A TRAGEDY OF THE PLAINS. 



This picture illustrates one of the tragedies 

 so common on the plains 25 years ago. Ralph 

 Morrison, a noted hunter, guide and scout, was 

 killed and scalped by Cheyenne Indians, near 

 Fort Dodge, in June, 1869. The war party was 

 pursued by troops, and four of them were killed. 

 Lieutenant Philip Reade, of the 3d Infantry, and 

 John O. Austin, another famous scout, were the 

 first to reach the body of Morrison after the kill- 

 ing. The photograph here reproduced was made 

 by Wm. S. Soule, an amateur photographer, who 

 was at that time employed in the post trader's 

 store at Fort Dodge. The picture is the property 

 of Mr. Charles F. Fish, of Fall River, Mass., who 

 has kindly lent it to Recreation. Austin was 

 wounded in the head and face with arrows, by 

 the Kiowas, 1859. A year later, when scouting 



move along the old Santa Fe emigrant route 

 without a military escort. The Indians swarmed 

 along the route and corralled trains, keeping us 

 busy protecting the big 'prairie schooners,' live 

 stock drivers, mail stations, etc. 



" Buffalo were there in immense herds; wolves 

 and coyotes hung around, ready to sneak in at 

 all times. Pelt hunters used to poison buffalo 

 carcasses and then, a day later, skin the dead 

 wolves and cayotes for the sake of their pelts. 

 Gray wolf skins for something near a dollar 

 each, untanned. Cayote pelts were worth 50 

 cents each. It was not unusual to see 18 or 20 

 " stiffs " about a buffalo poisoned carcass. 



" The temptation to hunters, like Morrison, 

 to steal out of the post, without military escort, 

 for the sake of pelts, was great. He was 



A VICTIM OF THE CHEYEXNES. 



with Captain Newby, his right hand was literally 

 split in two by a tomahawk, thrown by a 

 wounded Arapahoe. At another time his left 

 arm was broken by an Apache Indian, in a 

 fight near Fort Craig, N. M. In i860, a 

 Cheyenne sent an arrow into his right knee, and 

 during the following year a band of Texas 

 desperadoes shot him several times, near Fort 

 Garland, and left him for dead. He was 

 wounded at the battle of Chickamanga, from the 

 effect of which he died some time in the seventies. 



I wrote Lieutenant (now Captain) Philip Reade 

 for some further facts in regard to the killing of 

 Morrison, and he replies as follows : 



" Your letter about Ralph Morrison comes to 

 me like a voice from the grave. I saw him 

 killed and scalped by the Indians, in June, 1869. 

 John O. Austin and I were mounted when the 

 hostiles charged on Morrison and got in their 

 work before we could reach him. This was 

 opposite the mouth of a dry canyon, three- 

 quarters of a mile east of Fort Dodge. 



" In those days no wagon train was allowed to 



warned not to leave the military reservation with- 

 out protection, but relied on his Winchester 

 rifle and his revolver to stand off hostiles. 



" One night in June he made one trip too 

 many. Shortly after sunrise, Mr. Austin and I had 

 mounted our broncos for the purpose of making 

 a reconnoissance before breakfast, when we heard 

 shooting, hardly a thousand yards from us. The 

 garrison consisted of four companies 3d Infantry, 

 one troop each of 7th and 10th cavalry. Look- 

 ing eastward Scout Austin and I saw a white 

 man pursued, shot and scalped, by a small party 

 of mounted Indians. Of course, at the first 

 shot we started for the hostiles, leaving troopers 

 to follow later. Morrison did not fire a shot. 

 His right arm had been disabled by the first 

 volley from the ambushed Indians and they 

 swooped down on him, completed their barbar- 

 ous work, remounted and were in retreat before 

 we reached the still warm body of Morrison. 

 The Indians then ran against the wind and set 

 the prairie on fire, compelling us to take to the 

 river to keep from being burned." 



'261 



