The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1909-08-26
A CROW VICTORY.
Story OF India. tile Told
In Old Letter. - -

oAuS u ietter wnlch possesses so
much interest as a reminder of old
times in the West that it seems worth
re-printing for present day readers,
less perhaps for those resident In tae
East than for those who live in the
prosperous and growing State OF Mon
tana.
The letter was written to his young
er brothers just out Of college back in
the East by young man who was ac-
companyinS an exploring expedition
as naturalist. While lacking in de-
tails II yet paints q picture of Incl
cents that in those days happened In
the West not very uncommonly. The
Charley 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 Lin
coin, 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
cut Of existence and Reno's suffered
SO severely.
At the time this letter was written
Camp Baker and Fort Lewis were
military posts, each garrisoned by a
single company OF soldiers. They are
now the one n fourishing town on
Big Trout Creek, fork Of the Judith
River, and the other a military reser-
walton about forty miles east of Hell
ena, Mont.
The letter, dated at Camp Baker
August 1879
while you have been Staying the
woodcock right and left and now
while you are loading cartridges for
the rail have not been idle. / 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 part-idgcs. All of
them are delicious eating, and / have
done what / could to keep the camp
supplied with them. l suppose. that
In all l have killed between seventy
nve and 100 OF them, and Of these not
Blk nave been shot cn the ground. OF
course l have missed a gre " deal. but
on the whole with q properly loaded
gun l think l can stop them three
times out Of five. / have not taken
many o1rd3 as yet owing to lack Of
time. / have, however, MANAGED TO
take two specimens OF the rare Neo-
eorys sp:aGceii and two or three of
Aeglalitis asicsicu3 var, mcntanus.
Coues. Almost all Eiy grouse have
been killed with cartridges loaded for
small birds, and / can assure Won if
seems somewhat absurd to see full
grown sage grouse at twcnsy-ive
yards fall to .,aif ounce o. dust. I
killed my first dusky week or 50
ago. Have oily get three or fou:
skins.
The Gay. before vc co3 to Cam;
Lewis small r&"ty Cr Sioux came to
that rost in the cv.nirg before sunset
and tried tc run cR tie herd. Now
1t so hapr2ncl tnas there were
camped nea- Lewis about $50 lodges
OF the Noun tain Crows. 4 tribe friend
ly to the whites and bitterly hostile
to the Siou::. AS sool as they saw
the hostilcs they started after them.
The Sioux ran and at dark the trail
was lost and about three-quarters Of
the Crows-G00 in nnumbe:-:etu-ned
10 camp. The Other 100 camped on q
mountain side and sent out scouts on
the highest hills 10 watch for the en-
emy. Next morning the scouts re-
ported that the Sioux thinking all the
Grows had sono back were returning
to make another attemDt On the rcst.
ana Defore lcnS the main body of the
crows could see the enemy coming
directly toward them. Tho uniucky
Sioux came right up to where the
Crows were amblsneI 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 { great chief: in
fact, one OF their principal war chiefs.
He was named Long Horse. A Sioux
shot him in the side just below the
rlos, the ball passing just in front OF
the spine and coming out at the ther
SIDE. Long Horse fell, but managed
TO raise up again and to shoot dead
the Indian who had wounded him.
Then he died.
"We had been about an hour in
camp and Charley Reynolds and 1
were taking bath in Trout Creek
near the post. when we heard several
shots and whoops. and as three men
had been killed a few days before
within quarter OF a mile where we
were swimming, we crawled up the
bank and looked about. We saw four
Indians riding down the bluffs sing
Ing and yelDing and occasionally firing
shot. Three of them were nicely
dressed and had war bonnets trimmed
with the tail feathers of the golden