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 — John Shaqi
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
We were now running down a long slope, when I looked at Mr. Hughes
and could see a change in his countenance. There was an expression
different from that which I had ever seen on his face before. Just
about a half mile ahead of on down a little flat, was a wash-out,
and Mr. Hughes said:
"Right down there by that little bunch of willows, at that wash-
out, is where I intend to make my last fight. Now you boys can do
as you please, but I am exhausted and can go no further."
Before we got to the wash-out, Johnnie West told Mr. Hughes to run
straight for the patch of willows, also telling me to turn to the
right, while he took to the left, and as soon as we were in the
wash-out for me to run to where Mr. Hughes was. This was to be
done to cause the Indians to scatter so they would not all be on
us at once, there now being seven of them in the gang.
Johnnie West told me to take a bandy-shanked-fellow on the left
and he would take one who had two feathers in his hair.
"All right," said Mr. Hughes, "and I'll take the leader."
We all took good aim and each of us brought down his Indian, but
we did not have time to load before the others were upon us, and
it ended in a hand-to-hand fight, besides it got to where each man
had to look out for himself.
One of the Indians came straight for me and dealt me a desperate
blow with his tomahawk, but I threw up my left hand and received a
severe cut in my wrist--the mark of which I carry to this day--at
the same time I struck him with my knife and almost cut him in two
As he was falling he threw his tomahawk at me with all the
vengeance in him, but missed my head and struck a rock just behind
me. I sprang at once and picked it up.
Mr. Hughes was fighting one of the Indians; the other two had
attacked Johnnie West, who was on his back with his head against
the bank of the wash-out, and they were trying to get a chance to
deal him a blow, but he was kicking at them with both feet and was
striking so fast with his knife that they had not yet been able to
get a lick in on him.
They were so busily engaged with Johnnie that I sprang at once,
unseen by them, and buried the tomahawk so deep in the head of one
of them that I was unable, for the moment, to recover it. As soon
as my Indian was out of the way, Johnnie was on his feet, quick as
the twinkling of an eye, and stabbed the remaining one through the
heart with his hunting-knife.
In the meantime Mr. Hughes was having a hard fight with his
Indian. He succeeded in killing the red fiend but got badly used
up. He had a severe wound in the shoulder, also one in the thigh.
I received a cut in the wrist, and Johnnie West did not get a
severe wound, in fact but little more than a scratch.
The fight and flight being now ended, we went a few rods to a
little clump of pine trees, where Mr. Hughes dropped down and
said: "Boys, there's no use of talking, I can't go any further; I
think I have done my last trappin' and Injun fightin'."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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