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Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. XXXIII evidently considered his.advance with all his troops as an act df war, ! and when he crossed the reservation line at Mdk Creek-a point about 25 miles distant from the agency-snd was about to enter acsiion, a body of not less than 100 Indians were discovered, who opened upon the soldiers a deadly fire. Fighting as they went, the command fell back on the wagon train which was coming up in the rear. In this retreat Major Thornburgh and several others were killed. Horaes, wagons, and everything~avaihblew ere immediately used for breastworks, while the Indian; from the surrounding Mu& kept up a galling fire. In this des-perate position the command under Captain P a p e held its own until the morning of the 2d of October, when it was re-enforced by Company Dl of the Ninth Cav%lry, under Oaptain Dodge. TMs single company of colorcd troops, hearing of the fight, made forced marches, without orders, through the enemy's conntry, to the relief of the snrvivors. Meantime, as soon as .the news of the battle reached hesdqnarters, several large bodies of troops were ordered to Milk Creek, and on the morning of October 6 Colonel Merritt arrived there with 6 0 men. Ha found the total losses to be 12 killed an& 43 wounded. The combined forces then proceeded to the agency, where they found only dead bodies and burned buildings. The news of the fight with Major Thornburg was conveyed by runners to the Iudian camp near the agency, and the agent% letter of the 29th to Major Thornburgh had hardly been dispatched when the massacre of the agency employ6s began. All the men, eight in number, were shot; thewife and daughter of the agent and the wife of one of the employ6s1 with her two children, took refuge in an adobe building and remained there for four hours until the buildings were fired. They then took the opportunity, while the Indians were busily engaged in helping them-selves to the annuity goods, to escape to the sage-bush, but during their flight mere discovered and flred upon by the Indians, Mrs. Meeker receiv-iug a flesh wound. They were then taken captive and conveye,l by the Indians, a h r a toilsome jotrney of several hours, to the camp to which threc or four days previous t,he Indian women and children had been removed. Two teamsters who were coming up with Indian go& at the time of the massam were a h killed. The Indian report their loss in the flrst day of their attack on the troops as 23, md afterwards in their straggle with the employ& and the hightern as 14. While these events were transpiring among the White River Utes, Chief Ouray and his band had started out on a two months' hunt; but, , as sobn as he learned h m an Indian runner of the massacre and the capture of the women, he hastened back to hi agency in greilt auxiety and alarm, and immediatelg issued the following order : LO8 PIN08 INDIAN 'AGENCY, O e t o b ~2, 1819. To the chigf aaptains, kadtnen, and 0l.s at the White Riser Agency: You *re hereby reqaested and oarnmanded to oesrre hostilities againat the ahites, njnring no innooent persons or any others forther than to protect your o mli vesand IND-111 |
