davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05

muskets and the sharp crack OF
Winchesters-the Crees had both
saw four of the charging band drop
in their tracks and three more, reel,
fall and start to crawl painfully back.
The rest kept on, now shooting, too,
and several more fell. Then, as sud-
denly as they advanced, they began
to retreat bringing with them the
dead and wounded. They could not
stand the awful fire from the pits.
Out over the plain, too, were running
lot of frightened yelping dogs in
all directions and when we saw them
we knew the enemy were Crees, for
they, only, took dogs to war.
''As the warriors, carrying their
fallen comrades, approached the
creek, the women and children rush
ed out to meet them, and then what
walls and shrieks rent the air as the
dead father and husband, son and
brother were recognized. The sight
was heartrending. | went over
among them to see what 1 could do
toward caring for the wounded, but
they would have none of my poor
skill. The medicine men waved me
away and instead of washing and
binding the gaping wounds, they put
chewed up roots upon them, beat
their drums and performed lot Of
mysterious rites.
while I was looking on the war
riors held a short council, and then
the horses were driven in, each one
caught and saddled his favorite, and
once more they went charging out
towards the pits. The plan was to
circle round and round the enemy as
near as possible and shoot into the
pits and depend upon their tremen-
1ous speed and shelter of the horses
to avoid being hit. They did the
best they could, but, like the other
attempts, it failed. Four horses and
.wo riders were killed in very short |
line and the rest came sorrowfully
pack.
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05

them appealed to her grandson, a lad
of IL or IA years, to go over and
look around the spring. Mounted on
his pony, which had not yet been I'M
saddled, he rode away.
81 had just turned my horses loose
and was piling the harness in the
wagon, when I heard couple of
shots and turned just in time to see
the boy falling from his horse, which
came galloping back toward us. The
women were busy putting up their
lodges when the shots were fired,
and the men, as usual were lounging
around in little groups, talking and
smoking. At the sound of the guns
there was instant confusion and ex-
element. Half erected lodges went
down with crash, shrieking wom-
en-, squalling children, bowling dogs
ran wildly about, eventually making
for the creek and taking shelter be-
hind it's banks. The men, with one
accord, grasped their weapons and
started on run for the place where
the boy had fallen, and, believing
that whatever was about to happen
was no concern of mine, I climbed up
on the seat to take in the whole
thing
1.-THE warriors, SO all told, includ-
ing few old men who had long be-
fore given up the chase and war,
rushed bravely on, their chief, Crow
Wing, leading and encouraging them.
could make out the form of the
fallen boy from my elevated position,
but nothing more. The plain seemed
to be devoid of living thing. But
from experience l knew, and so did
everyone else, that somewhere near
were some cleyerly-dug pits and in
those pits were some determined In
dams who would grimly fight and de-
fend themselves to the last.
80 it was. The Blackfeet had
reached the dead lad when
clouds of smoke burst from the
ground and with the booming of old |
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05
-..-. HE ThFSEE BUTTES OF SWEET GRASS

think we'll fight you any more where
you are. Well just starve you out
and finish you up on the open plain.
Wen just stay here and starve you
in your holes or you'll come out and
fight like men,
THE old fellow meant what he
said, but the younger and hotter
heads of the camp would not agree
to it. They insisted upon making
one more charge and said this time
there would be no retreat; that they
would stay at the pits until the last
Cree was killed. The chief had to
give in, although all the old men, and
I, too, took his part; and since a
charge was to be made, of course
They started; this time on foot and
sounding no war cry. As usual no
shots came from the pits until they
were right on them, and then the
cracking of rifles was as rapid from
both sides as the explosion of a
bunch of fire crackers. Again the
smoke HID them from our sight for a
moment or two, and again the Black
feet turned and ran back, this time
with three dead and seven more or
less seriously wounded.
s'If the camp was in mourning be-
fore, it was now a solid community
of weeping and wailing women and
children. The dead were taken away
up the stream for burial by their
sorrowing mothers and wives, and
the medicine men were buster than
ever with the wounded. A few men
kept watch on the Cree pits and the
rest of us went out on the plain be-
yond the sound of the mourners'
doleful cries.
There we stayed all day. The
fight, the fearful loss, was talked
over again and again. With the old
men i argued that enough blood had
been shed and that the surviving
crees should be allowed to go in
peace. We carried the question and
bout noon Crow Wing again ap-
1roached the pits. After assuring
ind that no shot would be fired, he
lsked him how many men he had
eft.
"'Alas,' Little Bow replied, only
light of US now survive; but still we
lave plenty of water, plenty of cart
idges.'
"sYou will not need the cart
idges,' said the Blackfeet chief AL
eady too many of my warriors have
een killed and we have decided to
light you no more. You may go when
GU will
"True to the chiefs word, no fires
yere built that night and no one
PATCHED to waylay the enemy. A
.uard only was placed about the
amp and the horse herd to prevent
urprise. In the morning we ap-
reached the pits; step by step we
yalked up to them, our guns ready
0 be used if necessary. There were
2 of them and in all but four we
ound a dead Indian Two of the
arty, it will be remembered, had
cen killed out on the plain the
light before; their chief then had
Oddly lied when he told Crow Wing
nat eight survived, for only he and
mother left the place alive"
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05

/ Presently the warriors started
out again, carrying huge bundles,
which / made out to be punches of
lodge poles wrapped in lodge skins
and securely dashed with lariats.
They carried them to within 100
yards of the pits, placed them to the
north, south, east and west of the
ambush, and then, lying down behind
began to roll them ahead. At first
sight the scheme promised we'll
Keeping flat on the ground the
Blackfeet wriggled and writhed
bundles which they pushed forward
inch by inch, foot by foot. Under
cover of them they could undoubted-
ly arrive safely at the very edge of
the enemy's position. But what them?
Would the attacking party be brave
enough to rush out and, in the face
of the terrible fire which would
meet them, stand there and fight un-
til the last occupant of the pits was
killed.? 1t meant the certain death
of at least half of them. 1t was
about the most exciting 20 minutes
/ ever experienced. / couldn't sit
still, and walked nervously up and
down, more than half inclined-just
itching, in fact-to rush out and join
in the row.
A Rolling Breastwork
"The rolling bundles were now
quite close to the point of conyerg-
ence and were moving more slowly |
Now they stopped and the warriors |
sprang up from behind them, num-
har1ncc chofc MI M o1n
of smoke obscured everything. Then |
the firing suddenly ceased and the
next instant the Blackfeet were re-
treating once more and l saw that /
they were bringing several dead or
with them. l found that
there were no wounded and that
every one of the five dead had been
shot in the upper breast or the head.
"'When we jumped up Crow
Wing said the Crees had their guns II
already in position and fired before
we could take aim Then the smoke
got so thick we couldn't see them |
and we had to guess where to shoot. ];
But they could see us for they were /:
below the smoke and mySmen kept
falling, one after another, until five
we're down. l saw we had no show {
hen and called out to retreat We
lust couldn't stay there any longer /
A Farley
early the next morning Crow I
Wing approached the pits near I
enough to be heard and called out, If |
my of you can speak Blackfoot, let +
lin stand up. No shot will be fired J
Little Bow stood up and asked in
air Blackfeet what was wanted. In '
,arlier days both tribes had been on Y
terms and learned a little 6
# each others language. lie
I" How many men have you? ask S
d Crow Wing. T
+" There were % of us; 1 1 remain, Y
eplied Little Bow. 1t
" VIII you come out and fight II
f us?' II
No, we still have plenty of water p
nd plenty of cartridges. and will b
light from where we are to end n
All right said Crow Wing, b
urning on his heels. All right, lit
bought you were towards. / don't a
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05

Up toward the Ii, snwestels. cor
ner of Montana, where the grea
plains OF the Missouri end at the foo
of the Rockies, were to be found, a
the time this story was narrated
nearly all of the few surviving trap
pers, traders and hunters of the OLE
frontier days. Most of them were
married to the Indian women of thu
Blackfeet tribe and owned ranches
on the various streams running
through the reservation where woot
and hay was abundant and the range
for their cattle unexcelled.
Whenever a few of these old tim.
ers met, story telling was in order
and often the sessions were kept UP
for several days, SO great a delight
did they take in recalling the scenes
and adventures of their early life.
Among these was Louis Cobell,
who, at one of the sittings told story
of particular interest.
"Those were exciting times" he
said. Each day was full of sur
prises and adventures and no one
could say what the morrow had in
store, for the unexpected was al
ways happening. wish / could live
it all over again. Talking about
fights, I believe / had one expert
ence such as falls to the lot of a few
of u.s. was a spectator of fight
between some Blackfeet and Crees.
ITO tell the story rightly, I'll be-
gin with the Cree side of it, as told
me some months later by one of the
survivors. l was with the Black
feet at the time it happened, but l
traded with both tribes, so it wasn't
long before I CHANGED to hear the
Crees' account of it.
''In the fall of 1877 the Crees were
camping and hunting in the vicinity
of Cypress hills, about 200 miles
east of the Rockies and just south of
the international line, and one day
party of young men started out to
make a raid on the Blackfeet, whom
they supposed they would find some
where along the. Marais, or as the
tribes called it, the Bear river, about
$50 miles to the southwest. There
were % men in the party, including
chief of the tribe and somewhat
uOIcu do IueulClHG man anu md-
gician.
Start of the War Party.
1.-THE party started out in great
style, heavy work dogs carrying
their little store of provisions and a
robe or two, while their owners
strobe lightly along beside them, all
decked out in their war clothes of |
feathers, fringe and ermine skins, |
their faces literally streaked and |
crossed with bright-hued paints. |
Everything was propitious; the medi-
cine men in secret council had found |
The signs right and had predicted |
hey would return safely with large |
numbers of the enemy's horses. A
hundred miles west of Cypress hills |
ire the three buttes of Sweet Grass,
yet In vast expanse of grassy plain.
they are far to the right of direct
inc to the Marias, but the war par
y headed for them in order to OBJ
ain good view of the surrounding
country from their submits.
From the southern face of the
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05


Imountali- Ialr-slzed sCfea.---, ol1es
out of a rocky canyon, and, flowing
through the plain for several miles
finally sinks into the thirsty soil. The
lparty was crossing a wild meadow OF
tall grass bordering this stream,
when they saw two horsemen ride up
on ridge several miles to the south
of them. Quick as flash they drop
ped into the tall grass, SO quickly
that they were not discovered, and
presently the horsemen rode away
out of sight.
Now then, quick said Little
Bow, those riders are surely the
scouts of a Blackfeet camp COM
| ing this way. We have no time to
retreat to the butte and must con-
ceal ourselves here. Go to work with
Iyour knives and dig holes; dig them
close together and do not pile up the
dirt. Scatter it far out in the grass
and perhaps we will not be discov-
ered.'
"The knives used by the Crees in
those days were traded to them by the
Hudson Bay company and were To-
cally known as beavertails for they
were wide, flat, long, sharp on each
edge, and altogether massive piece
of steel. The soil was soft, and,
sDurred on by the imminent danger
of their position, the warriors made
the dirt fairly fly as they sIashed and
chopped and gouged it and threw it
far out as a sower scatters grain.
Down they went until each had ex-
cavated a hole large enough to con-
ceal himself and his dog.
Blackfeet Pitch Camp.
ut was about this time that we
hove in sight l was with about 80
lodges of the Blackfeet who had left
the main camp on the Marais for
short hunt and thinking that there
would be big killing of beaver and
other fur, I had brought along a
wagon load of trade goods. We came
leisurely up toward the butte, and ar
irving at the high grass meadow, de-
termined to camp. The place selected |
was midway between the stream and |
a large spring, and as soon as the |
horses were unpacked couple of
old squaws started for the spring to !
get some water, instead of drawing it
from the creek, which was nearest. |
Buckets in hand they were chatter
ing along when their dogs began to
show signs of fear.
''They shifted the air uneasily,
oristling up their hair and finally
SUNK growing behind their owners.
Aeenly alive to the dangers which
constantly beset their wandering life,
hese women ran hastily back to us,
frying out that the enemy must be
near; that their dogs had warned
hem as they approached the spring.
II was busy unhltching my team at
he time, and, like everyone else, af
er glance in the direction indi
ated by the old women laughed at
heir fears. The plain was absolutely
eyel for some distance west and
forth, and it seemed impossible that
could be upon it and not
'e instantly seen. But the old wom- {
N would not be treasured; they per-
listed that they were not mistaken;
hat their dogs had given them fair s
and dogs, they said, unlike {
eople, never lied. At last one of {
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05

| who had fallen asleep back to life
| To sleep was death.
Finally, with hope abandoned and
death near, they came to a lonely
cabin, where a white man and his In
dian wife lived. There frozen hands
| feet, ears and noses were thawed out
and messenger sent on in few
hours to Fort Robinson, Is miles
away. The next day ambulances anC
medical aid were sent out and the
men taken back to the fort.
Men in Terrible Shape
Most of the men were in terrible
condition, suffering permanent inju-
ries that made their discharge from
the service necessary. When Henry
entered his quarters his wife did not
recognize him. His face was blacI
and swollen. His men cut the bride
reins to free his hands and then slit
his gloves into strips. Each strip
brought a piece of flesh with it as i
was pulled off. All his fingers were
frozen to the second joint, the flesh
sloughed off, exposing the bones. One
finger had to be amputated, and to
the day of his death he never was
able to close the fingers of his left
hand again. 1t was only due to his
indomitable persistence that every
man in the command was not frozen
to death that awful day.
But his heroism and suffering on
that occasion was nothing to what he
experienced two years later. Just
before the Custer massacre, General
Crook, with some LOO men, moved
out from Fort Fetterman, Wyoming,
on the expedition that eliminated in
the Battle of the Rosebud. Colonel
w. B. Royal had command of the
cavalry, and Henry led the left batta-
lion of the mounted troops.
Henry's CHASTITY Experience
One morning in June the Sioux and
under Crazy Horse, at
.acked the command The left wing,
lnder Colonel Royal, was isolated In
| ravine, surrounded by force of
indians that outnumbered them five |
o one. The rest of the command,
heavily engaged, could give them no
,elp. The Indians made charge after
barge upon the troops, who had all
excepting the officers.
Henry, cool as an iceberg, rode up
nd down the thin line, steadying and |
lolding his mon. Once he led . dar-
ne charge and rescued : company
hat the Sioux had cut offsand would i
ave been killed to man, except for
Ienry's action.
At last In one Of the furious It. i
acks Of the Sioux Henry was shot In
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05

| the face. A rifle bullet struck him
under the left eye, passing through
the upper part of his mouth under
the nose and came out under the
right eye. The shock was terrific,
but with blood flowing in two great
streams he remained in the saddle
and tried to steady his troops. In
the act of squirting his horse forward
in a charge he fell, unconscious, to
the ground. 80.
At that instant the Sioux charged
in an overwhelming onslaught
Henry's men, deprived of their lead
er, gave back. The Indians galloped
over Henry's body, but fortunately
he was not struck by hoof. Chief
Washable, of the friendly Shoshones,
who was fighting with the whites,
rallied few of his braves and fought
desperately over the body of the fall
len officer, preventing him from be-
ing scalped and killed
The officers of the Third cavalry
speedily reorganized the wavering
troops, drove back the Sioux and re-
occupied the ground where Henry
lay. When he was finally taken to
the surgeons he could not see at all
could scarcely hear and breathed
with difficulty. AS the doctor bent
over him he heard Henry humble,
Elk me up SO that / can go back.
ssWhat We're Here For'
Through the long, hot day, he lay
in the sun, suffering untold agonies
from his wound and lack of water to
drink. Late in the afternoon an Of
ficer leaned down to him with an ex-
preston of commiseration- cts all
right, Jack gurgled from the mouth |
Of Henry, between spurts of blood;
its what we're here for"
John F. Finerty, correspondent OF
he Chicago Times in the field, who
was present and who related that In
;ident, said that Henry, Immediately
liter that remark, advised Finerty to
DIN the army!
The battle ended without victory
or either side. There we're rracti-
ally no facilities for treating the
wounded. No one expected Henry
o live through the night. He did
lot expect to live, himself, and re
ay through long hours listening to
he men digging graves for thooe who
lad fallen But when morning came
. was alive and they sent him back
o Fort Fotterman, 200 miles away,
ID q stretcher made of two sap1fngs
nd q couple Of blankets, with two
rmy mules between the saplingl
oles-ona at each and. The nights
vere bitterly cold and the days hot.
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05

which captured the enemy's trenches
His third horse was shot under him
as he leaped the breastworks.
Small and why, he was described
by his men as being thin as shoe
string and brave as lion." Sudden
as thunderbolt and swift as hawk
when ne struck the Sioux war par
ties, in his family and social rela-
tions he was a kindly, considerate
gentleman. He could kill in battle,
but never cruelty, mercilessly.
March in a Blizzard
At the close of the Civil war Gen
eral Henry was transferred to the
Third cavalry, regiment with which
he was destined to win lasting re-
nown. 1t was hard for men who had
exercised high command and had
proved their fitness for it. to come
down from general officers to troop
leaders, but Henry accepted the stu
alton cheerfully. He was as proud of
his troop as he had been of his bril-
gade of volunteers. His new detail
took him to Arizona, where for two
years he commanded battalion en-
gagged in hard scouting among the
Apaches. The winter of 1874 found
him removed to the Black Hills III
Dakota. While there he was order
ed to go into the bad lands to remove
certain miners who were supposed to
be there in defiance of certain treaty
stipulations with the Sioux.
The day after Christmas, with his
own troop and Is men of the Ninth
infantry under Lieutenant Carpenter.
with wagons, rations and forage for
80 days, the men set forth. The ex-
petition involved a march of 800
miles over the worst country for |
travel, that could be imagined and |
with the thermometer registering
from 20 to 40 degrees below zero.
The miners were not found, and oh |
the return journey Henry's little
was caught In a blizzard.
A gale swept down from the north
with a temperature of 40 degrees be-
low zero. 1t was impossible to make
camp as there was no shelter near.
It was considered safer to walk than
to try to ride, SO the troopers dis
mounted and struggled on. Many i
men sank exhausted, but wore lifted
10 their saddles and strapped there,
Henry doing this with his own hands.
Finally the whole party got 30 weak
hat 1t was impossible for them T.
proceed. In desperation they mount
I'd the exhausted horses and tried to
'orce them along with Henry leading. II
Time and time again the intrepid
voung officer rode back and beat mon
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05
EM GENERAL HENRY, HERO OF SIOUX WARS, LED HIS FAMOUS
BRUMETTES 108 MILES AND FOUGHT TWO BATTLES M 81 HOURS

leave, and then came back to duty.
In 1877, when his troop was ordered
to the front in another campaign un-
der Crook against the Sioux, he in
sisted on accompanying them. He
had been out only an hour when he
fell fainting from his saddle. He in
sisted on being left under tree with
couple of troopers, and when an
order came to him from the COM
manding officer to return to the fort.
(Concluded on Agricultural Page)
The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-11-05

Who was General Guy V. Henry
and why is his name entitled to a
place in Montana's hall of fame?
There are few Montanans of today
who could answer that question by
stating that General Henry was the
most gallant soldier who ever wore
the uniform of Uncle Sans army and
fought within the borders of this
state; or who could tell the story of
the most famous ride ever made by
American cavalry, led by General
Henry, in the Wounded Knee cam
paign of 1890, when the army had
its last brush with the Indians of the
northwestern states.
Modest as he was brave, General
Henry never courted publicity, and
little has been written of his exploits
in the old Indian fighting days. There
are army officers whose names are
household words who were not half
the soldiers that Henry was, and yet
when the latter died in Porto Rico
after making a record as the best
American governor that island has
ever known, little was said of his re-
markable exploits as fighter in
Montana. He has never been given
the credit to which he was entitled
in the annals of our Indian warfare.
General Henry was West Pointer
and the son of an army officer, hay-
ing been born at Fort Smith, Indian
Territory. Graduating from the
military academy In 1851, a mere
boy, he took part in the hardest
fighting of the Civil war for four
years, and at the age of % he was
appointed colonel OF the Fortietb
Massachusetts, Volunteers, "a regi-l
ment that never was whipped" The
brawny Yankees of that regiment
laughed at the beard1ess STRIPPING
that was given command, but he
soon won their respect and confid-
ence, and the veterans of that regi-
ment who survive today still love his
memory.
During the war Henry was three
times mentioned in dispatches, and
brevetted five times for conspicuous
gallantry In battle, and at the end
of the war he held the rank OF briga-
der general. For heroic and sue
ccssful leadership in the fiercest
fighting 1T Cold Hafbor he received
the highest distinction that can come
to q soldier the Congressional
medal of honor. Having two horses
shot from under him III IN attack on II
the Confederate lines. he sefsed q
third from trooper, mounted the
animal under = withertng fire and
led bis men forward in final assault