Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains: An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far WestDrannan, William F.
History
Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains: An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far West
Drannan, William F.
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); Indians of North America -- Wars
I remained to watch the movements of the Indians and see whether
they were reinforced during the day and to report at dark, George
returning to the command. The soldiers moved up that evening to
within two miles of the Indian camp I remained at my post until it
was so dark that I could not see through my glasses any longer,
when I mounted my horse and rode to the command, having made no
new discoveries. After explaining the situation as nearly as I
could, the Lieutenant concluded to make the attack on foot some
time between midnight and daylight the next morning, and to attack
them from two sides at the same time.
The Lieutenant taking half the men and making the long march,
which would be about one and a half miles farther than the others
would have to march, leaving his orderly sergeant in charge of the
other half of the command. I piloted the Lieutenant and George
piloted the orderly. Here Lieut. Jackson invented some new style
of signal to what I had seen before, by taking a tea cup and
pouring powder in it and when he was ready to make the charge he
was to set the powder on fire, which would make a flash, and in
case the orderly was ready, he was to signal the Lieutenant in the
same manner.
We made the circuit and marched up to within one hundred yards of
the Indians, but could not make the attack until near daylight,
the Lieutenant thinking it was so dark that the soldiers were in
danger of killing each other, which was all perfectly true.
When the time arrived for the attack, which was just at daybreak,
the Lieutenant gave his signal, which was answered at once by the
orderly, and the Lieutenant led the way by going in advance of the
force, and I think it was the quickest fight I ever saw. I did not
count the Indians that were killed myself, but was told that there
were between 190 and 200 found dead on the battlefield. They
seemed to raise up as fast as the soldiers would cut them down,
and I think there were two cut down with the sabres where one was
shot. As soon as the battle was over, or when we could not find
any more Indians to kill, George and I got our horses as quick as
we could and went out after our horses, but they had taken fright
at the firing and were scattered all over the country. That
evening the Lieutenant moved back to the road at the head of a
nice little valley where there were plenty of fine grass and good
water, saying that he would make this his headquarters as long as
he was out on this road.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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