them to the nearest railroad by the wagons which brought in suppUes 

 for the Indians. 



For a time, our party was in a situation of great peril from the In- 

 dians, who very nearly broke out in insurrection. Dr. McGillicuddy's 

 warning to me did not mean that the Indians felt any particular ani- 

 mosity towards us, but rather expressed their sullen hostility to all white 

 men. Old Red Cloud, one of the most important and influential of the 

 Sioux chiefs, was also one of the most recalcitrant and difficult to deal 

 with. The Agent, on some occasion, the nature of which I have for- 

 gotten, summoned Red Cloud to his office and when the old chief re- 

 fused to come, he ordered Captain Sword, head of the Indian police, to 

 arrest him. Sword refused to make the arrest and this was an alarming 

 symptom, for, almost without exception, the Indian police have been 

 faithful to their military oaths, even against their own people. Dr. 

 McGiUicuddy was firm and put Sword under arrest and also a white 

 employee of the Indian Service, who had been insubordinate at the 

 crisis. 



These events created extreme excitement among the Indians and, for 

 several days, the issue of peace or war hung in a very delicately poised 

 balance. It was even reported that some of the outlying villages had gone 

 on the warpath (as they actually did eight years later) and had an- 

 nihilated the Princeton party. This alarming news was telegraphed 

 East and appeared in some of the New York papers and, thus, I suffered 

 the same fate as Jim Bridger, "the Injuns killed me." When I reached 

 the Agency and learned the facts, I at once telegraphed my family that 

 we were all safe and well and to pay no attention to newspaper reports. 

 Happily, none of my kin had seen those reports and were much puz- 

 zled by my telegram. The situation continued to be full of danger for 

 some time, but Dr. McGillicuddy's firmness gradually won the victory 

 and the excitement died away, but not before we had left the reserva- 

 tion on our way home. 



As I sat on my horse on the rocky crest of Pine Ridge, and saw the 

 line of wagons and horsemen far away to the south of me, all out of 

 the Indian country and all safe, it literally seemed as though a heavy 

 weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Until then, I had not realised 

 under what a severe strain of anxiety and sense of responsibility I had 

 been labouring for weeks past. To think that some error of judgement 

 on my part might have had to be paid for with other men's lives, was 

 a heavy burden; how heavy, I did not fully comprehend until it was 



['57 3 



