The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-02-03

we could do was to make q dash out
wheel and fire as quick as we could
and Kershaw with his faithful bugl
blew the charge. Riding quickl,
around the village, we made anothe
little firing at them and sounded tn
bugle charge again. A repetition O
this at another point and a bugl
charge threw them into confusion
s~tampeded their ponies, prevented
their quick mounting, and while the,
went In one direction bold Kershaw AM
myself were riding in another. Natu
rally, OF course, this gave the indiana
something to think Of in the nigh
while we got to the post and informed
Colonel Royal Of the location and, witt
Major Brown, Captain Bache, Lieuten
ant Jack Hayes apd a detachment Of
cavalry, went on the trail, which wal
followed for two days, and the Indians
were severely punished, with but few
casualties on our side.
Getting fresh meat for Fort Sheridan
we were greatly annoyed at times on
Jul buffalo hunt by being jumped by
the Indians, who In those days wera
generally out with the same obj
Many a hot skirmish or many ,
Tor 1t was necessary. Buffalo n
~ were some distance from TT
and I thought Of a trick by "
could give my red brothers a u
In a run for it a few miles from
fort was a hogback that furnished
good defensive position, and 1 hi.
often noticed that it had a long, deep,
bushy ravine. 1t was in the nature
almost of u natural fertilization. So l
thought how 1 could get them to re.
peat their many attacks on me when l
ran to this particular point, from
which 1 could signal for help to the
fort with hasty grass fires and "smoke
that talked" Buffaloes were at the
time plentiful, SO I secured Kershaw
and about fifteen good marksmen,
with provisions for the trip, and start.
ed out before daylight for the hunt.
Hiding the soldiers in this ravine, we
proceeded on our journey and had not
the wagons half filled before my
striker, Bill White, announced Indians
in the distance, land a big band, too,"
said Bill. Away we went for the hog.
back, and 1t was llckety split, with
the Indians gaining on US every min
ute. We reached 1t, threw our wagons
into position, packed u buffalo hams
out for breastworks, threw some
straw about and gathered up some
dead grass to make a signal. The In
dams, seeing it, knew that relief
would come and they hadn't a mo-.
ment to lose If they wanted our scalps.
On they came, dashing around. N.Y.
self and Transfers and five or six Of
Us banging away at them, they cir
cled around and drew off, as they
commonly did, and at a distance of
about seventy-fve yards from the am
bush. AS usual, they punched togeth-
er, listening to the. wrangle Of the
chief. Bang! Bang! Bang! And the
old Winchesters began to talk from
the ravine, while Kershaw with his
bugle blew the charge. the Indians
tumbling here, there and everywhere
out Of their saddles, the rest scattering
with the speed of jack rabbits in all
directions. Assembling on the distant
hills, they realized that the Jig was
up. particularly when they saw the
cavalry coming in the distance. Some
how or other during the remainder Of
the season they seemed to mo-
lest the butcher wagon with the same
appetite. And the fort always had
fresh meat.
A country Of such vast expanse, I'M
settled save for a few forts as places
of refuge and succor so comparatively
few in number as to be, as 1t were, like
pebbles on the seashore, rendered the
campaign in winter, with the blizzard
conditions, not only hazardous and
dangerous, but even If successfully
combated attended by excruciating SUI
fering. This the old army officers and
soldiers Of the early campaigns will
never forget. the physical discomforts
and mental worrying with climatic
conditions far excelling those that de-
feated Napoleon in his winter CAM
paign In the region about Moscow.
/ ACAulC lWO w SAlACC CAoA1RlS0s OA
one occasion I was out with some Of
the Fifth cavalry under the command
of Lieutenant Bache, a descendant of
Benjamin Franklin and a member Of a
well known Philadelphia family and,
by the way, a magnificent young off,
Ger, who in various campaigns showed
a bravery and dash that n would
not associate with his aristocratic bear
ing and extreme gentility. A blizzard
arose. Fortunately we We're a shell
ter in the shape Of some bluffs and
scattered wood. When the blizzard
was over it was necessary for us to
strike out on the path Of duty. The
thermometer was away below zero and
the wind cutting and sharp.
On coming back from the lead to con-
suit with Lieutenant Bache I passed