CHARLES L. YOUNGBLOOD. 45 



were as well armed as we were, and had the 

 advantage in position. Our commander did 

 not think it prudent to attack them where 

 they were, but endeavored by various artifices 

 to get them to change their position, but they 

 stood their ground. The captain would not 

 allow us to fire upon them where they were, as 

 they had with them two German girls, whom 

 they had taken alive the day before, after 

 murdering the rest of the family, and, at that 

 distance, we were as apt to kill them as In- 

 dians. After considerable maneuvering the 

 captain decided to return with his four pris- 

 oners to Fort Wallace, and report the situation 

 to the post commander. Accordingly the four 

 Indians were placed under a strong guard 

 behind the wagons, and we set out for the 

 fort. The power of endurance manifested by 

 these Indians during the journey to Fort 

 Wallace surprised me. The weather was 

 intensely cold, and a raw, bitter blast swept 

 over the prairie almost freezing us to death. 

 We had overcoats, overshoes and mittens, and 

 yet our feet, fingers, ears and noses were frost- 



