540 The Book of Woodcraft 



the fugitives had made no halt! A marvelous march on 

 such a bitter night for a lot of men, women, and children 

 many of them wounded, all half clad and practically starved 

 for five days! 



Presently the trail wound round the foot of a high, steep 

 hill, the crest of which was covered mth fallen timber, a 

 hill so steep the column was broken into single file to pass 

 it. Here the trail could be seen winding on through the 

 snow over another hill a half mile ahead. 



Thus an ambush was the last thing expected, but, after 

 passing the crest of the second hill, the Indians had made a 

 wide detour to the north, gained the fallen timber on the 

 crest of this first hill, and had there entrenched themselves. 



So it happened that at the moment the head of Vroom's 

 column came immediately beneath their entrenchment, the 

 Cheyennes opened fire at short range, emptied two or three 

 saddles, and naturally and rightly enough stampeded the 

 leading troop into the brush ahead of and back of the hill, 

 for it was no place to stand and make a fight. 



4: 4: :!« 4< % 4: 4s 



Nothing remained but to make a run for the brush, and a 

 good run he made of it, but, encumbered with a buffalo 

 overcoat and labouring through the heavy snow, he soon got 

 winded and dropped a moment for rest behind the futile 

 shelter of a sage bush. 



Meantime, the troopers had reached the timber, dis- 

 mounted, taken positions behind trees, and were pouring into 

 the Indian stronghold a fire so heavy that Dodd was soon 

 able to make another run and escape to the timber unscathed. 

 * * * * * * * 



The Indian stronghold on the hilltop was soon sur- 

 rounded and held under a desultory long-range fire all day, 

 as the position was one impregnable to a charge. 



