A WINTER WITH THE CHEYENNES. 



Captain H. H. Bellas, U. S. A. 



In the beginning of the winter of 1875, 

 a battalion of the Fourth Regiment 

 of United States Cavalry was in 

 •cantonment on the Sweetwater, a small 

 stream emptying into the North Fork of 

 the Red River, in the " Pan Handle " of 

 Texas. We were living comfortably in 

 the picket-quarters we had built, on our 

 return from the annual summer hunt 

 .after " lost Indians" on the Staked Plains; 

 congratulating ourselves on the assur- 

 ance that our scouting was over for the 

 winter at least. The section of country 

 in which we were located, was at that 

 time completely uninhabited. Large 

 herds of buffalo appeared on the hills 

 outside the post, nearly every morning, 

 in fancied security. Many species of 

 game, were in fact, abundant ; deer, 

 antelope, wild-turkeys, prairie chickens, 

 etc., all undisturbed by either railway 

 trains or settlements. Our camp had 

 been established the preceding spring in 

 what, till then, had been purely an 

 Indian country, rarely visited by a white 

 man. One evening in November, I was 

 notified that a party of Austrian officers, 



•consisting of Prince E , and several 



others of noble birth, were en route from 

 Fort Sill to our post, under escort, for a 

 few days hunting, and then to proceed 

 on their way, via Camp Supply, in the 

 Indian Territory, to P'ort Dodge, Kan- 

 sas. I was ordered to take charge of 

 the party on their arrival and to con- 

 duct their hunt. 



We were frequently visited by similar 

 parties and it was our fortune to enter- 

 tain, at different times, army or civil 

 officers of almost every nationality in 

 Europe: — English, French, German, 

 Spanish, Russian, and even Japanese, 

 who visited our western country in 

 search of adventure and excitement. 

 Fleeting visions of the champagne and 

 cigars it would be necessary to consume, 

 late hours that I should have to keep, 

 and old yarns that I would be required 

 to spin, crowded through my mind 

 rapidly, as I determined to at least re- 

 tire at an early hour that evening, in 



order to be prepared for the siege on 

 the morrow, being already about two 

 days behind on my allowance of sleep. I 

 have since learned that it is a good rule 

 in military service to always keep a lit- 

 tle ahead if possible, so as to be ready 

 for any emergency that may arise. 



Scarcely had I started to carry into 

 effect my plan when there was a loud 

 knock at my door and our post-adjutant 

 entered, saying that all the preceding 

 orders were countermanded and I was 

 to immediately prepare my troop for field 

 service. A courier had just arrived from 

 the commanding officer of a small body 

 of cavalry accompanying some four 

 thousand Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indi- 

 ans from their reservation, on their 

 winter hunt in the western portion of the 

 Indian territory, bringing word that the 

 Indians had assumed a threatening atti- 

 tude and that trouble was imminent, 

 unless reinforcements were forwarded at 

 once to overawe them. 



All my pleasant anticipations vanished 

 immediately, as did my prospects of 

 slumber, and the rest of the night was 

 spent in putting my troop in readiness 

 for the march, drawing supplies and pre- 

 paring for a decidedly ugly looking 

 winter's campaign. It was found impos- 

 sible, however, to move before daylight. 



It had commenced snowing heavily, 

 and the howling wintry wind drove the 

 snow in cutting and blinding blasts over 

 the bleak prairie surrounding our can- 

 tonment. Neither men nor animals 

 would have been able to travel a mile in 

 safety in the intense darkness and the 

 driving storm. 



In the early gray dawn my own and 

 another troop of calvary, under the com- 

 mand of old Major C , were on the 



road and making our way northward as 

 rapidly as possible. All day long our 

 squadron pushed forward in the face of 

 the storm, till darkness compelled us to 

 go into camp. Fortunately in this part 

 of the country, there was plenty of Cot- 

 tonwood timber along the streams, and 

 we soon had roaring fires going. The 



