As
Told by W . S. Coburn
An under chief, called Little Horse, brought his band in near Jim
Moore's ranch and camped there nearly all winter. They pretended to be on
friendly terms with the ranchers, and often went out on hunting trips, but
in reality they were communicating with hostile tribes, to let them know
the situation and circumstances of the ranchers.
In February they
moved camp and took along about fifty head of Moore's horses and mules and
started south. Jim Moore went to Fort Sedgwick and got a troop of cavalry
of eighty men under Captain Mix and Lieutenant Arms, to follow the
Indians. Kelly, Moore, Buffalo John and myself acted as scouts. The
Indians had four days start of us when we took their trail. For four
hundred miles we followed them, and long since made up our minds that when
we did find them we would run into a large band of them. Sure enough, we
did.
Spotted Tail, with eight hundred warriors, suddenly appeared
before us, and someone in his band shouted to us, "Don't shoot, or I am a
goner." Captain Mix put up a flag of truce and Spotted Tail with
twenty-six other chiefs, came out to meet the officers and we scouts, to
negotiate for terms.
Our horses were facing those of the Indians
and stood so close that their heads interlapped, thus placing their riders
quite near to each other.
Under Chief Two Strike was next to me,
and when the other Indians put out their hands and said, "How" their way
of greeting Two Strike remained silent and refused to offer me his hand.
From then on during the council, I just ignored him. I noticed that during
the council Two Strike was nonchalant and grouchy; he would only answer
with grunts. I soon learned the cause. Spotted Tail and his old warriors
favored peace, while Two Strike and the young warriors were anxious to
fight. Since Old Chief Spotted Tail held the highest authority, the others
had to submit to his terms. Finally he said if we would leave that part of
the country and promise never to return, they would not harm us; if not,
we would all be massacred. We accepted the terms and agreed to leave at
daylight the following morning and not look any further for Little Horse
and his band.
After the council, which lasted three hours, was
over, we had a friendly chat with the Indians. Billy Lee, who had shouted
to us not to shoot when we first met the Indians, was a trader in Spotted
Tail's village and was under the protection of that chief. It was
customary with the Indians that if they were attacked by the white people,
to kill all the whites who happened to be in the village, whether as a
trader or as a captive. Billy Lee acted as interpreter during the council
and also the friendly visit we had with them.
Two Strike touched
the cartridge in my belt and said, "Heap shoot;" then touched the point of
my hunting knife and said, "Ugh! Heap long knife." He wanted to trade me
two buffalo robes, valued at $20 each, and a deer hide worth about $10 for
my knife. I would not trade with him, and said, "The first thing you would
do would be to try that knife on my scalp." He only smiled and grunted, as
much as to say, more than likely he would at the first opportunity.
He then noticed the artillery and wanted to see it. I took him around
to the cannon and explained how the powder was put in, and how to handle
the ramrod, etc., and finished by saying, "Big noise; heap shoot; kill all
Indians around," and at the same time pointed to all the Indians in sight.
Two Strike was not interested in the heap big guns any longer and was in a
hurry to get back where the other chiefs were.
Just before leaving
the Indians, Captain Mix asked Lee if he had any salt in the camp; that
they were out of rations except the fresh game they could kill, but had no
salt to go with it. Lee said he did not know, and if he had any, he would
send a warrior to our camp with it. Two Strike asked how a warrior could
get into our camp at night. Captain Mix was off his guard and said, "I
will give the guards orders not to fire at any one approaching." Two
Strike did not say any more, and we scouts thought his question was
extraordinary, since he had taken no interest in the council, and after
talking it over, we decided he meant mischief.
When we had
arranged camp for the night, we told Captain Mix our opinion of Two
Strike's question and actions, and warned him to look out. He did not seem
to be very serious concerning it, and said, "There is nothing to fear,
boys; we made a treaty with the Indians and they will not break it." We
had our doubts about it, and decided to take no risks; accordingly we told
the captain our plans and left the camp.
We scouts went to an
island in the Republican River, and stayed for the night. We were so
situated that we could see the Indian village and also the camp of the
soldiers, and if an attack was made we could easily escape. Had we
remained in the camp and been attacked, we would all have been massacred,
for the Indians were ten to our one.
As the night was darkening
and the camp fires were burning low and all the Indians were asleep and
not a sound came from the soldiers' camp, Two Strike quietly crawled from
his lodge and awoke his five hundred young warriors. They soon laid their
plot and were on their horses ready to start for the soldiers, who were
unsuspecting any danger. An old warrior was disturbed from his slumbers
and upon peeping from his tepee, he saw the act of treachery. He hurried
to Spotted Tail and pointed towards the mounted warriors. The old chief
grabbed his revolver and started for Two Strike; he placed the revolver
against the young chief's breast and ordered him to call back his young
warriors, and said, "We made a treaty with those soldiers and don't you
dare to break it; if you do I will kill you."
Very much
disappointed over failing in his object, Two Strike did as bidden.
At break of day the next morning, we were on our way toward Fort
Sedgwick. The trip back was one never to be forgotten. We left the fort
with only four days' rations, and were out sixteen days. The last eight
days we had only raw buffalo meat without salt.
The weather was
stormy and so cold that twenty of the men had their hands and feet frozen.
We were in a wild country, no settlers for hundreds of miles around us, so
to avoid getting lost we carried the compass in our hands all the time to
keep a continual watch of the directions; when one man's hands were cold
he would pass the compass on to another one.
After several days of
such trying circumstances, the soldiers were beginning to get uneasy; it
was the first time most of them ever had such trying experiences. We
scouts had been used to many hardships and dangers, so did not mind it so
much; but it took all of our nerve and good spirits to cheer up the
discouraged soldiers. Captain Mix worried over the hopeless situation, and
the burden of the responsibility for the safety of his men so weighed on
his mind that he became mentally deranged. The captain was sure they were
going the wrong way, and finally the scouts had to threaten to leave him
before he would listen to reason. After much persuasion he consented to
fully rely on the scouts guiding them back into civilization. Near the
last few days the captain came to himself and asked me where we expected
to come in on the Platte River. I told him at Bovay's ranch. He bet me all
we could eat, cigars and drinks, as soon as we found any settlers, that we
would strike the river at Ofellow's point, a distance of sixty miles below
Bovay's. I said, "Boys, what shall we do about it?" They said, "Take up
the bet, and if you lose we will help you out." So I took the bet.
A few days after this we came onto a little bluff and saw a silver
like thread winding over the prairie in the distance and knew we were
nearing the Platte and all began to pick up courage and get in good
spirits. We traveled a little farther, then I dismounted and got my field
glasses out of my saddlebags and looked over the country. I distinguished
a farm about four or five miles ahead of us. I called the other scouts and
when they looked at it, we decided it was Bovay's. We waited for Captain
Mix to come up, and as he studied the surrounding country, he finally
agreed with us. It is needless to say that we covered that few miles in a
hurry, and the captain stayed good by his bet, and we half starved
creatures sure enjoyed that first night back in civilization. Two or three
weeks later Billy Lee came to the fort and told us what a narrow escape
the soldiers had that night they camped near Spotted Tail's village.
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 |
Colorado Resources
Other Genealogy Resources
Submit your
Website!
Do you have a website with specific locality
content that we are not already linking to, or would you like us to
change a listing to your present website. You can instruct us how to
do that by clicking on the link above! |