THE GENERAL'S SCOUTS. 361 



his mouth when he was found. A number of scalps were found, 

 many of them those of women and children, justifying what 

 had been done. General Miles had the best scouts in America, 

 and got them in a very unusual manner. Having beaten a 

 large party of Sheyennes, about three years before I met him, 

 he offered the survivors liberty on condition that they would 

 come to Fort Keogh as scouts, when he promised to get them 

 implements and seeds, and to build them houses, selling some 

 of their ponies to raise the money. They came and made a 

 permanent camp, getting their wives and children from their 

 homes, and, when I was at Keogh, were doing so well that 

 they supplied the fort with most of the grain, vegetables, &c., 

 that it needed, besides making the best scouts that the General 

 had ever had. They had orders to disturb him at any hour, 

 day or night, and did not hesitate to do so, and always spoke 

 of him as their white chief. 



As the time drew near for the General to start, he very kindly 

 offered to take me with him, which of course I accepted with 

 much pleasure, as otherwise I should have had more than four 

 hundred miles in the waggon in which I had arrived. When 

 it was known that I was going with the General, I was condoled 

 with by my friends at the Fort, and was told that I should 

 have to do the four hundred and twenty miles without getting 

 a single night's rest, travelling incessantly, as relays of mules 

 would be sent on under escort from Keogh halfway to Fort 

 Lincoln, others being sent from there for the other half. We 

 were given a grand " send off" supper by one of the officers, 

 arrangements having been made to start at twelve o'clock that 

 night, but a very heavy snow-storm coming on while we were 

 at supper, our departure was postponed to the same hour the 



