Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-01-10

briggs, and was lectured for his lack of
feeling. The band then went on to
Henry's lake.
They were now perilously near the
Grow country. briggs was inclined TO
think the Shoshones were afraid of them.
Chief Washaki, however, declared "he
was going through If it cost him half
his tribe, for he was not going to be
bluffed off his best hunting ground
any longer"
His determination must have come to
the knowledge of other members of the
tribe, as small numbers of them kept
coming in until there were 700 warriors
assembled. AS a necessary ~precaution,
what horses were o required were sent
back to the Snake river. Then the band
set out for the hunting grounds on the
Yellowstone. In order to reach them,
they must have skirted the national park,
and had not gone far before they were
warned by their scouts that a large war
party OF Sioux was in the vicinity n
camped in the timber.
Chief Washaki ordered his warriors to
90 IN and fight until there was not a
man left. Meanwhile some Of the war
riors rod up and down the line OF the
moving caravan to see that none OF the
squaws or pack horses wandered Off. On
their camping for the night. the war
chief announced, I'VE u fight or go
Ddlh, anu we lave SOllc ba\h oO LltSii
that the Crows begin to think we are
afraid of them. l feel that we ought
to give them a lesson this time that
they VIII not forget soon"
THAT is the way l look at it." said
Washaki. Now is the time to show
them that we will fight for our rights"
The rest of the warriors expressed the
same opinion.
Camp Close Together
There was no scattering that night,
for they camped close together with
hardly DON for beds. A number of war
riors were sent out to guard the horses,
which was a wise %precaution, if the Crows
had not contemplated fighting. They
were never averse to running off horses.
Nothing happened during the night.
The next morning 10 scouts were sent
out to discover the number of the enemy.
They Don returned with the startling
information that just ahead over q ridge,
a thousand Crows were encamped.
The war chief declared: I'VE will 90
on to our hunting grounds If there are
ten thousand Of them"
At N preparations for battle were
made. 1.-THE Indians painted up in grand
style. They drew black streaks all over
their faces to make them look ~fiercer,
and then we got ready and started for
ward" After going a short distance, the
M - "NAS ~ koRf oAAA VAN "SAT
riors went over the ridge u of sight.
I'VE had hardly reached the stream Of
water, before we saw Indians come up
the hill and disappear, then come in
sight again. They seemed to be fighting
fiercely and they were yelling to beat
Old Billy. They had not been fighting
over an hour before half or two-thirds
of them were on top of the hill and
slowly coming down the side towards us.
THE squaws began to cry and say
that the Crows were getting the better
of our Indians and were driving them
back. When l looked around contin-
ued briggs, the squaws were getting
their butcher knives. They were ready
to fight II they had to. Then / no
ticed our men were not coming towards
us any longer. l could see Washaki, on
his big buckskin horse, dashing around
among the Indians and telling them what
to do, and very 0 the driving turned
the other way; they began to disappear
over the ridge again and I could tell that
our Indians were beating the crows"
Guard Holds Squaws Back
While the strife endured, as may be
imagined, the squaws watched what tran
spired with intense interest, n were
ready to join in the fray at n moment
They would have done SO but for the
guard who was constantly on the watch
and herded them in.
For six hours the struggle continued,
when a wounded Indian returned and Or
dered the squaws and children back to
the lake where they were to stay until
the war chief gave another command.
They reached the lake when the sun
was an hour high.
Here about half of the warriors came
in with the war chief, who told them
to unpack and set up the tepees as they
were likely to remain there sometime.
He told them that about sunset the
Crows broke and ran, and Washaki, with
other Indians, was trying to head them
off and prevent their escaping. His idea
could attack them next day and finish
up the remainder of the party.
To aid in this endeavor the war chief
dispatched rs warriors and about 100
horses, the latter to replace those which
had been in the battle and were pretty
well used up. Twenty-Five of the Sho-
shones he reported dead, and many
wounded. At this announcement 300
squaws n papooses began to wall and
moan l asked when our turn would
come, and was told to go to Sleep" Un-
der the circumstances, even a tired boy
would have found difficulty in obeying,
as anyone can testify h has heard
only a half dozen women mourn. The
effect Of 800 OF them wailing In unison
must have been appalling.
Even the longest night will end, and
when day at length dawned, the boy
says: II saw such a sight as l had never
seen before. About a hundred Indians
had been brought in during the night.
all very badly wounded. Mother and l
went around to see them. One Door
fellow had his nose shot off and n
eye shot out He said he did not feel
very WE'LL and one is not inclined TO
doubt his assertion.
Experts in Simple Surgery
The old squaw and the boy, In max
ing the rounds Of the camp, found many
of the wounded who we're at deaths
door. How those were treated who were
not SO badly wounded is not stated.
Undoubtedly a medicine man attended
them and Gid his primitive best which
was not so bad after all to preserve their
lives. Som of these medicine men seem
to have been expert in simple surgery.
Probably the average number OF wounded
Indians who recovered would compare
favorably with those from a modern bat
tlefield. The Indians were Injured to
hardships. having led the simple life"
from childhood. They had in addition
the curative influences Of fresh noun
tain air and the wonderful sunshine OF
Montana.
Out or the battlefield lay the dead
Crows as we'll as Shoshones-and on It's
o,,%~1y~<c 1,,~Lal xvro1,or oVl Dthor hoocfc