OCR Text |
Show THE SIX DAYS' SIEGE. 145 Wednesday morning, having accomplished the distance of one hundred and sixty miles in twenty-eight hours. He conveyed the first intelligence of the battle, the death of Thornburg, and appealed for reinforcements. The bodies of the dead men and horses now began to become offensive, and at every opportunity afforded by the cessation of firing from the enemy, the bodies were placed one above the other and covered with dirt. In this way the dead served as breastworks for the survivors. The situation was horrible in the extreme. Surrounded by the dead and dying, their ears pierced by the agonizing cries of the wounded and death-struggles of the poor animals; for six long days the despairing handful of soldiers fought and contemplated their desperate, almost hopeless condition. The third day they were reinforced by a company of colored cavalry, under the command of Captain Dodge, who had been notified by a Rawlins courier of the distress of their white brethren in arms, and rode rapidly to their support. And still the murderous work went on, ceasing at night, but with the first dawn of day the alert foe, securely hidden behind the sheltering bluffs, renewed their fire. On the fifth day of the siege General Merritt came to their rescue with a considerable body of troops. It is said that when he saw the dead and wounded and the suffering to which the brave men had been subjected, he turned aside and wept like a child. Observing the strong reinforcements, and realizing their inability to maintain the fight any longer, the hostiles withdrew, leaving the field to General Merritt, who immediately marched to the agency, where he found the bodies 10 |