Capt. W. F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts, As Pilot to Emigrant and Government Trains, Across the Plains of the Wild West of Fifty Years AgoDrannan, William F.
History
Capt. W. F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts, As Pilot to Emigrant and Government Trains, Across the Plains of the Wild West of Fifty Years Ago
Drannan, William F.
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
As soon as I got near the road I signaled all the scouts to come to me,
and in a few minutes, they were with me. I sent them all to the train to
help Jim, except two which I kept with me. We three rode out to the spot
where we could see the Indians. When we got in sight of them, they were
within a mile of the train, and I knew that the time for action had
come, and wheeling our horses we made for camp at a pace that would
surprise the readers of today. I told Jim that the Indians were upon us,
but there was no need to tell him this, as he had seen us coming and
suspected the news we were bringing and had ordered the train corralled
before we reached camp, and I do not think a train was ever got into
shape to resist the savages quicker or with less excitement than that
train was that day. And we were none too quick, for the Indians were in
sight of us as soon as we were ready for them. At this spot our trail
led down a little valley. Consequently, when the Indians hove in sight
they were not more than a hundred yards from the corral.
I sang out, "What do you say, Jim? Let's form in line and give them a
salute."
Jim shouted, "Every man form in a line and shoot, and be sure you hit
your mark."
By this time there were as many as two hundred Indians in sight, and
every gun seemed to go off at once. At that moment Jim cried, "Every man
pull your pistol and shoot as loud as you can, and let us make a dash on
them." And every man in the train did as Jim told them to, and it surely
had a good effect on the savages, for they wheeled and fled as fast as
their legs could carry them in the direction they had come. We found
twenty-seven dead Indians all laying close together, and it did not take
us long to take their scalps off. When we had finished this job, Jim
made the remark that he had scalps enough now to protect the train all
the way to California.
As it was yet about three miles to our camping ground, I told my scouts
what to do, and then I told Jim that I meant to follow the Indians alone
and see where they went to and not to expect me back until he saw me,
for I intended to see those Indians go into camp before I left them,
if it took me until midnight to do it, for if I did this I could tell
whether they meant to give us any more trouble or not.
Jim told me where to look for the camp when I wanted to find it, and I
left them, on a mission the danger of which I do not think one of my
readers can understand, but which at that time I thought very little
about.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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