Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-04-17
IGNORED INDIAN WARNING
How Captain and Three Men Perished
in Blizzard in cos,

How Captain and hree men ferlsheo
in Blizzard in CO.'S.
How an Indian guide tried to pre-
vent a Second Minnesota cavalry cap
tain and squad of three men setting
out into a blizzard which cost them
their lives, is contained in story of
a storm in the SOS related by David
A. S. Britts M. D., 1929 Portland ave-
nue., Minneapolis, member Of Com
pany X, of the Second regiment, says
a st. Paul letter to the Philadelphia
Ledger.
Half of Company A, with several
members of Companies II and X, in
command of Captain ]. r. Field, left
Fort Wadsworth, n. D., February 1S.
1866, on their way home to st. Paul,
to receive their discharges" said Mr..
Britts. Their route was by way of
Twin Lakes Station, 40 miles distant,
and Fort Abercrombie, 80 miles dis
tant.
THE first 20 miles was uneventful
until we reached the Cotoes valley in
a long range of hills. About this
time the wind changed ard it began to
snow. The air hcd beer full Of frost.
1t was growing dark and / started a
fire under a log so we could warm up
a little.
The captain decided he could make
the other 20 miles before the storm,
but the Indian guide said: No, stay
here
81 must reach Twin Lakes Station
tonight Captain Field replied.
Il bid him good-by, saying, 4 shall
never see you again alive Then he
set out with his squad Of three men,
leaving me to await the arrival of the
remainder of the company and tell
them to push forward with all speed
for the station.
1.-The storm came on so fast and
with such fury that the captain and
his squad soon were hopelessly lost.
Their remains were not found until
the following May. Captain Fields
body was identified by the sword he
carried.
The storm finally drove the rest of
the command back into the valley
where Field had left u.s. Here we
kept the fire ! had started burning
for three days and saved those who
did not perish the first night of the
storm. However, we had great diff
nj mi N
members of the command, among
whom was my brother, Samuel H.
BrittS.
THE next morning 1 followed back
on the trail meeting a party Of four
men. among whom was this brother.
Then 1 learned that all except my
brother and the three other men had
crawled under a sleigh box turned up
side down and were safe.
After finding my brother l was
anxious to get the other men into
camp and 1 called on John Frost and
Turner and another member of Com
pany A to make the trip with me and
assist in the work. We were not long
in digging them out of the ten feet of
snow. All were alive except one man,
who, afraid of being smothered, had
crawled outside and had been fro
10 death. My brother had kept an air
hole open to their prison during the
night.
"The next day three Of us started
to return to Fort Wadsworth. l don't
think we had gone a mile before
found it would be impossible for us
to ride our horses. l dismounted and
told the other men, Lieutenant Stew
ems and David Robertson. to go back,
as we would all perish If we tried to
help each other. They did so.
II took a ZigZag course, and in or
der to keep warm walked with my
head against the shoulder of the ami
NAL, holding the left rein in my right
hand. Then 1 would change sides
and walk with the right rein in my
left hand. l kept this up almost the
entire distance to the fort, reaching
there at noon.
"A relief expedition Immediately
was dispatched, my brother, Joseph a.
Britts. who died two years ago, being
a sergeant in the squad.
my brother, Samuel Britts. n
years old. is living in Eureka Springs.
Arkansas"