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Show 538 WESTERN WILDS. from a buck, because they both ride straddle ; but they soon larn. But that's neither here nor thar. I'm told that this lootenint we're talkin' about is a new- comer, and that this is his first scout. Ef that be the case, it puts a mighty unsartain look on the whole thing ; and ' twixt you and me, gentlejnen, he'll be mighty lucky ef he gets through all right. To- morrow we'll strike the Wallace trail, and I can mighty soon tell whether he's gone that way." Xoxt day the relief party, led by Custer, came on Lieutenant K. idder's trail, and after a brief examination Comstock pronounced : " The trail shows that twelve' American horses, shod all around, have passed at a walk; and when they went by this pint they war all right, because their horses are a movin' along easy, and no pony tracks behind ' em, as would be ef the Injuns had an eye on ' em. It would be astonishin' for that lootenint and his layout to git into the fort without a skrimmage. He may, but ef he does, it'll be a scratch ef ever there was one; and I'll lose my confidence in Injuns." Custer ordered the command to hurry up, and, following the trail, they came, in a few hours, upon two dead horses with the cavalry brand, but stripped of all accouterments. A little farther, and they saw that the American horses had been going at full speed, while all around Comstock pointed out the minute but abundant evidences that the Indians had fought them from all sides, the pony tracks being numerous. A little farther, and they entered the tall grass and thickets along Beaver Creek, and there saw several buzzards floating lazily in the air, while the trail was sprinkled with exploded cartridges and other debris. That told the tale. Nor were they long in finding the dead. The sight made the blood even of these brave men curdle. Lieutenant Kidder and his companions lay near together, stripped of every article of clothing, and so brutally hacked and mangled that all separate recognition Avas impossible. Every skull had been broken, every head scalped ; the bodies were mutilated in an obscene and in-describable manner, and some lay amid ashes, indicating that they had been roasted to death. The scalp of Red Bead, the friendly Sioux, lay by his body, as it is contrary to their rules to carry away the scalp of one of their own tribe ; nor is it permitted among most Indians to keep such a scalp or exhibit it. The exact manner of their death can not be known, but all the surroundings showed that they fought long and well. Caster's command buried them on the spot where found, whence the father of Lieutenant Kidder removed his remains the next winter. Custer marched on to Fort Wallace with all possible speed, but |
