Show r 1 Shor S Story of th tb Day ill j I HID IN BUFFALOS BUFFALO'S CARCASS 1 i I Jack SUl was as the hero of ot one of ot the most remarkable affairs with In Indians In- In In the history of or the American frontier During the year 1 8 S when he was a a. beardless youth in buckskin he did the thing which made malIc him famous throughout th the West cst and stamped him himas as ns on one of or the most courageous scouts couts in tho the arm army I Brevet LicuL George A. A Forsyth commanding a small body of ot about thirty citizens enJi enlisted ted as scouts were camped b beside tho the Arickaree river a a. small stream in north northern rn Kansas The I Indians had been rep reported as ns rising and the purpose e of or the expedition was to ascertain th the true state of affairs There was very ery little water In the river it being the dry season season Septem Septem September ber in fact and tact and the party part tearing fearing attack encamped on an Island In the thc I middle of ot the river Jack Stilwell was one of or the scouts ts Their worst fears were realized for about a J o'clock in the morning they were vere attacked by bya byl a l band of or warriors who shot at them from both banks The men placed themselves In a 0 circle circle cir clr- cir cir- cl cle lying down and each one Instantly began digging a rifle rine pit for tor himself The Indians were repulsed and retreat retreat- ed Roman noman No Nose e. e their leader was killed In the charge and the river bank was strewn with dead warriors Alt All was quiet until 2 o'clock In the af afternoon nr- nr when the Indians thirsting for vengeance came again more fiercely than ever But at that time the defenses de de- de- de tenses were finished oft off A final and more feeble attack was made about 4 o'clock and then It began to rain Every Everyone one ono knew that the next move of ot the Indians finding that direct attack did not accomplish results would be to surround the devoted little band and attempt to starve them out or pick off oIT the unwary by long shooting sharp-shooting from Crom cover Taking account of or the damn damage c done the they found that the they had suffered se se- se verel verely All the hon horses es and mules had been killed making making- it Impo impossible for them to get away awny Beeches second second second sec sec- ond in command and live five men had aiso also al also al- al so been killed or mortal mortally wounded and seventeen men Including Col Forsythe For- For sythe had been wounded Practically only seven men out of or the thirty were unharmed Obviously Ob th the thing to do was to get help and that was as the very ery thing which the Indians were ero on the sharpest lookout to prevent Fort Wallace the nearest t mill military tar post was vas miles away avay and Forsyth and his men were without food surrounded surrounded sur sur- rounded b by Indians from all aU the Northern nations Including Northern Sioux and that queer combination of or man many tribes known as Dog Soldiers The situation situation situation situa situa- tion was indeed desperate The dead hor horses es were cut into strips for tor food and well Inside the circular breastworks was dug dug- for lor water The defense was strengthened with useless saddles addles and dead carcasses and with watchful eyes eel against surprise the they passed Tour four days with no sign from th the Indians but hut an occasional shot when a soldier incautiously arose to stretch himself On the tue fifth day the meat could no longer ong-er ong be eaten and the suffering suffering- be became became became be- be came Intense Help must be summoned or the command m must it perish Jack Stilwell one of the few tew men who had escaped unharmed so far offered to go goto goto goto to Fort Wallace It looked to be sure death to venture outside of the charmed circle Old OId Pete Trudeau a 0 frontiersman frontiersman frontiers frontiers- man volunteered to accompany him Th There re was nothing nothing- else to do and Col Forsyth was compelled to accept the o offer fie r At t midnight amid the handshakes of or the boys bos who never expected t to again see them alive aUve the two men crawled over the breastworks breastworks breastworks breast breast- works and waded the river to the enemy's one ene mys my's shore They Imitated the wearing wearIng- apparel of ot the Indians by wearing wearing- only blankets and moccasins moccasIns made made from their boot tops tops tops-so so as not to leave eave the footprints of or a white man behind them The natural natura way to go would have been down the river through one of the theman man many ravines that started from the river bank Tho The most dangerous way was to go straight up over the thc bald hill hillIn hillIn In front of the Island Stilwell thought the ravines would be full fuJI or of Indians and he also thought that the water watercourse watercourse watercourse course would be most guarded so he chose the trail over the bald hill hili trusting trustIn trusting trust trust- In ing to their disguises disguise if It seen In conversation between Stilwell and some of or these same Indians afterward it was proved th that t they had made a aluck luck lucky stroke in not attempting to make their thell escape by th the waterway or the adjacent adjacent adjacent ad ad- jacent ravines Crawling on their stomachs and sometimes on their hands and knees the they were able to make only three miles s before dawn that morning The They saw aw Indians on every hand and were forced to be still frequently The three miles brought them to the divide between the Arickaree and South Republican and anti there the they concealed themselves for the day In a a. washout on the head of oC a hollow hol low where the banks had been overgrown overgrown over over- grown rown with tall taU grass and sunflowers They Thy left no trail behind them and the they were satisfied that the they would not be discovered From over the hill bill the they could COUll hear firing n all da day which told toM them that their comrades still held out When hen the darkness which the they prayed d for rOI came the they started south again During the flight the they saw two parties of oC Indians in front of ot them which delayed de do- them greatly and yet daylight found that the they had reached the South Republican The They also discovered to their surprise and chagrin that they were about halt half a mile mUe from the Sioux and Cheyenne village age How Ho that happened happened hap hap- the they did not know then but it was afterward learned that the trail turned south couth about a 11 mile west of or wh where re the battle was WM being fought and that turn had led them Into the cl very heart of ot danger As the sun was to rise the they hastened to cover under the river bank in the tall gra grass grans s of or ri a kind of ot bayou and there th they y la lay In the water rater all day without moving Indians crossed cr very ery near to them durin during the day for tor It was wasa a kind of ot terr ferry Once some warriors stopped not thirty feet away from them to water their horses and arid they heard them talking about the white men on the Island and soon Boon the they would be starved out aut They could hear the beatIng beating beat beat- ing ing- of or the in the village near b by as the squaws mourned their dead and saw them theta carrying out bodies to the sepulcher or scaffold That night almost t crazed b by the mental worry the noises of the day had caused them the they crept aWa away across the south fork of ot the Republican and the morning of or the fourth day found them on the prairie near th tho head of ot Grosse creek The Indians ns seemed to have been left lett behind and the boy and the man concluded to travel by day It pretty n nearly ar cost them their lives for about 8 S o'clock In the morning the they saw aw saw coming toward them the advance guard of or what the they afterward atten found out was the Dog Sold Soldiers lent Fortunately the tho Indians had not discovered discovered dis dis- covered them yet It was necessary to hide and hide tilde quick quickly In looking for tor fora a II place to conceal themselves es the they accidentally ac ac- ac- ac dico-c dico discovered ed some yellow weeds growing about a buffalo to carcass The weeds were not high enough h to conceal them but they they- craw crawled to th the carcass Intending Intending- to break oft off the sterns stem and cover conr themselves The buffalo had bad evi i I d dently been killed the winter before fo for r the skeleton was Intact with little littie pi pieces of ot hide adhering to the ribs in p places 1 aces In a n. moment hey had crawled into the s skeleton The stench was almost un un- un- un b bb bearable But the they could not come ome out b because the mounted 1 Indian scouts approached approached ap ap- ap- ap p very near during the day and s scanned canned the country countr in all directions for tor tormore m more ore than an nn hour at a n time While one of ot these scouts was sitting o 01 on n hi his horse not Oft fifty yards ard awa away oc occurred occurred oc- oc c c the rat rattlesnake tle nake affair altair which ch cw h has hns' as been BO so widely published There Thero Thereas w wc was as a snake in the carcass and he lie c crawled around and made it exceeding exceeding- h ly Ij r uncomfortable for tor the two scouts scouts I w who ho seemed to be usurping his home T Th They hey could not move mo a hand to kill him f for tor or fear of the Indians IndIan ThC They could o only lie still stilt Stilwell finally spit to to- to b bacco acco Juice on its head b by a n well weil di directed directed di- di r shot and the snake s vacated d the p remises premises at once But Dut this was the last straw to the c camels camel's back Trudeau broke down c completely complete after the Indian scout had s satisfied himself that there were wera no white men near He seemed to lose otte his n mind and wanted to shoot his revolver a and nd sing kept him quiet until nightfall when he persuaded him to go goo t to o the nearest river and drink The water did wonders for him and t they hey traveled on as speedily as po possible sible The fourth day was a n foggy one anti and t thc they hey could travel by daylight without t trouble rouble About 11 o'clock when the they were nearly exhausted thc they saw comIn com corn i In ing ng out of or the haze of ot the Denver wagon wa wa- I ron gon road on which they were traveling two tao mounted men They could not tell whether they were Indians or not but thc they had horses and the weary scouts needed the horses Thc They had come over cl eighty hh miles on foot in four tour days Vh When n the horsemen drew near Stilwell Stil- Stil Stilwell well discovered that they were soldiers and caused d Trudeau to put up his gun The soldiers soldier were were- two couriers courier on the road to Co Col Carpenters Carpenter's command 1 ly 1 lag InS at nt Lake Slater some sixty miles from where Gen Forsyth was be be- As soon Boon as they heard of oC Forsyth's predicament thc they spurred away to Col ol 01 I Carpenter who responded promptly marching his entire force torce to Forsyth's re-II re relief er Trudeau never from the terrible strain of oC that Journey but lied died the next spring He lies lien burled buried at Fort Sill sm O. O T. T Jack Stilwell's youth stood him In good bood stead and he lie lived to make matte mattea a 0 name namo for himself as a 0 lawyer He Ho was one of the bravest of the many brave men of or the Wc Western tern frontier Inthe in inthe the days das of or the Indian uprisings Den Den Denver ver yer er Republican |