After the battle of the Big Mound, as narrated, the command was compelled to take one day's rest on account of the over-taxed condition of the troops. The next day we marched over the same ground, and it was a comical yet interesting sight to witness the wholesale abandonment of buffalo robes, camp equipage and "jerked" meat; robes by the thousands and meat by the tons had been thrown away by the Indians in their hurry to get out of harm's way. We found dogs that had been harnessed up and loaded down with cooking utensils, dead;--they had died from sheer exhaustion. The prairies as far as the eye could penetrate on either side presented this condition of abandonment by the Indians, of their property and winter's supply of food. As far as the eye could penetrate on either hand were evidences of their hasty flight, as if swept with the besom of God's wrath. The men would "right about" and fight the soldiers, and then turn, and running towards their fleeing families, urge them to still greater exertion to get away from the avenging army. In the sand on the bank of the lake, I found a tiny papoose moccasin, and could see the imprint and count each separate toe of the little foot in the sand, as it probably was dragged along by the anxious mother, who was too heavily laden to carry her little baby. I thought,--poor, helpless child, not in the least responsible for its unhappy condition, and yet made to suffer. So with all classes of God's humanity;--the innocent too often made to suffer, not only with the guilty, but for the guilty, and in our decisions we should be careful lest we injure innocent persons. The fresh made graves we found on this trail told their sorrowful story,--the little Indian spirit had taken its flight,--the body was buried and the heart-broken mother hurried on to keep up with her people, and get away from the army. [Illustration: Ready to Go Into Action.] CHAPTER XXXIX. BATTLE OF DEAD BUFFALO LAKE. After the decisive battle of the Big Mound the Indians made up their minds evidently that the army and destruction was in their rear, and their Rubicon must be reached and crossed or annihilation was their portion, hence activity was apparent among them. The great impediment to their active work in the field and hasty flight was their families, and it required good generalship to successfully manage this retreating host. The next decisive engagement with them was fought on July 26th; known as the battle of "Dead Buffalo Lake," so designated from the fact that the carcass of a big buffalo was found on its shores.