The Bozeman courier., 1927-07-22

INDIANS are notoriousIy poor marks
men. Otherwise the history of the set
tlement of the American frontier |
would have been written in blood to |
an even greater extent than it was. The !
bow and arrow habit of the red mans an |
cestors seemed to make it difficult for him !
to grasp the finer problems OF sighting, |
the carrying power Of powder and the ef- |
feet of wind upon the bullet. Added to |
those things was the fact that the early |
day traders supplied the Indians with
very inferior grade Of gun. The old
trade muskets Of the Hudson's Bay COM |
pany formed the principal weapon OF
the northwestern Indian Tor many years. |
Pitted against the long rifles Of the
whites, they were ineffective.
In later years, however, the Indians
came into possession of weapons equally
as good as those the white men carried
and there have been many instances IN
which soldiers pitted against the hoSClleS
were armed with weapons not nearly so
good as those which the Indians carried.
The craftsmanship Of the trlbeSnan,
continued poor however, and to that
fact many Of the early day Crapper,
hunter and prospectOr who came to
blows with superior numbers OF the
Indians owed his escape and his life.
Many famous battles were fought by
white men against the Indians in the
west, in which the reds greatly out
numbered the whites and yet the latter
came off victorious Among them were
the battles Of Fort Fetterman and Fort
Phil Kearney and FOrsythe's famous
stand on the Arickares. In these en-
gagementS, however the troops were not
surprised. and although greatly out
numbered and had been expecting and
were prepared for battle. The valOr and
courage of the men who participated in
them are not to be questioned.
Colonel FOrsythe had been trailing
the Indians for many days previous 10
his engaeement with them. he was
camped on an island when the Indians.
led by Roman Nose. q famous war chief.
came openly and offered battle Roman
Nose and many OF his warriors were killed
and Forsyth's command O. SO troopers
almost annihilated.
But of all the battles ever UaEeG By
white men against Indians II the vest
ern country which emphasizes the part
that poor craftsmanship Of the Indians
played in their defeat, that o. Tazewen
Woody, Lew HubbeN and Charles Cooke
against the Sioux at the north base OF
PRYOR mountains on June "a, 1875, takes
first place. Separated when they were
individually attacked, outnumbered fully
500 to l according to their story which
was later confirmed by inquiry among
the Crow Indians who inspected the
scene of battle and followed the trail Of
the hOstiles for miles, they fought their
way into camp and after standing off
the attackers all day, escaped under
cover of night and made their way to the
Ola MISSION near WIlere LIVINGSTON now
stands, without a scratch.
Uncle John" Yancey for many years
a noted old timer and resident Of Yellow
stone Park in the early days, was present
at the Old Mission when the three men
came in there and heard their story. He
always said that the agent, one Frost,
was inclined to dispelieve the tale when
the men first arrived, but that on the
following day when the post was sur
rounded by a party Of Sioux who fol-
0Ff
head Of horses when they left, he was
inclined to believe they had told the
truth.
Uncle John" Yancey himself never
questioned their story. He knew the men
who had the adventure and he made a
trip through the region himself a little
later and, so he said, corrObOrated many
details Of the affair.
Woody, Hubbeu and Cooke were three
of the most noted hunters trapperS and
mountain men in the territory. They
had outfitted at the Old Mission for a
prospecting expedition of several months
They were well mounted and each led q
pack animal loaded with supplies and
camp equipment.
After leaving the Mission, they pro-
ceeded down the Yellowstone valley fol
several days, crossed the river and made
towards the Pryor mountains. While
skirting the northern base Of this range
they encountered Indian signs, anC
Woody, who claimed to have a "hunch'
of impending trouble, proposed that they
abandon The trip and return TO the Ole
Mission. The others. however, felt IL
no danger and finally Woody Welded Il
their way Of thinking. They wen
through PryOr's Gap and on the evening
of June % went into camp on a little
stream called BeauviaX creek, which
empties into the Little Big Horn 10 mile
below the site Of old Fort c. F. Smith.
The stream was what mountain mel
called 'pOckety." That is, it had
sharp fall, but every little ways a pocke
of level ground would open on each sid
of the stream for a distance, when tn
hills would close in again, making eacl
little basin practically surrounded b
hills. In those small basins, clumps o
box elders and plum trees grew.
n II 1