The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-10-02

the relieving expedition. Later in
the afternoon Captain Ten Eyck S
men returned with details of the an
palling disaster. In the wagon were
forty-nine OF Fettermans men, leav-
ing thirty-four unaccountel for. Ten
Eyck had remained on the defensive
on the brow of the hill, though the
indians had tried by every means to
make MIN follow them into the val
ley. He found the bodies of the SOL
diers where they had fallen, and
there was evidence of a terrible con-
fiict on the hill. The soldiers had
taken refuge behind some huge rocks
and the forty-nine men he had
brought back were found in a space
about six feet square. They had
been shot full of arrows, scalped and
mutilated. Captain Fetterman and
Captain William Brown, the post
quartermaster, were found side by
side, each with a bullet wound N his
temple. Evidently they had stood
face to face and each had shot tae
other dead rather than be taken
alive by the Indians.
Feared Attack on Fort.
The weather was bitter cold and it
was late in December, and there was
no telling when the Indians, encour-
aged by their success, would make a
determined assault on the fort. Dut
the next day General Darlington went
in person to the scene of that battle
with a force Of eighty men, after
leaving strict instructions as to sig
nails to be fired from the fort in case
of an attack. The women and chill
dren had been placed in the maya
zine, and an officer was left in charge
OF them pledged not toilet the women
be taken alive if the general did not
return and the Indians captured the
fort
General Darlington found lodies
strung along the road to the western
end OF the trail furtherest from tne
fort. The two civilians who had &C.
conpanied Fetterman were found
behind couple of rocks. BY the side
of one were found fifty shells. and
nearly as many at the side of the
other, showing that they had made
a desperate fight. Wheatley had no
less than 105 arrows in him.
Lieutenant GruEmond was found
some distance from the others be-
hind a pile of rock, with every evil
dence of a terrible struggle having
taken place on the scene. The bodies
of the remaining soldiers, which were
stripped of clothing, were taken back
to the fort.
The weather was almost insuffe-.
able, and men and women were
forced to clothe themselves in furs
made from skins of wolves. AS soon
as possible relief was sent to the
fort.
General Darlington was relieved
OF command pending investigation
but eventually he was absolved from
blame, as it was proved that he had
given Fetterman distinct orders not
to venture into the trap which Red
Cloud had sprung so successfully.
The Government finally decided to
abandon Fort Phil Kearny, and as
soon as the post was vacated the
Sioux swept down upon it and burned
it to the ground. To-day little or
nothing remains on the site OF the
old fort. Only the embankment on
which the walls were placed remains.
The bodies of Fetterman's men re-
NAMED in the burying ground near
the site of the fort until few years
ago, when they were taken MP and
reburied on Custer battlefield.
General Darlington was deeply in
terested in going over the scene OF
his early experiences. 1t was planned
to have him meet his old foeman.
Red Cloud. probably the greatest
chief the Sioux ever knew, but the
old warrior was too feeble to be
there.
Just before the abandonment of
Fort Phil Kearny Red Cloud received
ample punishment for the Fetterman
slaughter. Captain James Powell
who had been detailed to guard the
timber cutters at the fort, repulsed
Red Cloud and his warriors in what
was known as the wagon Box
fight" a short distance from the fort
Red Cloud had assembled about g.
600 warriors, and determined to
make a direct assault on the fort
AS preliminary move he intended
to annihilate Powell and his wood
guards. No less than 500 Indians
made an attack on the wood train.
but Powell promptly corralled the
wagons, and behind this fertilization
he and his thirty-one men defended
themselves.
Unknown to the Indians the sol.
diers were armed with a new rife
of the rapid-fire type. There were
plenty of these guns, and one from
tiersman, a crack shot, had eight
loaded weapons at his elbow. He
kept these eight guns busy for three
hours. The first charge was re.
pulsed, the Indians falling in great
numbers. Four times the Indians
charged. only to be moved down by
the bad medicine guns" Final
ly Red Cloud made a last charge, but
1t was only for the purpose of get.
ting the bodies Of those who had
fallen. Red Cloud himself after.
ward said he lost 1900 followers in
that fight. The defeat disheartened
the Sioux and caused Red Cloud to
lose the prestige he had gained In his
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