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In the year of 1868, General Forsyth, assisted by Lieutenant Beecher
and Scouts Grover and McCall, had charge of fifty-one men in the eastern
part of Colorado. They were certain of an attack and had no more than
completed their preparations for a defense than young Chief Roman Nose, a
perfect specimen of a savage leader, being six feet and three inches tall
and sinewy and slim, and carrying himself with a daring and reckless
movement, led his band of a thousand warriors just a little beyond rifle
range of the soldiers. Two squads of these were placed at each end of the
island and kept up a continual crossfire, so that the soldiers did not
dare to raise in their rifle pits to fire at the oncoming forces that were
charging down on them from in front, so the bullets were falling thick all
around the soldiers. Fortunately for the soldiers, that once the chargers
came within range of the bullets of their men on the island, they would
have to cease firing. The general noticed this, so was waiting for the
break in the firing. His soldiers had turned in their rifle pits, their
rifles to their shoulders ready to spring up and fire as soon as the order
was given. They were all impatiently waiting.
Before a great while
the crossfire ceased and the soldiers had their chance. General Forsyth
said, "Now," and Beecher, McCall and Grover repeated the order. The
soldiers rose as one man and sent seven consecutive volleys into the
charging horde of savages. The first and second volleys were answered with
yells from the savages, as they continued towards the rifle pits, but the
third was followed by fewer shouts and gaps began to show in their ranks.
But still they kept bravely pushing on to the soldiers, Roman Nose leading
them and wildly waving his rifle at them to come on, and shouting his
defiant war cry. At the fourth volley, their medicine man, who was leading
one of their columns, went down. This checked the others for an instant;
then they rushed on with renewed energy and force. The fifth volley
thinned their ranks, and with the sixth, Chief Roman Nose and his horse
fell together, both mortally wounded.
A few feet more and the
savages would be upon the soldiers, but the column hesitates and shows
signs of weakness; the soldiers take advantage of them and poured the
seventh volley into their ranks, just as some of the warriors had reached
the edge of the island. Then, with ringing cheers, the frontiersmen
springing quickly to their feet, poured the contents of their revolvers
into the very faces of the onrushing mounted warriors. The Indians,
completely cowered and defeated, divided, and laying low over their
ponies, hurried to get out of reach of the soldiers' revolvers and to a
place of safety.
There were about eight soldiers killed and twelve
wounded. General Forsyth was wounded three times, but dragged himself
around to care for the wounded soldiers. Lieutenant Beecher was shot in
the side, and simply said, "General, I have got my death wound," then
murmured something about "poor mother," and died as bravely and
unflinchingly as he had fought.
The dead horses were unsaddled and
the saddles used to strengthen the fortifications, and pieces of the
horses were buried to keep for the soldiers to subsist on. The meat had to
be eaten raw, but fortunately there was plenty of good water. The
soldiers, being nearly exhausted, slept throughout the night, but the next
day was so hot that the wounded ones suffered intensely. It was a gloomy
day, without food, but raw horse meat; no comfort for the wounded and no
hope of ever getting away ; and in the Indian camp near by the squaws were
beating drums and keeping up a steady death chant.
The soldiers
dared not venture from behind their fortifications, for they would have no
chance whatever; the Indians were waiting for them, and such a few,
burdened with their wounded comrades, could not protect themselves. They
must wait and let fate take its course.
General Forsyth had sent
out two messengers to carry dispatches to the officers at Fort Wallace,
telling of their hopeless condition and asking for help. But the
messengers were unable to get past the Indian pickets, so returned. The
day after the fight he sent two more, with full particulars of the fight,
the wounded, and their trying circumstances. In the meantime the soldiers
were growing weaker and more hopeless. On the fourth day the meat had
become putrid, but one of the soldiers killed a wolf, which helped them to
hold out a little longer.
Forsyth's wound was getting very painful
and he asked the soldiers to cut the bullet out, but it being near the
femoral artery they were afraid to undertake it, so the general took his
razor and cut it out himself. Later his leg was jarred and the broken bone
protruded through the flesh. On the sixth day Forsyth called the well
soldiers to him and told them to try and save themselves; the wounded ones
would stay and take their chances, they were about done for anyway. There
was silence for a few moments, then the men said, "Never! Never! We will
stand by you till the end, general." And McCall said, "We have fought
together, and, by heavens, if need be, we can die together."
Thus
showing the faithfulness and self-sacrifice of the scouts and soldiers on
the frontier.
The next two days seemed to be almost interminable,
as there was so much suffering and misery among the slowly starving and
dying soldiers. On the morning of the ninth day, one of the soldiers
jumped up and said, "There are some objects on the hills in the distance."
All that were able leaped to their feet and strained their eyes to see
what it was. Finally a scout said, "By the heavens above us, it is an
ambulance." The strain was over. The two messengers had succeeded in
meeting Colonel Carpenter with the Tenth cavalry and he hastened to their
rescue.
Though the fight was a thousand to fifty one, the white
men won in the end, in spite of the uneven numbers, the hardships and
suffering and the disadvantages of the soldiers.
Chief
Yellowhair
Some of the Pioneers of Colorado
Source: True History of some of the Pioneers of Colorado, by Miss
Luella Shaw, Press of Carson Harper Co, Denver, Colorado, 1909 |
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