James F. Williams, corporal company I, bullet hole in back, head and arms cut off, many and deep cuts in back, and otherwise mutilated.

Thomas Downey, company I, arrow hole in region of stomach, throat cut open, head cut off, and right shoulder cut by a tomahawk.

Thomas Fitzpatrick, farrier, company M, scalped, two arrow and several bullet holes in back, and throat cut.

Ferdinand Linebach, company M, bullet hole in right parietal bone, head scalped, one arm broken, throat cut, and otherwise mutilated.

John Myers, company M, several bullet holes in head, scalped, scull extensively fractured, several arrow and bullet holes in back, deep gashes in face, and throat cut.

Carson D. J. Myers, company M, several bullet holes in head, scalped, nineteen bullet holes in body, throat cut, and otherwise mutilated.

Cal. Sharp, company M, two bullet holes in left side, throat cut, one bullet hole in left side of head, one arrow hole in left side, left arm broken, and otherwise mutilated.

Unknown, head cut off, body partly devoured by wolves. Unknown, head and right hand cut off, three bullet and nine arrow holes in back, and otherwise mutilated.

Unknown, scalped, skull fractured, six bullet and thirteen arrow holes in back, and three bullet holes in chest.

The discovery of the bodies having been made, and all doubt as to the fate of Elliott and his comrades having been settled, we set out on our return to camp, to send back wagons to bring in the bodies. Near the scene of this struggle the bodies of several dead warriors were found, probably killed by Elliott's men. After a short ride of several miles the remains of the villages of the Arrapahoes and Kiowas, who came to the support of the Cheyennes, were found. It was evident that both these nations cleared out with their families as hastily as their means of locomotion would allow. Camp-kettles, coffee-pots, cups, powder-kegs (empty), several rifles, hundreds of untanned

robes, hundreds of lodge-poles, and a variety of other articles, were left behind. Orders were given to destroy everything found. It was not long before a stream of consuming fire and smoke could be described following the line of the Washita for a distance of six or seven miles, all the way to camp. Not less than one thousand lodges occupied this stretch of country at the time of the fight.

Although the fate of Elliott's party would appear as a gross abandonment by Custer, particularly for not even recovering the bodies, or making some effort to learn what had become of them, when found missing, after the fight, the circumstances of the event were of such a character, that while no attempt was made with that view, the conduct of Custer in ordering a withdrawal was justifiable according to the laws of war. He struck the upper flank of a long range of villages, numbering several thousand warriors. His own force was small, and without supplies. In going into the fight the troopers had divested themselves of overcoats and all unnecessary trappings, leaving them near the field. These fell into the hands of the savage allies. The men, consequently, were without the proper protec tion, while the weather was cold and wintry. The wagon-train containing the subsistence stores and tents of the entire column, which had been left miles away, had not yet come up. The guard consisted of but eighty men. Custer, after the fight commenced, seeing such an extraordinary display of force, felt a natural anxiety to look after his wagons, for their destruction would involve the loss of the entire command, and probably defeat the whole campaign. He therefore set out for the train, and was hastened by experiencing greater opposition than was anticipated.

It will be seen that there were reasons, the second, particularly, which would warrant the abandonment of the field, and there being hardly a doubt of the fate of Elliott, when found missing, the safety of the command was certainly more to be considered than the loss of a small fraction of it. The pursuit of the fugitives, by Elliott, was entirely exceptional, as he had

his own squadron of attack to look after, this fact has led to the opinion that his horse ran away with him, and seeing him pass, a number of troopers, not actually engaged in the fight, joined him and were the companions of his sad end. Major Elliott, was an efficient and much esteemed officer, and his loss was deeply deplored by his associates.

of a civilian train.

During the journey to the battle-field, a detachment, moving close along the banks of the river, found, near the remains of the Kiowa camp, the bodies of a white woman and child. The bodies were brought into camp and examined. Two bullet holes, penetrating the brain, were found, also the back of the skull was fearfully crushed, as if by a hatchet. There were no marks on the child except a bruise on the cheek. This fact led to the conclusion that the child had been seized by the feet and dashed against a tree. When brought in, the body of the woman was recognized as Mrs. Blynn. This woman was captured by Satanta, chief of the Kiowas, near Fort Lyon, while on her way to her home in the "States." At the time of her capture she was in a wagon, in the centre The men with the train, it appears, fled, and left Mrs. Blynn and her child to fall into savage hands. Satanta kept her as his captive until the time of the fight of the Kiowas, when she was ruthlessly murdered. The body was dressed in the ordinary garments of a white woman; on the feet were a pair of leather gaiters, comparatively new. Upon the breast was found a piece of corn-cake, and the position of the hands indicated that the woman was eating when she, unexpectedly, received the fatal blow. The body presented the appearance of a woman of more than ordinary beauty, small in figure, and not more than twenty-two years of age. These bodies, and that of Major Elliott, were brought in on horseback by our party, to be conveyed to Fort Arbuckle for interment.

By three o'clock in the afternoon we reached camp. Immediately several wagons were detailed, under Lieutenant Hale, with an escort, to bring in the rest of the corpses. It was nine o'clock at night before the wagons returned with their load of

stark and ghastly dead. During the afternoon a trench had been dug on the crest of a beautiful knoll, overlooking the valley of the Washita. Large fires were built at night to enable the burial party to perform their sad work. Each body was ́examined, and several men from each of the companies, to which the deceased soldiers belonged, were present to identify the remains. Each corpse was now wrapped in a blanket and laid in the trench. At the hour of midnight, the solemn duty was consummated. The usual military honors were dispensed with. The death-like darkness and the mournful wintry wind, the low tones of the working party was their requiem.

The spot was marked, and the bodies left alone in that howling wilderness, away from the tender solicitude of friends for the last tenements of loved ones.

umn.

After returning to camp, the situation of the various Indian villages, between our position at the time, and the scene of the fight, was satisfactorily explained by the squaws with the colFrom our own observation, during the day, there was no exaggeration in fixing the aggregate number of lodges at one thousand, and the estimate was confirmed by the squaws, as near as their primitive ideas of numbers could convey. According to their statements, the village of Black Kettle's band of Cheyennes was the highest up the river. Next, in descending, were the Arrapahoes, under Little Raven, next the Kiowas, under Satanta and Lone Wolf; next the Cheyennes and Arrapahoes, then several bands of the Comanches, and lowest down the Apaches, (Lipans).

CHAPTER XXII.

AGAIN ON THE MARCH-A SNOW-STORM-THE FLIGHT OF THE SAVAGES-WILD TURKEYS-SATANTA AND LONE WOLF RECEIVE HOSPITALITIES.

T daylight on the morning of the twelfth of December, the column again broke camp. In resuming the march, our route lay along the course of the Washita, following the trail, the fugitive Indians had taken in

hastening for Fort Cobb. The remaining bands of the Cheyennes and Arrapahoes were traced in an opposite direction, leaving the valley and tending towards the head waters of the Red rivers.

Owing to the configuration of the country on the north side, the column crossed the Washita near camp. The stream was about thirty feet in width, with almost perpendicular banks from fifteen to twenty feet in height. From the river, the column ascended the "divide," which afforded good traveling and an extensive view of the surrounding country. The morning had been threatening, and the moderated temperature was a sure indication of a storm. Towards noon the heavy fog which had prevailed for several hours was changed to snow. The wind sprung up with violent force, adding greatly to our embarrassment. By noon the atmosphere had become so dense with snow and sleet, and the wind drove so furiously in our faces that the column was compelled to halt. It was impossible to see fifty yards in any direction. To go forward was likely to result in losing the river, upon which we had to rely for camping, as well as our guide to our destination. To remain in our present position exposed to the full force of the wind, and having the benefit of an extra dose of snow, would be attended with suf