heavy firing was heard I
from over Lodge Trail Ridge, indicat- I
ing that fierce battle was in prog |
'ess. General Darlington dispatched
ifty-four infantrymen to relieve Fet-
.erman, and little later forty men
we're sent out, reducing the garrison
1t the fort to very small number.
indeed so small was the number of 1
defenders within the stockade that y
General Darlington released all the c
prisoners from the guardhouse,
armed all the quartermaster's en- {
,loyes and citizens and then mus i
,ered only 119 men, not enough to a
lefend the walls in case of attack.