USA > Wyoming > The history of Wyoming from the earliest known discoveries > Part 51
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fare which would make them respect the little garrison at the fort, little dreaming that it would cost them not only their own lives but the lives of seventy-nine others of their command. This was the first blunder. The second was the tardiness of the rescue party. In criticising this, it is neces- sary to refer to conditions as they existed at the fort at that time. It was practically in a state of siege. For months it had been necessary to send out rescue parties the same as this. Horses, saddles and bridles were ready and the men were supposed to be; while practice in saddling and bridling horses as well as mounting them had been going on for months. When the men and their horses came from the stables it was always on the run and never had it oc- curred that the troopers were tardy, not only minutes but moments counted on such occasions. Usually a relief party dashed out of the gate inside of five minutes from the time the alarm was given. This time it took twelve minutes to get out of the gate. It is true it was a glorious dash to the rescue, for the command did more than gallop, it was a run, but alas, they took a round about road and consumed precious time. The six or seven minutes that were lost getting ready and the ten minutes extra time it took to go the long road round would have saved Lieutenant Colonel Fetterman, Captain Brown and a majority of their sixty- five followers whose bodies were found near them. The rescue party, had it reached its place of destination in season, would have attacked the Indians in the rear and for the time being at least would have routed the savages and given Fetterman's command time to have supplied themselves with fresh ammunition from the wagons. Alas, procrastination robbed Captain Ten Eyck of a victory and permitted the death of many brave men who died after their ammunition had been expended.
After this awful calamity at Fort Phil. Kearney, let us glance at what is going on in this garrison. Five wagons had brought the dead from the battlefield and they were deposited in a spare ward of the hospital, in a double cabin
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Thrilling Events on the Boseman Road.
and in two hospital tents. A careful roll call was made, the dead identified and prepared for burial. Among those who lay cold in death were many who in the trying times of the past had been noted for their individual bravery, and as the living gazed on these inanimate forms and thought of their own situation in this far off wilderness, is it any wonder they should consider their position desperate in the extreme? When we think of their surroundings and the fact that there were a number of women and children in the garrison, our sympathy is aroused and we are led to wonder how they bore up so bravely. Mrs. Grummond, the wife of the dead Lieutenant, proved herself the posses- sor of Christian virtues which inspired all about her. Her heart was breaking but she thanked God that she had her dead and the privilege of taking it with her to her child- hood home in Tennesse, should she escape from the dangers which now threatened the decimated garrison. The other ladies of the post admit that the courage of the newly made widow inspired them to go forward and do the best they could under the circumstances. The mutilated bodies were dressed for the grave in the best garments of the living, which were lovingly offered. Pine coffins and cases were made to contain the dead and a trench fifty feet long and seven feet deep was dug for a grave wherein to deposit these victims of Indian treachery. It was found that there were eighty-one who had lost their lives in this desperate en- counter in the valley of Peno Creek. The remains of Lieu- tenant Grummond and those of three or four others whose families desired to send the bodies east for burial were kept out and the balance were carried across the river to the cemetery at the foot of Pilot Hill and there placed in the long trench prepared. The weather which had been so bright and beautiful on the day of the massacre suddenly changed that night to the utmost severety of winter and this added to the difficulties of guarding the post and the burying of the dead. The cold was so intense from that on that it was found necessary to relieve the guard every
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few minutes. Quite a number of persons were frostbitten in simply crossing the parade ground, but there was work to do and no time was allowed for repining. The sentries walked the platforms and maintained their post in spite of the thermometer ranging close on to forty. There was wood to be prepared, water to be hauled, stock to be cared for and supplies to be issued but in spite of all this the gloom of death pervaded the garrison and men could not help thinking of those brave, cheerful comrades of the past who were sleeping the sleep which knows no awakening, in the narrow chamber of death at the foot of Pilot Hill.
There have been many reports of this tragedy but most of them, I am sorry to say, were largely mixed with fiction. An eastern newspaper published what purported to be the story of an eye witness but there was not one word of truth in it as there were no survivors, no onlookers except Indians, even from a distance. The faces of the dead told the only story and these were mute, speechless and dumb. Red Cloud, in after years, talked often of the heroism of the little band and gave incidents of the bravery of some of the men. One citizen, he said, killed seven Indians and wounded nine more before he was overpowered. The loss of the Indians on this occasion was very great but all have refused to give the number killed. It is reported that the women of the garrison fully believed that the Indians would in time capture the fort and that they begged to be killed to insure their not falling into the hands of the Indians. The story is told that a quantity of dynamite was placed under Colonel Carrington's quarters and arrange- ments completed to blow up the building in case the fort was captured and that the women had agreed upon signal to rush into this building with their children that all might meet death rather than the savage cruelty of the Indians. I am unwilling to vouch for the accuracy of such reports but it is reasonable to suppose that some such arrange- ment was in contemplation. The story is also told that Colonel Carrington sent out three men at different times
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Thrilling Events on the Bozeman Road.
to carry the word to Fort Laramie of the desperate condi- tion of the garrison and the awful calamity that had be- fallen it. The riderless horses of these men, it is claimed, came back to the fort thus apprising the garrison of the futility of their efforts. This may or may not be true. I do know, however, that John Phillips, a noted scout, hunter and trapper, who had lived in Wyoming for many years, was at Fort Phil. Kearney at the time and that he was offered his own price if he would carry a dispatch to Fort Laramie. He refused reward of any kind, but approach- ing Mrs. Grummond, he told her he would go for help. He was willing to risk his life for the sake of the women at the garrison but he would not accept money as a compensa- tion for the desperate undertaking. He only made one condition, which was that he be allowed to choose his own horse. Colonel Carrington readily consented to this and the scout's choice fell upon a beautiful thoroughbred belonging to Colonel Carrington. The distance to be trav- eled was 235 miles, the country covered with Indians, and the thermometer when he started ranged in the twenties. After darkness fell upon the fort, on the night of the 22nd, the brave scout mounted the noble animal which was to bear him on this journey fraught with life and death, and, with a few crackers in his pocket, rode up to a postern gate where he found Colonel Carrington ready to let him out into the darkness beyond. Never was a messenger sent forth on a more important errand than John Phillips. He knew and felt that the earnest prayers of those noble and beautiful women at the fort would be offered in his be- half and somehow he felt that he would be instrumental in bringing relief to the beleaguered garrison. The first night he picked his way through the dangerous country and with the first streak of the morning hid himself and horse in the brush to await the coming of the darkness of another night that he might go forward on his journey in the behalf of humanity. The incidents of that ride are unknown, except that on three different occasions he ran
-(37)
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on to Indians and escaped each time by the fleetness of the thoroughbred upon which he was mounted. John C. Friend tells me that he met Phillips on the day he passed Horse Shoe Station, and took a message from him to be sent by telegraph to General Palmer, the commander at Fort Laramie. Friend was at the time telegraph operator at Horse Shoe Station. The message briefly related the facts of the massacre and the desperate condition of the depleted garrison. At the time the dispatch was received at Fort Laramie a Christmas ball was going on in the building known as Bedlam. General Palmer did not think it wise to make known to the dancers the sad news from Fort Phil. Kearney, as it would serve no good purpose to horrify the merrymakers, and for this reason he adopted the plan of allowing the festivities to go on for a time. One by one, the leading officers were communicated with and preparations were begun to send out the relief asked for. At midnight John Phillips arrived, and soon after the news of the massa- cre was known to all. This was on Christmas night, 1866.
Daniel McUlvane, since the above was written, tells me that John Phillips did not make the ride from Fort Phil. Kearney alone, and that there were five men in the party. He is certain of this, as he saw and talked with them when they reached Bridger's Ferry, and rode with them a consid- erable distance toward Fort Laramie. McUlvane's story will be found in the history of Laramie County.
Reinforcements were hurried away but it was a ter- rible march through the bitter cold and snow but they finally arrived at Fort Phil. Kearney and there was great rejoicing in the garrison because of this succor that had come to them in their need. The reinforcements consisted of two companies of cavalry under command of Brigadier General H. W. Wessels. It had been the plan of Depart- ment Commander Cooke to make a campaign against the savages during the winter and for this purpose he intended to use 300 men drawn from the forces of Colonel Carring- ton. This of course was absurd, for how could men fight
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Thrilling Events on the Bozeman Road.
without ammunition, or what could 300 men do against sev- eral thousand savages? But I shall have more to say about this man Cooke in another chapter.
George Lathrop, who is well known throughout Wyo- ming, both as a stage driver and a stage manager, went with the Carrington expedition, being connected with the supply train service. He was at the fort at the time of the flag raising and also when the Fetterman Massacre occurred. Wm. Murphy, who has been a prominent merchant in Chey- enne for many years, was a member of the Eighteenth In- fantry and participated in the stirring events around Fort Phil. Kearney and helped to build that famous structure. On the day of the massacre he was in the command which was sent to the relief of the Fetterman party. Both of these men have been connected in a prominent way with the History of Wyoming and their names will appear ir- other places in this work.
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CHAPTER XL.
RED CLOUD CONTINUES THE WAR. 1867.
GOVERNMENT WANTS PEACE-RED CLOUD JUBILANT-BRIGADIER GENERAL WESSELS TAKES COMMAND OF FORT PHIL. KEARNEY-CARRINGTON GOES TO FORT MCPHERSON-GENERAL P. ST. GEORGE COOKE REMOVED AND GENERAL AUGUR ASSUMES COMMAND OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PLATTE-REPORT OF CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ON THE FETTERMAN MASSACRE-RED CLOUD WITH A LARGE FORCE HOVERS ABOUT FORT PHIL. KEARNEY-MAKES PREPARATIONS TO STORM THE FORT-MAJOR POWELL'S DESPERATE FIGHT WITH RED CLOUD-INDIANS SEVERELY BEATEN-RECRUITS HIS FORCES FROM OTHER TRIBES-SPOTTED TAIL PUNISHES DESERTERS-BUILDING OF FORT FETTERMAN-FORT D. A. RUSSELL LOCATED.
The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad west- ward to O'Fallen's Bluffs during the summer and fall of 1866 was destined to have a direct effect on the Indian troubles. This was an important station on the old Over- land and was located 307 miles west of Omaha. Troops and supplies in the spring of 1867 were forwarded by railroad to that point and thus the distance of hauling by wagon trains was considerably lessened. The Government hav- ing violated every treaty it had made with the Indians north of the Platte, had now a war on its hands of such magnitude as to call for heavy reinforcements, not only in Wyoming but through Nebraska, along the line of construction of the railroad. The Interior Department, and notably the President, was anxious for peace with the wild tribes and showed a disposition to pay tribute rather than furnish money for defense. The attitude of the Government seemed to amuse the hostiles. When Red Cloud was approached and asked to accept terms of peace, he invariably replied by demanding the evacuation of troops from his country
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Red Cloud Continues the War.
and the dismantling of Forts Reno, Phil. Kearney and C. F. Smith. He was assured that the Government had this sub- ject under advisement and it was necessary to have peace while matters were being adjusted. Red Cloud cut treaty talk short by saying, "The white men could have peace as soon as they left the country and not before." The Govern- ment found itself in a condition almost helpless and as nothing else could be done troops were rushed forward with the hope of overawing the hostiles. Early in January, as has been related, Brevet Brigadier General Wessels ar- rived at Fort Phil. Kearney and with him came orders to Colonel Carrington to move headquarters to Fort Caspar without delay. The second battalion of the Eighteenth Infantry had by a previous order become the Twenty-seventh Infantry and Wessels was the Lieutenant Colonel of the Eighteenth. He brought with him to the post three com- panies of the Eighteenth and two companies of cavalry. These additional forces placed Fort Phil. Kearney in a po- sition, it was thought, to defy Red Cloud and his warriors but that chieftain had grown in his own importance and he was full of the belief that he could harass and finally destroy the strong garrison. Later Gen. John E. Smith, who had been in the volunteer service during the Civil War, going from Galena, Ill., was appointed by General Grant ,Colonel of the Twenty-seventh Infantry, which was made up by recruiting the first battalion of the old Eight- eenth. The new organization was sent to the Bozeman Road and Colonel Smith was assigned to the command of Fort Phil. Kearney.
In the meantime, the country had become aroused over the massacre at Fort Phil. Kearney. The Department Commander P. St. George Cooke, the one man who was re- sponsible for the massacre, by not furnishing approved supplies of ammunition and reinforcements, now tried to shift the responsibility from his own shoulders to those of Colonel Carrington, and, as he had the ear of newspaper correspondents, screened himself for the time being.
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The winter of 1866-7 was the coldest as well as the longest that had ever been known in Wyoming. The troops which were sent from Fort Laramie to reinforce Fort Phil. Kearney suffered greatly from the cold, and frozen feet and hands were numerous by the time they reached their destin- ation. The order directing the removal of headquarters to Fort Caspar was imperative and was to be obeyed regard- less of the storms and extreme cold weather which pre- vailed, and so on the 23rd of January, amid fantastic snow- drifts, the army of wagons bearing the women and children and household goods of Colonel Carrington, started on the road to Fort Caspar with an escort of twenty cavalrymen and forty infantrymen under the command of Lieutenant Bowman. It was a terrible undertaking and how these people preserved their lives with the thermometer forty degrees below zero was a mystery at the time. They finally arrived at Fort Caspar, only to be informed that Colonel Carrington had been removed and ordered to report at Fort McPherson to which place he and his train, re- gardless of the weather, hurried on. Fort McPherson was an important post that season for early in the year the Indians attacked the line of travel, railroad parties and all others who were in the country. Colonel Carrington was made commander of the post and was kept busy sending out escorts, entertaining officers and peace commissioners and sending out invitations to Indians to come to the fort and meet representatives of the Government. A mixed commission was sent out that spring to treat with the In- dians ,that is a commission composed in part of military officers and the balance civilians. These came with im- mense trains loaded with presents which were distributed among all the good Indians but the bad ones neither came themselves nor did they send representatives. This
commission arrived in April 1867 and was composed of General Alfred Sully, General John B. Sanborn, General N. B. Buford, E. S. Parker, Judge J. F. Kinney and the old Indian trader, G. P. Beauvais. They met the Indians at
1
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the Beauvais and Lee ranch, at the old California Crossing on the South Platte. Henry M. Stanley, afterwards known the world over as the great African explorer, was the sec- retary of the peace commission. It was in this country that Stanley acquired his love for wild adventure which led him on afterwards to fortune and to fame.
Brigadier General P. St. George Cooke, who had so unceremoniously removed Colonel Carrington from the command of the Mountain District, was himself quite as unceremoniously deposed from the command of the De- partment and General C. C. Augur, put in his place. Con- gress sent out a special commission to investigate the cause of the disaster and this commission, after a careful exam- ination of many witnesses, made a report covering all the circumstances which led to the massacre. I quote the es- sential points in that report:
"On the 9th of August, General Cooke, commanding the Department of the Platte, informed Colonel Carrington that Lieutenant-General Sherman ordered the posts in his, Colonel Carrington's district, supported as much as pos- sible, and announced a regiment coming from St. Louis.
"No auxiliaries were assigned, and no reinforcements came until November, when company C, Second United States Cavalry reached Fort Kearney sixty strong, armed with Springfield rifles and Star carbines. In December about ninety recruits joined the battalion in the Mountain District, a portion of whom were assigned to a company stationed at Fort Phil. Kearney. No other reinforcements were sent to the district. Approved requisitions for am- munition were not answered. The command at Fort C. F. Smith was reduced to ten rounds per man; the command at Fort Phil. Kearney to forty-five rounds per man and the command at Fort Reno to thirty-five rounds per man. Re- cruits could not practice any in firing, little time could be allowed from fatigue duty or drill, and with but twelve officers and three posts little could have been done in drill- ing recruits if time could have been allowed.
"The result of all this was that the troops were in no condition to fight successful battles with Indians or other foes, and this from no fault of Colonel Carrington, and I
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am astonished at the zeal with which they fought, and the damage they inflicted December 21st.
"The numerous demonstrations and attacks made by Indians prior to the 6th of December seem to have been made for the sole purpose of capturing stock, picket posts, small parties of soldiers who might venture beyond the cover of the garrison, and of annoying and checking the wood train constantly drawing material for the new forts.
"Our conclusion, therefore, is that the Indians were massed to resist Colonel Fetterman's advance along Peno Creek on both sides of the road; that Colonel Fetterman formed his advance lines on the summit of the hill over- looking the creek and valley, with a reserve near where the large number of dead bodies lay; that the Indians, in force of from fifteen to eighteen hundred warriors, attacked him vigorously in this position, and were successfully resisted by him for half an hour or more; that the command then be- ing short of ammunition, and seized with panic at this event and the great numerical superiority of the Indians, at- tempted to retreat toward the fort; that the mountaineers and old soldiers who had learned that a movement from Indians in an engagement was equivalent to death, remained in their first position, and were killed there; that immedi- ately upon the commencement of the retreat the Indians charged upon and surrounded the party, who could not be formed by their officers, and were immediately killed. Only six men of the whole comand were killed by balls, and two of these, Lieutenant Fetterman and Captain Brown, no doubt inflicted upon themselves, or each other, by their own hands, for both were shot through the left temple, and powder burnt into the skin and flesh about the wound. These officers had oftimes asserted that they would not be taken alive by Indians.
"In the critical examination we have given this painful and horrible affair, we do not find of the immediate par- ticipants any officer living deserving of censure; and even if evidence justifies it, it would ill become us to speak evil of or censure these dead who sacrificed life struggling to maintain the authority and power of the Government and add new lustre to our arms and fame.
"Of those who have been more remotely connected with the events that led to the massacre, we have endeavored to report specifically as to enable yourself and the President,. who have much official information that we cannot have,
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to determine where the censure must fall. The difficulty, "in a nutshell," was that the commanding officer of the dis- trict was furnished no more troops or supplies for this state of war than had been provided and furnished him for a state of profound peace."
The investigation by this commission settled, in the minds of people who took the trouble to follow the subject, the responsibility of the Fetterman massacre. Colonel Car- rington may not have been a brilliant Indian fighter but he was conservative and took the best possible care of the men under his command. It was clearly proven that the disaster could not be laid at his door. The men who sat on the commission summed up the difficulty and presented a report to the Senate and the President, which for all time must stand as the deliberate judgment of mankind, but the report of this commission had little bearing on events. The Government was in a fix and had to get out of it. Congress wanted peace but it was apparent that this could not be brought about until some decisive battles were fought and some thousands of Indians were killed. The feeling of the Indians at the commencement of 1867 was that they were masters of the situation and this they made manifest during the summer.
As has been mentioned, the Government had sent large reinforcements into what is now Wyoming during the spring and summer of 1867. These troops were the Second Cavalry, the Fourth, Tenth, Thirteenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-second, Twenty-seventh, Thirtieth, Thirty-first, and Thirty-sixth Infantry. It was designed to send an expedition against the combined Sioux Tribes under Red Cloud but for some reason nothing of this kind was attempted. The troops were stationed at various forts and summer camps were made on the stage line and also along the North Platte. The In- dians did not disturb the troops to any extent who were in garrison and the military were content to be safe, and to save the trouble of escorting emigrants these were stopped at different points and held until a sufficient number arrived to be organized into campanies to defend themselves
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against the hostiles. As early as May Indians attacked the stage line west of Fort Sanders and the company refused to carry passengers, giving as an excuse that their stations had been attacked and burned, their men either killed or wounded, their stock stolen and altogether there appeared to be reasons enough why the passenger coaches were not run. There seemed to be no great gathering of savages along the routes of travel but small bands of marauders came to the stage line, ran off stock and if it did not incur too much risk white men were killed and scalped. The depredations were systematic, relentless and were intended to wear out the patience of the stage company, freighters and emigrants. Those who kept a sharp lookout and trav- eled in large bodies had little to fear. Indians and signs of Indians were on every hand and woe to those who lagged in the rear or ventured too far in advance. Surveying par- ยท ties on the Union Pacific, in spite of the precautions taken, often suffered severely. A party under a man named Hills was straightening the line, during the month of June, east of where Cheyenne is now located. One morning early they were attacked just after leaving their camp on Crow Creek by seventy-five Sioux warriors. Hills was killed at the first onslaught and one of his assistants, named Archer, was badly wounded. The Indians were driven off without difficulty. This affair occurred thirteen miles east of Chey- enne. Hillsdale was named in honor of this murdered sur- veyor. It would be impossible to give a detailed account of the numerous attacks on surveying parties, graders, passenger coaches and emigrant outfits which occurred that year. The Indians were satisfied with the running off of stock and the killing of any white man who exposed him- self beyond the limit of protection. This was the condition of things on the main lines of travel east and west and along the route of the railroad under construction. The Boze- man Road and the entire country through which it passed was filled with danger seen and unseen. Red Cloud kept
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