The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1910-09-09
SCENE OF INDIAN BATTLE IN
SPRING OF 1854 DEFINITELY :.
LOCATED.
AFTER FORTY SIX YEARS
North, Dakota Historical Society Pro.
poses 70 Erset Monumen: on His.
Spot In Bad Lands-Fierce
Fight.


E..kota Historical society with S. =.
Campbell Of Sentinel Butte. acting us
guide. has locn;ed the sit. oe the bat
tle Of Kildeer n ountain- no engage
men fought on North DAKOTA soil in
civil war days-and traced the route:
followed by General Sul:y ana lis
army and kept diary Of the cEtlr.
catnpaign. He has not been liza IL torthc
scene Of the battle in forty six
years, but by the aid Of his diary. was
able to take Mr.. Fish over the line of
march below Dickinson, north, to the
exact place Of the mountain, as it is
known, was fought on July %, 1864.
He also found the coulee on the side Of
the mountain, where the. 5000 Sioux
had their camp.
1t is the purpose Of the State Ills
torical society to erect monuments on
the battlefield and at several points
along the line Of march. AS Sully's
campaign was, in the opinion of many,
the most conspicuous episode of from
tier times in North Dakota, the people
of the state are manifesting much in
terest in the fforts Of the society to
commemorate it in suitable manner.
Kildeer mountain, the highest peak
In the brakes south of the Little Mis-
souri,, is, the only heavily wooded spot
in the region. For this reason deer
and other game were plentiful there in
early days. The Indians called it "Ta-
Ha-Kouty,' meaning the place where
We deer and frequently camped
there to hunt. Berries and nuts grew
in profusion upon the mountain and
these, as we'll as game, attracted the
red men.
In the spring and summer of 1864
an unusually large number of Sioux
were in camp there. It was not a
hunting camp, however, as it transpir-
ed, but war camp, for the Sioux, like
the Indians elsewhere in the north, had
decided to take advantage of the time
of war to stir up trouble. News of
the threatening rendezvous of the In
dians in the Bad Lands reached the
war department, and in May, General
Sully was ordered to leave Sioux City
and penetrate the wilds of western
North Dakota with the purpose of
seeking out the rendezvous and scat
tering the tribes.
His army made its way up the Mis-
souri, to Fort Rice and thence struck
out across country into the dangerous
Bad Lands. The first day out, the
scouts met party of Indians and had
q skirmish with them, but it was not
until the third day and after sixty
seven miles Of rough country had been
traversed in series of rapid marches
that the soldiers encountered Inc main
strength of the war party near Kill
deer mountain.
The battle began at in the morn
ing and lasted through the day. Few
of the Indians had guns and their at
tack was made in true red man fash
ion with war clubs in a hand to hand
fight and with arrows shot from be-
battle came when a horde of the In
dams with fendish yells made a rush
from the rear for the twelve cannon
brought along by the soldiers. The
unexpected burst Of grape shot which
greeted them sent them fleeing in a
panic. The hest Of the tribes were
soon on the run for the hills.
General Sully and his army camped
that night near the battlefield. The
dead were buried and horses staked
over the graves to efface signs of the
burial places. An attempt was made
the next day to pursue the Indians
through the Bad Lands, but it was
found so difficult that the chase was
given up. The abandoned camp Of the
Indians was found on the mountain
and the 1000 .tepees, a large amount of
dried venison, blankets and camp be-
longings were burned. q
While the soldiers were bivouacked
that evening near the mountain, 600
of the Indians made wild dash
through the camp, supposedly with the
intention of stampeding the horses.
Two guards were killed but aside from
that the. raid accomplished nothing.
All that night the battlefield near by
was lighted UP with the fiickering tor
ches of the Indians who had stolen
back after their dead and wounded.
Two thousand two hundred soldiers
Aand about 5000 Indians were engaged
in the battle Of Kildeer mountain.
General Sully reported $50 Indians
killed, but Mr.. Campbell is Of the opin.
ion that the number was much larger.
General Sully continued his cam
paign for some time after the battle OF
the mountain. bur. It proved, however,
to be only the beginning Of the conflict
between the soldiers and the Sioux.
The elimination did not come until
twelve. years later, when the Custer
massacre occurred.
First Fair for New County.
Bowbells.-The first fair to be held
in Burke county newly organized ,Iwill
very likely take place this fall. The
Burke County Fair association, crgan-