Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-07-09
lille. s. O., FRIDAY, JULY 8, 1909.
aaiseellanenus Reading.
A CROW VICTORY.
Story of Indian Battle Told In Old
Letter.


ing for present day readers, less per-
haps for those resident in the east
than for those who live in the pros
porous and growing state Of Montana
The letter was written to his young
er brothers just out Of college back In
the east by a young man who was ac-
companying an exploring expedition
as naturalist. While lacking in detail
1t yet paints a picture Of incidents
that in those days happened in the
west not very uncommonly. The Char
ley Reynolds spoken Of in the letter
Is that celebrated scout and gentleman
sometimes known as Lonesome
Charley-who for some years was chief
of scouts at Fort Lincoln, Neb., and
who less than a year after the date
of this letter was killed by the Sioux
and Cheyennes on the banks OF the
Little Big Horn river when Clusters
command was wiped out Of existence
and Reno's suffered so severely.
At the time this letter was written
Camp Baker and Fort Lewis were mil
itary posts, each garrisoned by a sin
gle company of soldiers. They are
now the one a flourishing town on Big
Trout creek, a fork Of the Judith river,
and the other a military reservation
about forty miles east Of Helena,
Mont.
The letter, dated at Camp Baker Au-
gust /, 1875, reads as follows:
while you have been Staying the
woodcock right and left and now while
you are loading cartridges for the rail
II have not been idle. l have had my
first regular grouse shooting. The
young sharp tailed grouse are about
as large as banties, the young sage
grouse as large as common hens and
the young blue or dusky grouse about
the size Of partridges. All Of them are
delicious eating and have done what
/ could to keep the camp supplied with
them. I suppose that in all I have kill
ed between rs and 100 Of them, and OF
these not six have been shot on the
ground. OF course have missed
great deal, but on the whole with
properly loaded gun I think I can stop
them three times out Of five. l have
not taken many birds as yet owing to
lack of time. I have, however, man
aged to take two specimens Of the rare
Neocorys spragueii and two or three
of Jsgialitis asiaticus var, montanus,
Coues. Almost all my grouse nave
been killed with cartridges loaded for
small birds, and can assure you It
seems somewhat absurd to see full
grown sage grouse at twenty-fi five
yards fall to half ounce Of dust. /
killed my first dusky week or 80 ago.
Have only got three or four skins.
The day before we got to Camp Lew
is a small party of Sioux came to that
post in the evening before sunset and
tried to run Off the herd. Now 1t so
happened that there were camped near
Lewis about $50 lodges Of the Noun
tain Crows, tribe friendly to the
whites and bitterly hostile to the
Sioux. AS soon as they saw the hos
tiles they started after them. The
Sioux ran and at dark the trail was
lost and about three quarters OF the
Crows-300 in number-returned 10
camp. The other one hundred camped
on mountain side and sent out scouts
on the highest hills to which for the
enemy. Next morning the scouts re-
ported that the Sioux thinking all the
Crows had gone back were returning
TO make another attempt on the post,
and before long the main body OF the
Crows could see the enemy coming
directly toward them. The unlucky
Sioux came right up to where the
Crows were ambushed and the latter
fired and killed five, and then charg-
ing killed two more before they could
get into the timber. The Crows lost
one man, but he was q great chief; IN
fact, one of their principal war chiefs
He was ramed Long Horse. A Sioux
shot him in the side just below the
ribs, the ball passing just in front OF
the spine and coming out at the other
side. Long Horse fell, but managed
to raise up again and to shoot dead the
Indian who had wounded him. Then
he died.
I'VE had been about an hour in camp
and Charley Reynolds and were TAX
ing a bath in Trout creek near the
post, when we heard several shots and
whoops and as three men had been
killed few days before within a quar-
ter of a mile where We were SWIM
ming, we crawled up the bank and
looked about We saw four Indians
riding down the bluffs singing and
yelping and occasionally firing shot.
Three OF them were nicely dressed and
had war bonnets trimmed with the
tail feathers Of the golden eagle; the
fourth was naked, and carried In one
hand a pole, at the end Of which dan
gled a bunch Of long black hair. We
had heard about the chase after the
Sioux and saw that this must be the
Crow party returning. We hurried
into our clothes and soon saw the wo-
| men ana CnllQren coming OUT W iheee
the party. Pretty soon the process
sion came down the hill all dressed
out in the finest war costume. They
were all in black paint and some OF
them had splendid bonnets reaching
from their head away down to their
horsess fanks. Some Of them had
only shirts on and their naked legs
looked rather absurd.
Every now and then a warrior
would pass holding a scalp on a pole
and around him would be ten or doz-
en- others shouting and singing and
firing shots in the air. The same DEM
onstrations Of triumph were indulged
in when one Of the captured ponies
was driven by or when one Of the cap
tured guns was held up to view. One
old fellow had saved the whole head
of his Sioux and had spread it out and
dried it so that it was as big as din
ner plate. AS he rode along he slowly
twirled his pole so that the long black
waving hair and the bright red f1eshy