Part 4 (2/2)
General Sherman had prophesied that the influx of graders, teamsters, with their following would bring enough whiskey into the country to kill off all the Indians, and that the only good Indians were the dead ones.
One of the most valuable forces during the building of the road was a battalion of four companies of p.a.w.nee Indians mustered into the United States' service under the command of Major Frank J. North, January 13th, 1865, this action being taken at the instance of General Custer.
They proved most effective, notwithstanding their somewhat ludicrous appearance. They were furnished the regular soldiers' uniform which they were permitted to modify to suit their individual ideas and taste. As a rule their head dress was the customary Indian one of feathers. Their arms were the regulation carbine and revolver of the cavalry to which they added on their own accord, hatchet, knife, spear, etc., and when fighting was to be done they would strip down to the buff or rather the copper skin.
The construction forces at this time were being annoyed by the Cheyennes and Sioux, both of whom were the bitter foes of the p.a.w.nees.
Fort Kearney was the headquarters of Major North and his p.a.w.nees and their duty was to protect the construction forces while at work.
As ill.u.s.trating conditions existing, the following is of interest: A large body of Indians appeared on the scene near Julesburg, Major North and forty of his p.a.w.nees started from Fort Kearney to the scene of the antic.i.p.ated trouble. On the way he found the bodies of fourteen white men who had been killed by the Indians and their bodies mutilated beyond recognition, their scalps torn off, tongues cut out, legs and arms hacked off and their bodies full of arrows. On arriving at Julesburg, he found the place besieged. Falling on the Sioux, he put the whole band to fight, killing twenty-eight in the transaction.
This party of Indians had but a few days before surprised a party of fourteen soldiers, killing them all. Soon after this trouble broke out with the Cheyennes. Major North and a party of twenty of his p.a.w.nees started to look into the matter, and while out, struck a band of twelve Cheyennes. Taking after them, the Major was the only one who could get near them on account of his men's horses being tired out, but being better mounted, he was able to get within gun shot and killed one of the Cheyennes. Seeing his p.a.w.nees were some distance in the rear, the whole party turned on Major North. He shot his horse, and using its body for a breastwork, fought the whole party, killing or wounding nine of them and held them at bay until his men were able to come up. This fight was considered one of the most daring on the Plains and added greatly to the fame of the Major and his p.a.w.nees.
After the completion of the road, Major North retired, and in company with W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) went into the cattle business near North Platte.
As has been stated, many of the officers and men engaged on the work were ex-soldiers accustomed to the use of arms. The construction trains and in fact all of the workers were liberally supplied with arms, princ.i.p.ally rifles, and it was the boast that ten minutes any time was long enough to transform a gang of graders or track layers into a battalion of infantry. Every man on the work was armed, and it was the custom for the graders to carry their guns to and from their work, keeping them stacked within easy distance while at actual work.
”The front” was seldom bothered. As a rule there were too many at hand to make an attack attractive. It was the little detached parties or single individuals that were most often molested. After the rails were down, the trains pa.s.sing to and from the front and the employees at the isolated stations and most especially the section gangs were in constant danger.
Among the first serious experiences was that of a construction train near Ogallala, Neb. A party of Sioux decided to capture it and compel it to stop; they ma.s.sed their ponies on the track, with the result that there were some twenty or more dead horses, without damage of any consequence to the train. The trainmen used their guns and pistols to good advantage, resulting in a number of the Indians being killed.
Later on, one of the Sioux of the party, on being interviewed, said, ”Smoke wagon, big chief, ugh, no good.”
At another time, the Indians succeeded in capturing a freight train near Plum Creek and held it and its crew in their possession.
General Dodge, the Chief Engineer, with a number of men, train crew, discharged men, etc., was running special, returning from the front to Omaha when the news reached them, and to quote the General's own words:
”They (the men on his special train) were all strangers to me. The excitement of the capture and the reports coming by telegraph brought all of them to the platform and when I called on them to fall in and go forward and retake the captured train, every man on the special went into line and by his position showed he had been a soldier. We ran down slowly until we came in sight of the train. I gave the order to deploy as skirmishers, and at the command they went forward as steadily and in as good order as we had seen the old soldiers climb the face of the Kennesaw under fire.” The train was quickly recaptured.
Another incident occurred in the same locality, four miles west of Plum Creek, in July, 1867. A band of Southern Cheyennes, under Chief Turkey Leg, took up the rails and ties over a dry ravine. It so happened that the train was preceded by a hand car with three section men--encountering the break, the car and men fell into the ravine and one of their men was captured and scalped. In his agony, he grabbed his scalp and got away in the darkness as had his two more fortunate companions. The engineer discovered the break by the light of his headlight, but not in time to stop his train, and the engine and two car loads of brick, immediately following it, toppled into the ravine with the balance of the train, box cars loaded with miscellaneous freight, piled up and round about. The engineer and fireman were caught and killed in the wreck. The conductor, discovering the presence of the savages, ran back and flagged the second section following, which was backed up to Plum Creek Station. In the morning the inhabitants of Plum Creek, together with the train crews, sallied out to give battle with the Indians, but found they had departed. From the cars, they had thrown out boxes and bales, taking from them whatever had struck their fancy. Bolts of bright colored flannels and calicoes had been fastened to their ponies, which streamed in the wind, or dragged over the prairies. Major North and his p.a.w.nees were at the front scattered in small detachments between Sidney and Laramie; within twenty-four hours they arrived on the scene in a special train. Following the trail, in about ten days they fell upon the Cheyennes, one hundred and fifty in number, and killed fifteen, taking two prisoners, one of them the nephew of Turkey Leg, their chief.
Another occurrence took place in April, 1868, near Elm Creek Station, a band of Sioux attacked, killed and scalped a section gang of five, and on the same day attacked the station of Sidney, coming out on the bluff above it and firing down on the town. At the time of the attack, two conductors were fis.h.i.+ng in Lodge Pole Creek, a little way below the station; They were discovered by the Indians, who charged on them and shot one who fell forward as if killed. The other happened to have a pistol on his person with which he kept them at a distance until he reached the station, where he arrived with four arrows sticking in him and some four or five other bullet and arrow wounds, none of which proved serious. His companion also recovered.
Another serious attack was made on a train near Ogallala Station in September, 1868. The ends of two opposite rails were raised so as to penetrate the cylinders, the engine going over into the ditch and the cars piling up on top of it. The fireman was caught in the wreck and burned to death, the engineer and forward brakeman, riding on the engine, escaped unhurt. The train crew and pa.s.sengers being armed, defended the train, keeping the Indians off until a wrecking train and crew arrived. Word being sent to Major North, who was at Willow Island, with one Company of his p.a.w.nees, he came to the scene, followed the Indians and overtaking them, two were killed, the balance escaping. The following month the same party attacked a section gang near Potter Station, driving them in and running off a bunch of twenty horses and mules. About fifteen of Major North's p.a.w.nees started in pursuit, overtook and killed two and recovered the greater part of the stolen stock.
The great battle of construction days occurred near Julesburg in July, 1869. The regulars, under General Carr, and the p.a.w.nees (one hundred and fifty); under Major North, had put in two months scouting for several bands of Cheyennes and Sioux that had been raiding through the Republican and Solomon Valleys, attacking settlements, burning houses, killing and scalping men, women and children and raising Cain generally. They ran them to earth near Summit Springs where they were encamped. On July 11th, they surprised and attacked the Indians who were under the leaders.h.i.+p of Tall Bull, a noted Cheyenne Chief. One hundred and sixty warriors were slain, among them Tall Bull. He was seen as the attack was made, mounted upon his horse with his squaw and child behind him trying to escape. Being headed off, he rode into a draw or pocket in the side of a ravine where some fifteen other warriors had taken refuge. He had been riding on a very fine horse, this he took to the mouth of the draw and shot. He then sent his squaw and child out to give themselves up; this they did, the squaw approaching Major North with hands raised in token of submission. She then advised the Major there were still seven warriors alive in the draw, entreating that their lives be spared. As the Indians were shooting at every man they caught sight of, it was impossible to save them and they were finally shot down. Among the prisoners taken was a white woman who had been captured by the Indians on one of their raids. She had been appropriated by Tall Bull as his squaw, and when the village had been attacked, he had shot her and left her in his tepee supposedly dead. Soon after the fight commenced, she was found by one of the officers who, entering in the lodge, saw her in a sitting position with blood running down her waist. She was a German, unable to speak English, and up to this time had supposed the fight was between Indians. On realizing that white men were in the vicinity and thinking when he started to leave her, that she was about to be deserted, she clasped him around his legs and in the most pitiful manner, begged him by signs and with tears not to leave her to the savages. After the fight she was taken to Fort Sedgwick where she recovered, and in a few months afterwards married a soldier whose time had expired. During the fight the troops captured nearly six hundred head of horses and mules, together with an immense amount of miscellaneous plunder, including nineteen hundred dollars in twenty dollar gold pieces that had been taken from the German woman's father at the time he had been killed and she captured. Of this sum, nine hundred dollars was turned over to the woman; six hundred dollars by the p.a.w.nees, and the balance by the regulars. Had the latter been as generous as the scouts when the appeal for its restoration was made, every dollar would have been returned.
The above incidents are but a few out of thousands that occurred during the stormy construction days. They ill.u.s.trate the trials and dangers encountered by the hardy pioneers. It was not only at ”the front” that trouble was incurred, but after the building had proceeded, the section men, station employees and train crews were in constant danger. At the stations, it was a rule to build sod forts connected by underground pa.s.sage with the living quarters to which retreat could be had in case of Indian attacks. For some time small squads of soldiers were stationed at every station and section house along the line, being quartered in sod barracks.
With the completion of the road and the establishment of regular train service, immigration soon poured in to such an extent as to make the settlers numerous enough to protect themselves, and it was not long until ”Lo,” like the buffalo, was only a memory.
CHAPTER VII.
_The Builders._
Their Material and Methods--Oakes Ames (Financier)--George Francis Train (Promoter)--John A. Dix (First President)--Thomas C. Durant (Vice President and President)--Granville M. Dodge (Chief Engineer)--Subordinate Officials--Cas.e.m.e.nt Brothers, Track-layers, Mormons--Materials Used--Their Source--Methods.
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