RECREA TION. 



*5 



been my fortune look at. After the 

 usual smoke all around, our demand 

 was made for the immediate surrender 

 of the whole band of northern Ara- 

 pahoes then in hiding, — whether con- 

 cerned in the recent massacre of whites 

 or not ; — they having left their reserva- 

 tion without permission and come, as 

 we suspected, on some secret and hostile 

 mission to their friends in the south. The 

 object of the reply made us was evidently 

 to gain time ; — it being to the effect that 

 while the people demanded would be 

 surrendered, if they could be found, they 

 (the whole tribe; were our friends ; 

 which was more than they could say for 

 the Sioux and Cheyennes in the north, 

 who were, the chief said, preparing to 

 go on the war-path in the coming spring 

 and boasting that they would sweep the 

 country of every pale-face ! Prophetic 

 and ominous words, of which we were 

 afterwards to be reminded and to wit- 

 ness the fulfillment, but of which, though 

 warned immediately, no notice was taken 

 by the government. Our reply to this 

 speech was simply that we would give 

 them one hour in which to decide 

 whether the surrender demanded would 

 be made ; that if not, it would be neces- 

 sary for us to charge their camp and 

 take the offenders, besides punishing the 

 others for their refusal to assist us. 

 Prompt, decisive action was neces- 

 sary, in our position, and we had de- 

 termined on a strong game of "bluff," 

 as the only recourse, owing to our having 

 so small a force at our command. The 

 Indians merely stared in silence and 

 seemed to wonder at our audacity, as 

 we left the council, mounted our horses 

 and rode back to our camp. 



At the appointed time, seeing no signs 



of life in their encampment, Major C 



gave the order for the battalion to as- 

 semble. The bugle sounded " boots and 

 saddles," and the men at once responded 

 to the call. The next instant we saw 

 the Indians, — who had been hovering 

 all the afternoon around our camp, 

 watching our movements to see if we 

 would attempt to carry out our threat, — 

 spring to their ponies and fly from the 

 camp in every direction. In a few mo- 



ments our line was formed and the 

 troops sat on their horses waiting for 

 the order to advance, when lo ! a white 

 flag appeared in the Arapahoe camp and 

 a messenger from Powder Face came to 

 inform us that all the men demanded, 

 that could be found, would be sur- 

 rendered ; the rest having fled (?) from 

 their camp in fear of the proposed 

 attack ! Our game of bluff had suc- 

 ceeded, as anticipated, and right glad 

 were we that it was not necessary to 

 carry it to its conclusion ; for our three 

 troops — about one hundred and fifty 

 men in all — would, I fear, have had a 

 sorry time of it against the one thou- 

 sand or more fighting force of the 

 Indian camp ; they being fully as well 

 armed and mounted as ourselves, if not 

 better. By dark the prisoners were sent 

 in to us, — some twenty or more, — and 

 were immediately started, under a strong 

 guard, for Camp Supply ; nearly a hun- 

 dred miles to the eastward. 



The next morning, leaving the two 

 remaining troops with the Arapahoes, I 

 proceeded with my own across the 

 country in order to follow up the Chey- 

 ennes, keep an eye on their movements 

 and see that they did not attempt to 

 imitate their Arapahoe neighbors. I 

 felt certain that the two tribes would 

 not combine, as the Cheyennes had a 

 great contempt for the others, on ac- 

 count of both their treachery and 

 cowardice ; manifesting it by embracing 

 every opportunity to run off Arapahoe 

 herds, beat their squaws, and insult the 

 tribe generally. The Cheyennes, on the 

 contrary, have always been accounted 

 — and justly too, — one of the brav- 

 est and most warlike tribes on the 

 plains ; while their women are undoubt- 

 edly the handsomest and most virtuous 

 of those of all the tribes. For many 

 years past the Cheyennes had been 

 leagued with the Sioux in the north, 

 and with the Comanches, Kiowas and 

 others in the south, in every outbreak ; 

 generally bearing the brunt of the fight, 

 until conquered by our troops ; while 

 their allies had deserted them and 

 secretly made their way back to their 

 respective reservations. 



TO BE CONTINUED. 



