Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1909-03-26
AN ARMY
MANS
CLOSE CALL
BY BUFFALO BILL

still around the bushes and so set fire
to the timber. The smoke and flames
forced them out of their hiding place
Just as Jackson and Gerard Joined
them, having left their horses where
they first met, stutting grass in their
nostrtls to prevent them from attract
ing attention. Wrapping their blouses
around their heads, they succeeded in
escaping into the thick brush along
the bank of the creek. From here they
saw that McDougall had joined Reno
with the pack train. AT the finish of
the firing In the direction where Gus
ter was hundreds Of indians returned,
and the fight on the hill was kept up
all night. The two scouts got their
horses and, with O'Neil and De Rudio
holding the tails, decided to ford the
river under darkness at the place
where they had crossed in the morn
ing. By making a detour round the In
dams and as 1t was dark they passed
close to three bands Of red men with
out molestation, O'Neil and De Rudio
on the occasions keeping alongside the
horses and out of sight. The fourth
party came along and shouted to them
In Sioux, and Jackson and Gerard cut
loose and the two afoot' dropped and
hid in the sagebrush.
The Indians pursued the horsemen
a short distance, firing shots at them,
but did not see the two men in the
s%agebrush, although they passed in sin
gle file within three or four feet Of
them.
SO,Nof1 or1 ho raooho1 tho ford and
decided to secrete themselves and wait
until daylight. The moon came out but
dimly, and they saw a party that look
ed like American cavalry, as they were
on American horses and dressed in the
soldiers uniform, the leader riding a
sorrel horse with four white legs. He
was sure that it was Captain Tom Gus
ter. Elated, he cried out. Hello, cap
tain!" The rider stopped, and, although
they could not see him, a fiendish yell
and a volley of bullets told them they
were Indians. They rushed through
the brush, the Indians firing at the
moving bushes volley after volley.
Their escape was miraculous.
1t turned out afterWard that these
Indians by their firing spoiled a bit Of
stratagem they had arranged to deceive
Reno by dressing in the clothes Of
dead soldiers Of Clusters command,
and, equipped with clinking sabers and
on American horses, they expected to
deceive him in the night by pretend
ing to be men of Clusters party. This
firing at De Rudio and giving the In
dian yell put the Reno men on their
. guard. Proceeding on their way, two
Indians came hunting for the fugitives.
/, believing, of course. that it was only
some wounded soldier. While hunting
for them they approached within five
yards, and, evidently having seen
them, one jumped from his horse,
when De Rudio fired and dropped him
/ dead, O'Neil's carbine knocking the
other one out of his saddle and killing
him. The Indians in the hills saw the
flash and puff and fired another volley
in that direction, but the two desperate
men hastily concealed themselves be-
hind a big log which several bullets
had struck. The bullets struck the
ground within a few feet and even
inches Of them continuously.
Again the woods were fired at this
point, but as it had been rainy in the
evening the smoke was stronger than
the flames and was thus their saliva
ton, and they hid in a deep part Of
the creek with only their heads out of
water, but with their cartridges and
firearms on the bank ready for action.
They remained there and in a little
oasis of bushes that the fire had not
touched, without moving or speaking,
until 8 o'clock on the Goth Of June.
About 4 o'clock there were two signal
pistol shots fired, the Indian vedette
left his post at the ford and a loud
voice was heard haranguing the In
dams, and a ban of three or four hun
dred passed closely and rode off. They
could see them for miles down the
river and heard them singing a pecul-
lar chant. By $50 they had gone as
far as they could see, and it was evil
dent that something had caused them
to move away, as it appeared to them
that the troops must have also left the
hill.
Hungry, exhausted and dispirited,
their condition can be imagined-the
command gone, n they a hundred
miles from the Yellowstone river!
However, when everything was quiet
In the dark night they started in the
direction of Reno's retreat, and after
about five miles they came to a high
hill, from which they saw a fire. At
times the fire disappeared, and they
concluded that there must be human
beings passing around it, which hid it
occasionally from sight. But what
{ kind of human beings-Indians or
: white? There was the rub. They
crawled On with great ~cautiousness,
fearing the Indians would bave to be
crawled through ever to reach Reno,
If 1t was Reno, when their hearts were
raised by the braying of a mule. Still,
he might be a captured mule, so they
/ crept along on their bellies cautiously
: until they got so near that they heard
voices talking In English. They
crawled within a hundred yards Of
the visible party and called out to the
picket who they were, De Rudio and
' eS