Little Pills, An Army Story

orm, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, Unitarian, and the two branches of Friends. This was brought about by a resolution on January 13th, 1871 at a conference of the President, the board of Indian co

dian affairs could not be in the hands of the war department, it would have as good a

of the Quaker persuasion. He was unfortunate in being found in his shirt sleeves and at work, when the first delegation of the Indian chiefs went to the agency to see him, and from that time was spoken of by the India

em. He at once got busy and built six or seven neat log houses in the timber a few miles north of the camp. The Indians moved in as they had agreed and it was reported that some of them pu

some of the Indians sending their children, but up until the time we left the post, the attenda

r, and I was ordered to make a survey of the route and distance. I had never done such a thing and was more than doubtful of my ability to do it properly, so I went to see Mr. Orleman about it. He said, "Oh, you can do it as well as anybody. I have explained these instruments, and how to use them; of course you can do it." And that settled it. It was simple enough after all. A meter is fastened to the hub and spoke of one of the rear wheels of the ambulance, the hand pointing down and with a weight on the end of it to hold it steady over rough ground. A clockwork inside records the revolutions of the wheel. In other words, the clock goes around instead of the hand, and by kn

arrived at our destination about the middle of the forenoon of the third day and crossed the North fork and went into camp at the junction of the two streams. There was an immense cottonwood tree just on the bank where the two streams united and we conceived the idea of marking our names and date on it, supposing that we might be the first white people in that locality. After the work was done I suggested that we have a picket pin heated and burn the letters to keep them from healing over so soon, but we discovered there were no matches in the command to start a fire, a piece of ca

ands called mesa in Spanish. These vary in extent from a mile or less to several miles and near the river the country is broken up by frequent canons. It was a beautif

s in the middle, the mares on the flanks and the stallions in the lead, going full speed to get away. When we came to the edge of the mesa again they had crossed a wide valley and were going up on another mesa several mile

We went through one that must have

arch, and about five o'clock in the evening we came to a pretty little

and we will have a bonfire on the hill for you as a guide to our camp." When I got close enough I said, "Spencer, how are you going to get a fire?" and then it dawned on him that we had no matches. "My God," he said, "I never thought of that." But the men had gone at full gallop and we let them go. I thought of the powder I used in my shotgun and thought I would try an experiment. That was when muzzle loaders were still in vogue, the breechloader not having come into general use, and I cut a hole in the lining of my coat where

it, but late in the afternoon an Indian or two were seen off on the hills to the north and in a little while they became numerous enough to create some apprehension.

sky and Mr. Spencer with two men went out to meet them. Explanations and apologies followed, but before the parley was over they informed Mr. Spencer that if they had found us to have been soldiers from Texas they intended to make a clean sweep of it, but as we were from Fort Sill they wanted to be friends. I have often

ng in twos separated at the order right and left oblique march and made a V shape that surrounded the pony and we took him along with us. We soon came to the trail where the Indians had crossed, a very wide one, showing that great numbers had passed. There were other evidences

ight, which we did, getting in very late. We had come by compass directly across country from

on the saddle in front of him into camp. It lived until we were back at Fort Sill

decided on a desirable place I went down stream a little distance and heard some turkeys making a great ado about something. I got down on a sand bar and slipped along the river bank until I thought I was at the right place for a shot. On looking over the bank I discovered that there was quite a bunch of turkeys standing around in a circle and making a great chatter. I fired into them without waiting to see what caused such a commotion, and when I was near where two of them lay an immense diamon

d closely the directions and distance we had gone from the trail and also from the horses to the roost, but we failed to find them where we expected. It was pitch dark by this time and very still and we tramped the neighborhood where we thought we had left them, and then sat down and waited, hoping they might neigh or make some noise and thus guide us to them. When this failed we went to the trail and by lighting matches found where we had left it, and from there we followed the course that we thought would take us to the thicket where we had left the horses. We found it, or thought we had, and tramped it over thoroughly without finding them. We carried our guns and turkeys with us, not daring to put them down for fear we would lose them. We finally concluded some thieving Indians had watched us and had followed us into the timber and stolen our horses, and so we started for the camp on foot. It was a hot, sultry night and I soon began to think three turkeys and a shotgun a good deal of a load and when I inquired of my companion how he was making it he admitted that he was getting a little tired. We rested a little b

little boat so we could stretch troutlines across the stream and we not only had

not unwrap our blankets as expected to be out some days and did not wish them to get wet. The blankets in a scout like this are made into a roll and wrapped in a poncho or oil cloth covering and fastened up against the cantle of the saddle by straps which are always a part of the equipment of the army saddle. The captain and I place

we had captured, and whose trail we had crossed on our return from the north fork of Red river to the camp on Cache creek. They had also learned that they came very near being in line with the depredations committed. This band had not only burned houses and killed settlers but had also captured a government wagon train and had tied the teamster to the wagon and having looted the train of all they wante

the Kiowas; Big Tree, a young chief of the same tribe, and Satank, an old and wizzened up and vicious looking Indian, and council chief among the Kiowas; all known to have been in the raid. There was a heavy guard standing around the quarters ready for any emergency. Mr. Tatum had demanded the surrender of the guilty parties. While the pow-wow was in progress Lone Wolf, chief of the Comanches, came among them, a rifle in each hand, and a couple of bows and a quiver full of arrows swung over his back. I suppose it was a pre-concerted arrangement among the Indians for he handed one gun to an Indian near him, and a couple of Indians behind him grabbed the bows and arrows and in an instant these were pointed at the breast of Mr. Tatum, General Grierson, General Sherman, and other officers present. I suppose the click, click, click of the rifles as the

mbers them better than I do. Promptly after the depredations had been committed General Mackenzie of the Department of Texas with several troops of cavalry got on the trail of

he interpreter, when they were brought out of the guard-house, all hand-cuffed, and all in the usual blanket attire of the Indians. When old Satank appeared he set up the most weird and doleful sing-song wail I ever hea

hat an ambulance be sent for a trooper who had been wounded. He also gave the essential particulars of what occurred. It seems that by some means unknown, Satank had a knife hidden about his person somewhere and although hand-cuffed had got possession of it and stabbed the sergeant sitting next to him and then grabbed the sergeant's gun and shot the teamster. The sergeant's wound was only slight and he went forward with the command, but the teamster was shot through one side of the

reported in the papers some years afterwards that Satanta jumped out of a window at the prison and kille