"Those aren"t white soldiers! They"re Injuns! They"ve seen us, too.
We"ve got to run or fight."
"Yep; Injuns and heap Injuns," rapped Scout Chapman. "But we can"t run. They"d catch us in a hurry and there"s no timber to stand "em off from. We"ll have to face "em and do the best we can."
When first sighted, the hors.e.m.e.n had been a mile distant, slowly riding among the gra.s.sy billows, and appearing and disappearing. They had dipped into a draw, had come out less than a half a mile away; a second, much larger party had galloped into view; all were spreading into a broad front and were tearing forward. The sun shone on their red blankets, their painted feathers and their tufted lances.
"Look to your guns and cinches, boys," ordered Sergeant Woodall, his weathered face grimly set. "We"re good for "em. We"ve seen their kind before. Shall we make a running fight, Chapman?"
"No. There"s too much cover for "em. They"d lie in this gra.s.s like snakes and cut us off. Head into that first ravine, yonder. Maybe we can stand "em off from there till help comes."
They six had only a moment for tightening their girths and unb.u.t.toning their holster flaps.
"For"d! Gallop!" barked the sergeant. They galloped. They and the foremost Indians reached the ravine, on opposite sides, at the same time. They plunged in, could go no farther. It was the work of only an instant to vault from the saddles, leave the six horses to be held by Private Smith, and level their carbines from the brush of the rim.
The Indians volleyed from the ravine edge.
"They"ve got me," Private Smith called. He came running and dodging, his right arm dangling and b.l.o.o.d.y. "I had to leave the horses--couldn"t hold "em."
A moment more, and twenty-five of the Indians charged straight through the ravine, below, and up again; they were waving their blankets and yelling, and took five of the horses with them. It was done in a jiffy. Lead rained in, searching the ravine slope where the six white men were lying.
"This is no place," panted Scout Chapman. "We"ll all be dead, without a chance. The open is better, where we can see around. Come on, everybody."
"As skirmishers, men. Keep together and keep low," Sergeant Woodall ordered.
Out they lunged, into the very face of the enemy. The Indians gave way before but closed in behind.
"Fall back, fall back! Steady, now. Hold your intervals," Sergeant Woodall warned. "We"ll try for shelter beyond. Mebbe we can make Gageby Creek. Don"t waste a shot, but shoot to kill."
The sixth horse had followed them. Good old Baldy! An Indian dashed for him--Sergeant Woodall took quick aim and the pony scoured off, its saddle-pad empty. But Baldy whirled and was lost.
The short, thin line--four soldiers, two scouts--knelt, fired, ducked and ran a few steps, knelt and fired again. The Indians (there were one hundred and fifty) formed their circle; skimming around and around, shooting and whooping. Wherever the squad looked, they saw Indians.
And they saw never a token of shelter: all the vast prairie was a sea of gra.s.s, unbroken by a tree. In spots the gra.s.s grew saddle high, but that was covert for the enemy too. When the squad halted, to rest, the Indians dismounted and commenced to crawl closer, through the gra.s.s.
Then the six men had to jump up, and run on, shouting and firing. The Indians before leaped upon their horses again, and opened out; the Indians behind were afraid to shoot, for fear of killing their comrades opposite; but the Indians on either side pelted with bullets and arrows.
"None of us ever expected to get out alive," says Private Harrington.
"We all determined to die hard and make the best fight possible."
The circling Indians charged to within twenty-five yards. Hanging almost under their ponies" bellies they shot from there, while those farther out daringly stood erect upon their saddles like circus riders and also fired at full speed; then racing in closer they swung low and fired again. Wherever the six men faced, before, behind, right, left, there the scurrying riders were.
They were Comanches and Kiowas. The Comanches were noted as the most skillful hors.e.m.e.n of the plains. They all were having fun. A medicine-man appeared to be their leader. He wore a head-dress of buffalo-horns and an eagle-feather trail streaming to his pony"s tail.
Time after time he charged to within twenty-five yards, at the head of his warriors, firing with a pistol and urging the braves to ride over the white men.
"Never mind him," Scout Chapman said. "He"s harmless; he can"t hit anything. Tend to the others."
The fight had begun at six in the morning. The long, long day slipped slowly by; the sun had changed from east to west, and the hour was four o"clock. By this time the six men were pretty well worn out. Private Smith"s right arm was useless, but he shot left-handed with his revolver. Of the two hundred cartridges apiece, only a few were left.
The Indians knew; they were growing even bolder. They all had dismounted, except the medicine-man, and were skulking through the gra.s.s. They had no fear that the white men could get away.
The medicine-man rode up once more, this time to within twenty yards.
As he pa.s.sed he taunted and fired his pistol. That was his last challenge, for Scout Dixon answered with a sudden bullet. Reeling, the medicine-man galloped away and they never saw him again.
But the end seemed near. No help had signaled. The Colonel Miles column was thirty-six hours" distant. Something had to be done before dark.
"You see that little knoll yonder?" gasped Amos Chapman. "We"ve got to make it. If we"re caught here in this gra.s.s we"re dead before morning.
Now, all together, and don"t stop. There we"ll stay."
They advanced by steady rushes. The Indians knew. One by one they vaulted upon their ponies and dashed across the route. The six shot briskly and carefully, to clear the way. Fully twenty of the saddle-pads were emptied by the time the riders had reached a patch of tall gra.s.s which commanded the trail to the knoll. The ponies raced on and were rounded up by the squaws who followed the fight.
That was good shooting, and seemed to discourage the other Indians from trying for the gra.s.s, but they pressed hard behind, driving the white men on. Rear as well as front had to be protected, and an hour was consumed in approaching the knoll.
Then, with the knoll almost within grasp, up from the tall gra.s.s leaped the twenty or more Indians supposed to be dead. From fifty yards they poured in a smashing volley. Down crumpled Private Smith, in a heap.
Sergeant Woodall was shot through the side, John Harrington through the hip, Peter Roth through the shoulder. It had been an Indian trick.
The warriors had purposely tumbled from their ponies, here; the warriors behind had purposely driven the white men within short range.
But the five gained the knoll; they had to leave Private Smith for dead.
On the top of the knoll there was an old buffalo wallow--a shallow cup like a small circus ring. The cup was only a foot or two deep, but the gra.s.sy rim helped. The Indians veered from the black muzzles resting upon the ring, and drew off, to wait and jeer, and form another circle.
"We mustn"t show we"re wounded, boys," Sergeant Woodall ordered, sick with his own pain. "Move about, act lively; we"ll lick "em yet. And save your lead for close quarters."
"Smith"s not dead! I see him stirring!" cried somebody. "There he is!
But he can"t make in."
"They"ll get him after dark, then," groaned Private Roth. "That"s tough, fellows. I"d rather he was dead."
Amos Chapman laid down his carbine.
"They sha"n"t get him. You boys keep those infernal redskins off me and I"ll run down and pick him up and fetch him back before they can stop me."
Without waiting for answer, he dashed out, and down the little slope.
He and Scout Dixon were the only two not disabled.
George Smith was lying seventy or seventy-five yards out. It was a long way to go, and a longer way back under a load. But Amos reached him, before the Indians knew what was up. Then--
"He wasn"t a large man, one hundred and sixty or seventy pounds," said Scout Amos, afterward, "but I declare he seemed to weigh a ton.
Finally I lay down and got his chest across my back, and his arms around my neck, and then got up with him. It was as much as I could do to stagger under him, for he couldn"t help himself a bit. By the time I"d made twenty or thirty yards, about fifteen Indians came for me at full speed on their ponies. They all knew me [he had been on their reservation], and yelled, "Amos! Amos! We got you now, Amos!" I pulled my pistol, but I couldn"t hold Smith on my back with one hand, so I let him drop. The boys in the buffalo wallow opened up just at the right time, and I opened too, with my pistol. There was a tumbling of ponies and a scattering of Indians, and in a minute they were gone.
I got Smith again and made my best time in, but before I could reach the wallow another gang came for me. I had only one or two ca"tridges left in my pistol, so I didn"t stop to fight, but ran for it. When I was in about twenty yards of the wallow a little old scoundrel that I"d fed fifty times rode almost on to me and fired. I fell, with Smith on top of me; thought I"d stepped into a hole. The Indians didn"t stay around there a minute; the boys kept it red-hot; so I jumped up, picked up Smith, and got safe into the wallow."
There--
"You"re hurt, Amos! You"re hurt bad, man!"
That was Billy Dixon.
"No, I"m not. Why?" panted Amos.
"You aren"t? Why, look at your leg!"
Sure enough! One leg was shot in two at the ankle joint, and Scout Chapman had run twenty yards, with Private Smith pick-a-back--dragging his loosened foot and stepping at every stride on the end of the leg-bone!