Show RAMBLING THOUGHTS OF A by frank from last week ek about 70 men from Rico joined captain dawson and others of disappointment valley and were the first from the colorado side to take up the train and they headed tor for mute springs nag on their way they found the bodies to fo dan willia willi and either ather prospectors anil and heard that prospectors and cowboys were following the indians around the blue mountains and that they were headed I north toward the la sal mountains dawson and his men decided to head direct for the la sal mountains hoping to cut off the indians just south of the pack creek at tb the head of moab valley they struck the tb indian trail As they still had their rosto and atia a isome some 0 them tham tender footed and moat play od ed out it matild va ild only bo be a cc ocl estion of a few hours until they woul aou I 1 catch up and engage the enemy on wilson mesa pawson aw ain a in his men saw a number of the Indi indian anIt rai r ai ni guird aso also a riun ier of goats and ad laye playe dout here elso billy vay may who had been plad pla d ir r onn and about 80 90 rilen men composed of dolores rico 7 lances alcos ancos and durango men overtook captain dawson dawsen and his men continuing on the indian trail a short distance they looked off into a prong of little castle ti valley now known as the battle ground and here bere a halt was called to arrange for a definite plan captain dawson and followers advocated an advance guard of 20 men and followed directly after the indians captain billy may said the he best plan was to detour along the rim and find a trail off at some other point northwest and cut off the retreat of the indians ile he carried hs point and lie he and his followers split off to the northwest captain dawson and his men agreed to go directly on the indian trail regardless of a possible trap here let me state that the writer has talked and worked with a number of his old time friends in western colorado who were engaged engage in this so called battle which was rather a massacre so he is trying to give facts as near as possible by data gathered and memory captain dawson fearing a trap now sent twenty men ahead as an advance guard with instructions to retire at once to the main body it if fired on leaving their horses they advanced on foot seeking the shelter of scrub oak and boulders they proceeded forward with caution A short distance ahead they saw an open space a small gulch with a ridge beyond covered with scrub oak and large boulders no sign of indians yet so they went forward across a small open space about the centre of this and about fifty yards from the gulch a hail of bullets came and four men fell dead in in their tracks the others seeing no show to re treat reat across open ground made a dive for the shelter as they thought tho light of the aroya here the indians from their shelter poured a murderous rain of bullets that could not be returned by the entrapped men to any advantage soon six men were killed in in the trap captain dawson and an a the main body of men rushed forward at the first volley of the indians go ing as far as possible on ho hogeback then sought shelter in the oaks and boulders no indians could be seen to shoot at ae but chii they Y poured volley after volley into the place where the shotts shots were coming coining from for several hours this was kept up with tile hope of routing the indians out of their cover but without avail two of the rico boys had been wounded and lay in the hot sun in agony As captain dawson and his companions could see no way of helping the survivors trapped in the he gulch without a great loss of life dawson called for a volunteer to make tile the run to tell the boys to take a chance and come out of that trap A number volunteered but pat mckenney Kenney NIc an irish prospector was selected as he said he be could run some lie he stripped aped to his underwear and nd all unnecessary clothing and crept slowly through the ser scrub ab oaks A at t the edge of the open ground he made a dash for the guich and ran for his life amid a rain of bullets he reached the partial shelter of the gulch where he found the survivors huddled up in i a small mail cave like spot in tile bank of the after it consultation it was decided that it I 1 was best to await darkness soon to come and this they did at the same time pat mckinny mckinney made his run rull captain damaon sent ane best rider and horse among his men as a cori coutier to rico hico after reinforcements the trip trin by the shor shortest lest route w was miles but at that time help must mast be had bad if they were to follow the indians indans in in anything like abety cafets to be continued |