Part 34 (2/2)
First going to the tent of the adjutant and arousing him, I procured an experienced a.s.sistant in my labours. Next the captains of companies were awakened and orders imparted to them. They in turn transmitted the order to the first sergeant, who similarly aroused the men. It has often surprised me to observe the alacrity with which disciplined soldiers, experienced in campaigning, will hasten to prepare themselves for the march in an emergency like this.
No questions are asked, no time is wasted. A soldier's toilet, on an Indian campaign, is a simple affair, and requires little time for arranging. His clothes are gathered up hurriedly, no matter how, so long as he retains possession of them. The first object is to get his horse saddled and bridled, and until this is done his own dress is a matter of secondary importance, and one b.u.t.ton or hook must do the duty of half a dozen. When his horse is ready for the mount, the rider will be seen completing his own equipment; stray b.u.t.tons will receive attention, arms will be overhauled, spurs restrapped; then, if there still remain a few spare moments, the homely black pipe is filled and lighted, and the soldier's preparation is complete.
The night was all that could be desired for the success of our enterprise. The air was mild and pleasant; the moon, although nearly full, kept almost constantly behind the clouds, as if to screen us in our hazardous undertaking.
I say hazardous, because none of us imagined for one moment that if the Indians discovered us in our attempt to surround them and their village, we should escape without a fight-- a fight, too, in which the Indians, sheltered behind the trunks of the stately forest trees under which their lodges were pitched, would possess all the advantage. General Hanc.o.c.k, antic.i.p.ating that the Indians would discover our approach, and that a fight would ensue, ordered the artillery and infantry under arms, to await the result of our moonlight adventure. My command was soon in the saddle, and silently making its way toward the village.
Instructions had been given forbidding all conversation except in a whisper. Sabres were disposed of to prevent clanging. Taking a camp-fire which we could see in the village as our guiding point, we made a detour so as to place the village between ourselves and the infantry.
Occasionally the moon would peep out from the clouds and enable us to catch a hasty glance at the village. Here and there under the thick foliage we could see the white, conical-shaped lodges. Were the inmates slumbering, unaware of our close proximity, or were their dusky defenders concealed, as well they might have been, along the banks of the p.a.w.nee, quietly awaiting our approach, and prepared to greet us with their well-known war-whoop? These were questions that were probably suggested to the mind of each individual of my command. If we were discovered approaching in the stealthy, suspicious manner which characterized our movements, the hour being midnight, it would require a more confiding nature than that of the Indian to a.s.sign a friendly or peaceful motive to our conduct. The same flashes of moonlight which gave us hurried glimpses of the village enabled us to see our own column of hors.e.m.e.n stretching its silent length far into the dim darkness, and winding its course, like some huge anaconda about to envelop its victim.
The method by which it was determined to establish a cordon of armed troopers about the fated village, was to direct the march in a circle, with the village in the centre, the commanding officer of each rear troop halting his command at the proper point, and deploying his men similarly to a line of skirmishers--the entire circle, when thus formed, facing toward the village, and, distant from it perhaps a few hundred yards. No sooner was our line completely formed than the moon, as if deeming darkness no longer essential to our success, appeared from behind her screen and lighted up the entire scene. And beautiful it was! The great circle of troops, each individual of which sat on his steed silent as a statue, the dense foliage of the cotton trees sheltering the bleached, skin-clad lodges of the red men, the little stream in the midst murmuring undisturbedly in its channel, all combined to produce an artistic effect, as striking as it was interesting. But we were not there to study artistic effects. The next step was to determine whether we had captured an inhabited village, involving almost necessarily a severe conflict with its savage occupants, or whether the red man had again proven too wily and crafty for his more civilized brothers.
Directing the entire line of troopers to remain mounted with carbines held at the ”Advance,” I dismounted, and taking with me Gurrier, the half-breed, Dr. Coates, one of our medical staff, and Lieutenant Moylan, the adjutant, we proceeded on our hands and knees toward the village.
The prevailing opinion was that the Indians were still asleep. I desired to approach near enough to the lodges to enable the half-breed to hail the village in the Indian tongue, and if possible establish friendly relations at once.
It became a question of prudence with us, which we discussed in whispers as we proceeded on our ”Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are creeping,” how far from our horses and how near to the village we dared to go. If so few of us were discovered entering the village in this questionable manner, it was more than probable that, like the returners of stolen property, we should be suitably rewarded and no questions asked. The opinion of Gurrier, the half-breed, was eagerly sought for and generally deferred to. His wife, a full-blooded Cheyenne, was a resident of the village.
This with him was an additional reason for wis.h.i.+ng a peaceful termination to our efforts. When we had pa.s.sed over two-thirds of the distance between our horses and the village, it was thought best to make our presence known.
Thus far not a sound had been heard to disturb the stillness of the night. Gurrier called out at the top of his voice in the Cheyenne tongue. The only response came from the throats of a score or more of Indian dogs which set up a fierce barking. At the same time one or two of our party a.s.serted that they saw figure moving beneath the trees.
Gurrier repeated his summons, but with no better results than before.
A hurried consultation ensued. The presence of so many dogs in the village was regarded by the half-breed as almost positive a.s.surance that the Indians were still there.
Yet it was difficult to account for their silence. Gurrier in a loud tone repeated who he was, and that our mission was friendly. Still no answer. He then gave it as his opinion that the Indians were on the alert, and were probably waiting in the shadow of the trees for us to approach nearer, when they would pounce upon us. This comforting opinion induced another conference. We must ascertain the truth of the matter; our party could do this as well as a larger number, and to go back and send another party in our stead could not be thought of.
Forward! was the verdict. Each one grasped his revolver, resolved to do his best, whether it was in running or fighting. I think most of us would have preferred to take our own chances at running. We had approached near enough to see that some of the lodges were detached some distance from the main encampment. Selecting the nearest of these, we directed our advance on it. While all of us were full of the spirit of adventure, and were further encouraged with the idea that we were in the discharge of our duty, there was scarcely one of us who would not have felt more comfortable if we could have got back to our horses without loss of pride. Yet nothing, under the circ.u.mstances, but a positive order would have induced any one to withdraw.
Cautiously approaching, on all fours, to within a few yards of the nearest lodge, occasionally halting and listening to discover whether the village was deserted or not, we finally decided that the Indians had fled before the arrival of the cavalry, and that none but empty lodges were before us.
This conclusion somewhat emboldened as well as accelerated our progress. Arriving at the first lodge, one of our party raised the curtain or mat which served as a door, and the doctor and myself entered. The interior of the lodge was dimly lighted by the dying embers of a small fire built in the centre. All around us were to be seen the usual adornments and articles which const.i.tute the household effects of an Indian family. Buffalo-robes were spread like carpets over the floor; head-mats, used to recline on, were arranged as if for the comfort of their owners; parfleches, a sort of Indian band-box, with their contents apparently undisturbed, were carefully stowed away under the edges or borders of the lodge. These, with the door-mats, paint-bags, rawhide ropes, and other articles of Indian equipment, were left as if the owners had only absented themselves for a brief period. To complete the picture of an Indian lodge, over the fire hung a camp-kettle, in which, by means of the dim light of the fire, we could see what had been intended for the supper of the late occupants of the lodge.
The doctor, ever on the alert to discover additional items of knowledge, whether pertaining to history or science, snuffed the savoury odours which arose from the dark recesses of the mysterious kettle. Casting about the lodge for some instrument to aid him in his pursuit of knowledge, he found a horn spoon, with which he began his investigation of the contents, finally succeeding in getting possession of a fragment which might have been the half of a duck or rabbit, judging from its size merely. ”Ah!” said the doctor, in his most complacent manner, ”here is the opportunity I have long been waiting for. I have often desired to test the Indian mode of cooking. What do you suppose this is?”
holding up the dripping morsel. Unable to obtain the desired information, the doctor, whose naturally good appet.i.te had been sensibly sharpened by his recent exercise, set to with a will and ate heartily of the mysterious contents of the kettle. He was only satisfied on one point, that it was delicious--a dish fit for a king. Just then Gurrier, the half-breed, entered the lodge. He could solve the mystery, having spent years among the Indians. To him the doctor appealed for information. Fis.h.i.+ng out a huge piece, and attacking it with the voracity of a hungry wolf, he was not long in determining what the doctor had supped heartily upon. His first words settled the mystery: ”Why, this is dog.” I will not attempt to repeat the few but emphatic words uttered by the heartily disgusted member of the medical fraternity as he rushed from the lodge.
Other members of our small party had entered other lodges, only to find them, like the first, deserted. But little of the furniture belonging to the lodges had been taken, showing how urgent and hasty had been the flight of the owners. To aid in the examination of the village, reinforcements were added to our party, and an exploration of each lodge was determined upon. At the same time a messenger was despatched to General Hanc.o.c.k, informing him of the flight of the Indians. Some of the lodges were closed by having brush or timber piled up against the entrance, as if to preserve the contents. Others had huge pieces cut from their sides, these pieces evidently being carried away to furnish temporary shelter for the fugitives.
In most of the lodges the fires were still burning. I had entered several without discovering anything important.
Finally, in company with the doctor, I arrived at one the interior of which was quite dark, the fire having almost died out. Procuring a lighted f.a.got, I prepared to explore it, as I had done the others; but no sooner had I entered the lodge than my f.a.got failed me, leaving me in total darkness.
Handing it to the doctor to be relighted, I began to feel my way about the interior of the lodge. I had almost made the circuit when my hand came in contact with a human foot; at the same time a voice unmistakably Indian, and which evidently came from the owner of the foot, convinced me that I was not alone. My first impressions were that in their hasty flight the Indians had gone off, leaving this one asleep. My next, very naturally, related to myself.
I would gladly have placed myself on the outside of the lodge, and there matured plans for interviewing its occupant; but unfortunately to reach the entrance of the lodge, I must either pa.s.s over or around the owner of the before-mentioned foot and voice. Could I have been convinced that among its other possessions there was neither tomahawk nor scalping-knife, pistol nor war-club, or any similar article of the n.o.ble red-man's toilet, I would have risked an attempt to escape through the low narrow opening of the lodge; but who ever saw an Indian without one or all of these interesting trinkets? Had I made the attempt, I should have expected to encounter either the keen edge of the scalping-knife or the blow of the tomahawk, and to have engaged in a questionable struggle for life. This would not do. I crouched in silence for a few moments, hoping the doctor would return with the lighted f.a.got. I need not say that each succeeding moment spent in the darkness of that lodge seemed an age. I could hear a slight movement on the part of my unknown neighbour, which did not add to my comfort. Why does not the doctor return? At last I discovered the approach of a light on the outside. When it neared the entrance, I called the doctor and informed him that an Indian was in the lodge, and that he had better have his weapons ready for a conflict. I had, upon discovering the foot, drawn my hunting-knife from its scabbard, and now stood waiting the denouement. With his lighted f.a.got in one hand and c.o.c.ked revolver in the other, the doctor cautiously entered the lodge. And there directly between us, wrapped in a buffalo-robe, lay the cause of my anxiety--a little Indian girl, probably ten years old; not a full-blood, but a half-breed. She was terribly frightened at finding herself in our hands, with none of her people near. Other parties in exploring the deserted village found an old, decrepit Indian of the Sioux tribe, who had also been deserted, owing to his infirmities and inability to travel with the tribe. Nothing was gleaned from our search of the village which might indicate the direction of the flight. General Hanc.o.c.k, on learning the situation of affairs, despatched some companies of infantry with orders to replace the cavalry and protect the village and its contents from disturbance until its final disposition could be determined upon, and it was decided that with eight troops of cavalry I should start in pursuit of the Indians at early dawn on the following morning.
The Indians, after leaving their village, went up on the Smoky Hill, and committed the most horrible depredations upon the scattered settlers in that region. Upon this news, General Hanc.o.c.k issued the following order:--
”As a punishment of the bad faith practised by the Cheyennes and Sioux who occupied the Indian village at this place, and as a chastis.e.m.e.nt for murders and depredations committed since the arrival of the command at this point, by the people of these tribes, the village recently occupied by them, which is now in our hands, will be utterly destroyed.”
The Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and Apaches had been united under one agency; the Kiowas and Comanches under another.
As General Hanc.o.c.k's expedition had reference to all these tribes, he had invited both the agents to accompany him into the Indian country and be present at all interviews with the representatives of these tribes, for the purpose, as the invitation stated, of showing the Indians ”that the officers of the government are acting in harmony.”
In conversation with the general the agents admitted that Indians had been guilty of all the outrages charged against them, but each a.s.serted the innocence of the particular tribes under his charge, and endeavoured to lay their crimes at the door of their neighbours.
Here was positive evidence from the agents themselves that the Indians against whom we were operating were deserving of severe punishment. The only conflicting portion of the testimony was as to which tribe was most guilty. Subsequent events proved, however, that all of the five tribes named, as well as the Sioux, had combined for a general war throughout the plains and along our frontier. Such a war had been threatened to our post commanders along the Arkansas on many occasions during the winter. The movement of the Sioux and Cheyennes toward the north indicated that the princ.i.p.al theatre of military operations during the summer would be between the Smoky Hill and Platte rivers.
General Hanc.o.c.k accordingly a.s.sembled the princ.i.p.al chiefs of the Kiowas and Arapahoes in council at Fort Dodge, hoping to induce them to remain at peace and observe their treaty obligations.
The most prominent chiefs in council were Satanta, Lone Wolf, and Kicking Bird of the Kiowas, and Little Raven and Yellow Bear of the Arapahoes. During the council extravagant promises of future good behaviour were made by these chiefs.
So effective and convincing was the oratorical effort of Satanta, that at the termination of his address, the department commander and his staff presented him with the uniform coat, sash, and hat of a major-general. In return for this compliment, Satanta, within a few weeks, attacked the post at which the council was held, arrayed in his new uniform.
In the spring of 1878, the Indians commenced a series of depredations along the Santa Fe Trail and against the scattered settlers of the frontier, that were unparalleled in their barbarity. General Alfred Sully, a noted Indian fighter, who commanded the district of the Upper Arkansas, early concentrated a portion of the Seventh and Tenth Cavalry and Third Infantry along the line of the Old Santa Fe Trail, and kept out small expeditions of scouting parties to protect the overland coaches and freight caravans; but the troops effected very little in stopping the devilish acts of the Indians, who were now fully determined to carry out their threats of a general war, which culminated in the winter expedition of General Sheridan, who completely subdued them, and forced all the tribes on reservations; since which time there has never been any trouble with the plains Indians worthy of mention.[69]
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