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From the tops of the hills, we saw far away, in almost every direction,
mile after mile of prairie, blackened with buffalo. One morning,
when our march was along the natural meadows by the river, we passed
through them for miles; they opened in front and closed continually in the
rear, preserving a distance scarcely over three hundred paces. On
one occasion, a bull had approached within two hundred yards without
seeing us, until he ascended the river bank; he stood a moment shaking his
head, and then made a charge at the column. Several officers stepped
out and fired at him, two or three dogs also rushed to meet him; but right
onward he came, snorting blood from mouth and nostril at every leap, and,
with the speed of a horse and the momentum of a locomotive, dashed between
two wagons, which the frightened oxen nearly upset; the dogs were at his
heels and soon he came to bay, and, with tail erect, kicked violently for
a moment, and then sank in death--the muscles retaining the dying rigidity
of tension.
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Buffalo herd in the 19th century
This image available for
photographic prints and downloads
HERE!
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About the middle of July, the command
arrived at its destination--Chouteau's Island, then on the boundary
line between the United States and
New Mexico
. Our orders were to march no further; and, as a protection to the
trade, it was like the establishment of a ferry to the mid-channel of
a river.
Up to this time, traders had always used
mules or horses. Our oxen were an experiment, and it succeeded
admirably; they even did better when water was very scarce, which is
an important consideration.
A few hours after the departure of the
trading company, as we enjoyed a quiet rest on a hot afternoon, we saw
beyond the river a number of horsemen riding furiously toward our
camp. We all flocked out of the tents to hear the news, for they
were soon recognized as traders. They stated that the caravan
had been attacked, about six miles off in the sand hills, by an
innumerable host of
Indians; that some of their companions had been killed; and they
had run, of course, for help. There was not a moment's
hesitation; the word was given, and the tents vanished as if by magic. The oxen which were grazing near by were speedily yoked to the wagons,
and into the river we marched. Then I deemed myself the most
unlucky of men; a day or two before, while eating my breakfast, with
my coffee in a tin cup--notorious among chemists and campaigners for
keeping it hot--it was upset into my shoe, and on pulling off the
stocking, it so happened that the skin came with it. Being thus
hors de combat, I sought to enter the combat on a horse, which was
allowed; but I was put in command of the rear guard to bring up the
baggage train. It grew late, and the wagons crossed slowly; for
the river unluckily took that particular time to rise fast, and,
before all were over, we had to swim it, and by moonlight. We
reached the encampment at one o'clock at night. All was quiet,
and remained so until dawn, when, at the sound of our bugles, the
pickets reported they saw a number of
Indians moving off. On looking around us, we perceived
ourselves and the caravan in the most unfavorable defenseless
situation possible--in the feet high, and within gun-shot all around. There was the narrowest practicable entrance and outlet.
We ascertained that some mounted traders,
in spite of all remonstrance and command, had ridden on in advance,
and when in the narrow pass beyond this spot, had been suddenly beset
by about fifty
Indians; all fled and escaped save one, who, mounted on a mule,
was abandoned by his companions, overtaken, and slain. The
Indians, perhaps, equaled the traders in number, but
notwithstanding their extraordinary advantage of ground, dared not
attack them when they made a stand among their wagons; and the latter,
all well armed, were afraid to make a single charge, which would have
scattered their enemies like sheep.
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Having buried the poor fellow's body, and
killed an ox for breakfast, we left this sand hollow, which would soon
have been roasting hot, and advancing through the defile--of which we took
care to occupy the commanding ground--proceeded to escort the traders at
least one day's march
further.
When the next morning broke clear and
cloudless, the command was confronted by one of those terrible hot winds,
still frequent on the plains. The oxen with lolling tongues were
incapable of going on; the train was halted, and the suffering animals
unyoked, but they stood motionless, making no attempt to graze. Late
that afternoon, the caravan pushed on for about ten miles, where was the
sandy bed of a dry creek, and fortunately, not
far from the Trail, up the stream, a pool of water and an acre or two of
grass was discovered. On the surface of the water floated thick the
dead bodies of small fish, which the intense heat of the sun that day had
killed.
Arriving at this point, it was determined to
march no further into the Mexican territory. At the first light next
day we were in motion to return to the river and the American line, and no
further adventure befell us.
While permanently encamped at Chouteau's
Island, which is situated in the
Arkansas
River, the term of enlistment of four of the soldiers of Captain Cooke's
command expired, and they were discharged. In his journal he says:
Contrary to all advice they determined to
return to
Missouri. After having marched several hundred miles over a prairie country, being
often on high hills commanding a vast prospect, without seeing a human
being or a sign of one, and, save the trail we followed, not the slightest
indication that the country had ever been visited by man, it was
exceedingly difficult to credit that lurking foes were around us, and
spying our motions. It was so with these men; and being armed, they
set out on the first of August on foot for the settlements. That same
night three of the four returned. They reported that, after walking about fifteen miles, they
were surrounded by thirty mounted
Indians. A wary old soldier of their number succeeded in extricating them before
any hostile act had been committed; but one of them, highly elated and
pleased at their forbearance, insisted on returning among them to give
them tobacco and shake hands. In this friendly act he was shot down. The
Indians stripped him in an incredibly short time, and as quickly
dispersed to avoid a shot; and the old soldier, after cautioning the
others to reserve their fire, fired among them, and probably with some
effect. Had the others done the same, the
Indians
would have rushed upon them before they could have reloaded. They
managed to make good their retreat in safety to our camp.
We were instructed to wait here for the return
of the caravan, which was expected early in October.
Our provisions consisted of salt and half
rations of flour, besides a reserve of fifteen days' full rations--as to
the rest, we were dependent upon hunting. When the buffalo became
scarce, or the grass bad, we marched to other ground, thus roving up and
down the river for eighty miles. The first thing we did after
camping was to dig and construct, with flour barrels, a well in front of
each company; water was always found at the depth of from two to four feet
varying with the corresponding height of the river, but clear and cool. Next we would build sod fire-places; these, with network platforms of
buffalo hide, used for smoking and drying meat, formed a tolerable
additional defence, at least against mounted men.
Hunting was a military duty, done by detail,
parties of fifteen or twenty going out with a wagon. Completely
isolated, and beyond support or even communication, in the midst of many
thousands of
Indians,
the utmost vigilance was maintained. Officer of the guard every
fourth night; I was always awake and generally in motion the whole time of
duty. Night alarms were frequent; when, as we all slept in our
clothes, we were accustomed to assemble instantly, and with scarcely a
word spoken,
take our places in the grass in front of each
face of the camp, where, however wet, we sometimes lay for hours.
While encamped a few miles below Chouteau's
Island, on the eleventh of August, an alarm was given, and we were under
arms for an hour until daylight. During the morning,
Indians
were seen a mile or two off, leading their horses through the ravines. A captain, however, with eighteen men was sent across the river after
buffalo, which we saw half a mile distant. In his absence, a large
body of
Indians
came galloping down the river, as if to charge the camp, but the cattle
were secured in good time. A company, of which I was lieutenant, was
ordered to cross the river and support the first. We waded in some
disorder through the quicksands and current, and just as we neared a dry
sandbar in the middle, a volley was fired at us by a band of
Indians,
who that moment rode to the water's edge. The balls whistled very
near, but without damage; I felt an involuntary twitch of the neck, and
wishing to return the compliment instantly, I stooped down, and the
company fired over my head, with what execution was not perceived, as the
Indians
immediately retired out of our view. This had passed
in half a minute, and we were astonished to
see, a little above, among some bushes on the same bar, the party we had
been sent to support, and we heard that they had abandoned one of the
hunters, who had been killed. We then saw, on the bank we had just
left, a formidable body of the enemy in close order, and hoping to
surprise them, we ascended the bed of the river. In crossing the
channel
we were up to the arm-pits, but when we
emerged on the bank, we found that the
Indians
had detected the movement, and retreated. Casting eyes beyond the
river, I saw a number of the
Indians
riding on both sides of a wagon and team which had been deserted, urging
the animals rapidly toward the hills. At this juncture the adjutant
sent an order to cross and recover the body of the slain hunter, who was
an old soldier and a favorite. He was brought in with an arrow still
transfixing his breast,
but his scalp was gone.
On the fourteenth of October, we again marched
on our return. Soon after, we saw smokes arise over the distant
hills; evidently signals, indicating to different parties of
Indians
our separation and march, but whether preparatory to an attack upon the
Mexicans or ourselves, or rather our immense drove of animals, we could
only guess.
Our march was constantly attended by great
collections of buffalo, which seemed to have a general muster, perhaps for
migration. Sometimes a hundred or two--a fragment from the
multitude--would approach within two or three hundred yards of the column,
and threaten a charge which would have proved disastrous
to the mules and their drivers.
Under the friendly cover of the shades of
evening, on the eighth of November, our tatterdemalion veterans marched
into
Fort Leavenworth, and took quiet possession of the miserable huts and
sheds left by the Third Infantry in
the preceding May.
Added April, 2005
Also See:
Early Traders on the Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe
Trail - Highway to the Southwest
Pathways
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