J 895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



355 



GENERAL MILES. 



Che Strategy He Euiployed In Dealing 

 ■With the Ino'-T^s. 



"Few people have any idea of the 

 strategy employed by General Miles 

 In bis Iiidiau caiupaigus, " says Ma- 

 jor Girard, who was with General 

 Miles on lu.-Miy campaigns against 

 hostile Indian tribes ot\ the north- 

 west. "Here is a little incident show- 

 ing that he knew how to deal with 

 them, and tJ.at in an emergency he 

 was quick to tiiink and act, and that 

 bis measures were effective. Up on 

 Frenchman's creek, near the British 

 lino, our band of 120 men were so 

 placed that every one felt a trifle 

 nncom for table. Within 20 miles of 

 Dur camp was a band of 2,000 Sioux 

 warriors, armed and anxious for a 

 Bght. Thechiaf of the tribe came to 

 our camp for a confab with General 

 Miles. Seeing that a satisfy. Gt..ry and 

 peaceful settlement of the difficulty 

 could not be made, and knowing 

 that the Indian forces far outnum- 

 bered ours and that they were near- 

 ly as well armed, General Miles or- 

 dered a Hotchkiss gun to be loaded 

 and trained to bear on a rock a mile 

 away. At his command the gun was 

 fired, and, of course, the rock was 

 shattered, the pieces flying in all di- 

 rections. The astonished chief went 

 back to the camp and told his war- 

 riors that it w^as best to leave Bear 

 Coat alone, as his guns shot twice — 

 once at the muzzle and again a mile 

 off. 



"He utilized Indian against Indi- 

 an, and did not rely on any particu- 

 lar tribe or man. In his band of 

 scouts were representatives of all 

 the tribes — Blackfeet, Sioux, Crows, 

 Pawnees, Arapahoes, Nez Perces, 

 etc. — and in every Indian camp 

 ■within 500 miles ho had his spies, 

 whose duty it was to report the 

 course of action decided upon at the 

 war council. Consequently he was 

 enabled to anticipate the movements 



such a point that the advantage was 



all on his side and victory was com- 

 pai-atively easy. 



"During a campaign Genei'al Miles 

 sent a young and ineificient officer 

 with two mounted companies to as- 

 certain the exact location of 2,000 

 Sioux Indians who were supposed 

 to be hunting buffaloes in the neigh- 

 borhood. The officer found the Indir 

 ans, but instead of carrying out or- 

 ders and reporting immediately to 

 General Miles made a little war on 

 his own account, and was drawn in- 

 to a running fight. Soon surround- 

 ed on all sides, he began to realize 

 that he had made a mistake, and 

 sent a courier for aid. General Miles 

 immediately ordered 'boots and sad- 

 dles' sounded, and started to the 

 rescue. W e started on a rapid trot, 

 but, becoming anxious, I urged the 

 general to order a more rapid pace. 

 Said he, 'If I wear out the horses at 

 first, we can't do anything when we 

 arrive.' The horses were kept at a 

 trot, with an occasional gallop, the 

 whole 20 miles. Arriving at the 

 scene of action, he deployed the 

 command into three lines, made a 

 mounted charge, and soon had the 

 Indians scattered far and wide. We 

 camped haif way back to the main 

 camp, and General Miles sent for 

 the young officer and talked to him 

 kindly, but firmly, and relieved him 

 from command of the scouts — a very 

 light punishment. But General Miles 

 was alwaj' s as clement as he could 

 be and maintain the strict discipline 

 for which he was famous." — Chica- 

 go Times-Herald. 



"There is nothing in the world 

 that I would not do for you, dar- 

 ling, " he protested rapturously. 



"Oh, really, Ned!" responded the 

 delighted girl. "Then you will go 

 with me tomorrow down to Spot & 

 Cashem's bargain sale?" 



But before she bad finished speak- 

 ing the sweet girl's face turned pale. 

 The younc man bad already fled.— 

 bomerviiie Jouriiai. 



