Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-19

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less than a dozen surviving
- members of the Eighteenth
- United States infantry, sta
s491 toned in 1886 at Fort Phil Kear-
S2 ney, met in Sheridan, Wyo., on
July =, 3 and 4 as the special guests Of the
city of Sheridan, to go over the stirring
scenes of the time when that section was
the stamping grounds OF the Sioux Indians
under Red Cloud and his subchiefs.
The central figure of this reunion was
Brigadier General Henry b. Darlington.
builder OF Fort Phil Kearney and com
mander Of the mountain district, and then
in command OF the Eighteenth infantry,
which rendered such valiant service in that
section and lost during the first six months
of occupancy nearly 300 men killed and a
like number wounded in the fifty-two en-
gagements with Indians from July 1. 1866,
to January l. 1867.
The other survivors OF that six months
period present at the Sheridan gathering
were Mrs. H. b. Darlington formerly Mrs.
George w. Grummond. whose husband was
killed IN the Fetterman massacre of De-
cembef q, 1866; John stawn. Company II,
Second battalion, Eighteenth infantry, of
Rosalia, Wash; William Murphy, Company
A, Second battalion, Eighteenth infantry,
of Spokane, Wash; Dennis Driscoll, COM
pany c, Second battalion. Eighteenth in
fantry, Dtetz, Wyo.; Samuel Gibson, Com
pany X, Second battalion, Eighteenth in
fantry. and Samuel 3. Peters, Company +,
First battalion, Eighteenth infantry, the
two latter of Omaha; William Daily Of
Rawlins, Wyo., and Jack owen Of New
castle. Wyo, then In the quartermaster's
employ at Fort Phil Kearney.
All OF these were present at Fort Phi
Kearney when eighty-three men under corn
mand of Lieutenant Colonel w. ]. Fetter-
man were massacred by the Sioux Indians
under Red Cloud about three miles from
the post on December q, 1865, Murphy,
Stawn and Peters were of Captain T. e.
Ten Byck's command of forty-two men
that hurried to the relief of Fetterman's
when the attack on that devoted
body was first made, but were unable to
make the junction with the Fetterman
party because of a great body OF Indians
between them. The Ten Eyck party stood
its ground and after sending a courier back
for endorsements charged the Indians and
succeeded in recovering the bodies OF Fet-
terman's men. Gibson, Driscoll and Daily
were of the later reinforcing party. being
on guard duty at the fort during the fore
noon of the 21st. and later assisted in re-
covering the bodies and bringing them to
the fort that evening and the following day.
The Sheridan reunion possessed a sad
and peculiar interest to the old comrades
of forty-two years ago and was their first
meeting in that time. General and Mrs.
Darlington came all the way from Hyde
Park. Mass, and were met at Omaha by
Gibson and Peters. who escorted them to
Sheridan. The party was met at the sherl.
dan depot by a large committee of citizens.
including the mayor, George w. Berry,
secretary Of the Sheridan Chamber OF Com
merce; Colonel c.. z. A. lander, c. b.
Holmes. c. e. Stevenson, ]. d. Helvey,
DR.. William Frackelton, Harvey Mckinley
and others of the Sheridan Chamber OF
Commerce, under whose auspices the cele,
bration was given, The party was taken
90 the Sheridan Inn, and, after luncheon,
was given an automobile ride about the
city.
Upon the return OF the Darlington party
% the Inn the members were delighted to
meet William Murphy of Spokane and John
6tawn OF Rosalia- Wash, who had just
arrived from the west. Dennis Driscoll
came over from Dtetz later in the evening,
thus completing the quintet OF members
OF the Eighteenth infantry who last met
in the shadows Of the Big Horn mountains
forty-two years before. under circum-
stances so marvelously different from the
present. Then the country about Sheridan
was inhabited only by the most savage
and merciless Indians of the American
continent. who stubbornly and ruthlessly
contested every inch OF the forward march
OF the Eighteenth Infantry into this, the
hast OF their hunting grounds. For two
years this devoted regiment fought for the
possession of the country and was at last
driven back to the Platte, its forts aban-
doned and burned by the Indians lmmedi-
ately following their evacuation.
Today a peaceful village, surrounded by
the richest and most fertile Of farms,
occupies the site OF old Fort Phil Kearney.
at the forks Of the Pineys. Irrigation
bitches appear everywhere and whore once
was but the Wild native grasses and UNDER
growth are now irrigated fields Of wheat,
hay. timothy, clover alfalfa, potatoes,
barley and fruit, orchards. Well graded
roads have taken the place Of the old
buffalo and Indian trails and Just across
the crest OF Massacre hin, within a Few
feet OF the Fetterman monument runs a
large irrigation ditch. watering the alfalta
field at IT'S base. whore forty-two years
ago was fought one OF the bloodiest ana
most tragic battles OF American Indian
warfare.
The old trail down between Big ana LIT
ue Goose creeks 20 the junction OF the TWO
streams was forty-two years ago the most
dangerous stretch OF country TO traverse
on the American continent. II was theh
known as the bloody road" No white
man dared travel It. He had TO light ms
way along on the Bozeman trail nearer the
mountains. The Goose creek valley was a
ReT1table terra tncOanito. 1t WaS the RON