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Show CHAPTER XIX CAPTURING SPOTTED HORSE. Spotted Horse was the chief of a band of Indians, who, by their savage atrocities, caused a reign of terror along the Platte in the spring of '64. Houses and barns were burned for a distance of two hundred miles; men, women and children were massacred in a most horrible manner. Spotted Horse, with his small band of warriors, hideous with paint, feathers and shot-gun, had Denver effectually besieged. There were troops at Fort Kearney, but they made no effort to punish the murderers. Occasionally, with colors flying, they escorted an emigrant wagon or freight train and gently pushed the playful Indians back. This kindness was carried a little too far; it was about to step into eccentricity. Matters began to assume a solemn form. It was death to the pioneers from starvation and the tomahawk, or death to Spotted Horse and his band. At this critical moment the " Colorado First," a regiment of brave men who volunteered to fight the rebellion, returned from New Mexico. Major Downing, with a fraction of this regiment, consisting of about sixty-five men, was ordered to proceed down the Platte'and clear the road. The Major had won a reputation for undaunted bravery. "Sure," said Mike, "he is a very Daniel; he has a charmed life. I have seen him sit on a high rock, in the thickest of the fight, and repair his revolver when the bullets were falling thick around him, and niver a wound did he get. 85 |
