The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-03-02


in the open plain along the Boze-
man trail. Orders were at once
given to re-corral and the wagons
were put in defensive formation, en-
closing the cattle right at the river
bank. This corral was at the spot
referred to above at the west end
of the flat just above the junction
of the South Fork. 1t thus became
known to the Indians that they had
been discovered Gibboney states
that with the aid of field glasses some
of the men then observed that the
Indians had concealed their ponies
in the pine growth on the side of the
foothills along the northerly ledge
of the river bank and the Indians
were now to be seen returning to
their ponies and remounting; and
they were of the impression that the
Indians had hidden their ponies in
the pines while they themselves went
in ambush in the ravine through
which the Bozeman trail passed, as
above mentioned. This was probably
the case, for the Indians did not usu-
ally leave their horses and fight dis
mounted except to fight from am
bush.
Captain Townsend had with him
couple of experienced guides, Bou-
lier and Richards, and he sent them
forward to parley with the Indians.
They returned and reported that the
Indians wanted something to eat, and
advised that they be given food,
which was done. The Indians then
suggested that the wagon train
should proceed; the guides protested
against this, however, stating that it
was probably the intention of the
Indians to try to get the wagon train
in position to stampede the cattle
and thus render the train helpless
to proceed. Subsequent events show
ed that the guides were right in their
Judgment. Townsend refused to
advance, but instead made display
of strength, ordering out all his men,
about three hundred in number
(there were about $50 wagons in his
train). He also directed that those
of his men who were mounted on
horses should go back and look for
the man who had gone out for the
strayed COW. But when the mounted
men made the sortie towards the rear
the Indians advanced, commenced
firing upon the riders, and the battle
was on. The scalp found by our
party in a tree top few days later
was mute evidence that the attempt
to rescue the man who had gone back
for his COW had not succeeded. Whe-
Their he had been murdered by the
sayages before or after this attack
is, of course, not definitely known.
From the fact that the scalp was
left on the tree, however, / surmise
that what took place was this: The
Indians, watching every movement
around the train from their places
of concealfnent, had followed him to
the rear, crept upon him, shot him
down with their arrows, and scalped
him. These Indians then probably
to crawl as close as pos
sible to the rear of the camp. When
mounted men started to
ride towards the rear, they would
come upon the unmounted Indians;
and the latter hastily concealed the
scalp in the tree top in order not to
be discovered with the scalp in their
possession; this being before HOSTILE
ties began, these roaming Indians
not knowing then that their band
would make an open attack. This
would account for the abandonment
of the scalp.
This situation may also explain
why the Indians were so prompt in
the mounted men. Accord
ing to usual Indian tactics, they
would have been expected to wait I'M
til the mounted men we're some dis
lance from the corral and would have
then endeavored to cut them off from
the camp. The fact that they at
tackled at once suggests that this may
have been intended as a diversion
on their part in order to afford the
Indians lurking to the
east of the camp an opportunity to
escape. Or If, as is possible, the man
who had gone back towards the rear,
had already been murdered by them,
they may have assumed that the
train had in some manner learned of
his murder, and that the mounted
men were setting out to punish his
and they planned to at
tack before the latter were over
aiken.
The Indians possessed some fire
arms, but many of them were equip
Jed with bows and arrows, and the
ocation of the first attack on the
men was probably about
Concluded on Agricultural Page)