The story of the first trans-continental railroad : $b its projectors, construction, and historyBailey, William Francis
History
The story of the first trans-continental railroad : $b its projectors, construction, and history
Bailey, William Francis
Railroads -- United States -- History; Union Pacific Railroad Company
The great battle of construction days occurred near Julesburg in July,
1869. The regulars, under General Carr, and the Pawnees (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 leadership 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 Pawnees, 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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