THE SCOUT'S ESCAPE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4571, 16 February 1893, Page 1

THE SCOUT'S ESCAPE.

(Now Tovfc Sun.) In the fall of 1866, while the Indian tribes of •Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado were professing peace, yet making ready for the bloody spring •campaign •which cost so many lives, Black Bird, a son of Boman Nose the famous 'Cheyenne'chief, paid a visit to fort Lamed. He was a young man of about twenty years of <agoy tall,;ective, and as brave us a lion. Although 'he made the excuse of trado, and although he did purchase a few supplies, it was behoved by everybody at the post that he came as a spy. There bad been a war council of all the tribes, and ib 'had been agreed to open a war in the spring which should not cease until the white •man was driven east of the forks of the Zanaaa Biver. One of the hunters and scouts attached to the forts at that time was a man named Joe Hall, who had served, as a scout under General Sheridan. He was thirty-five years old, strong and rugged, and itnvasflaidof himihat he didn't know what fear was. -Ho firmly believed that young Black Bird came to ascertain and report on the strength ■of the fort, and ho pioked a quarrel with him to obtain satisfaction. Black Bird, although alone and realizing that he had friends there, did not show the white feather. It was a fight with knives, beginning so suddenly that the officers could not interfere. The Indian was wounded and disarmed, and is order to humble him still more Hall spat upon him and retained his knifetas a trophy. It was an aot criticised and lamented by the officers, and a disgrace they knew would have to be washed-out iin blood, «id HaU-himself realized that from that hour .eve*y man of the Cheyenne tribe •would thirst for his life. Two weeks later old Bomail Nose -sent in the following message: " Give up the man who insulted my son and I will be satisfied. If you do not it shall be war between us and the whites as long as 1. have a warrior able to raise a tomahawk 1" The demand was of course refused, and to give Hall a better show to protect himself he was transferred to Fort Lyon, Colorado. -The Indians soon learned of the change, and Black Bird recoived the command of ten warriors and was ordered not to return to his father until he brought Hall's scalp. During the greater part of the .winter this band hung about'FortXyonifor an opportunity to kill the scout. He knew, of their presence, but made no change in his programme. He had a mule almost as fleet of foot as an antelope, and always carried a Winchester and two revolvers. Spring came, and with it the opening of savage warfare. The Indians took the field determined to sweep everything before them. In June Joe Hall was sent from Fort iLyon to Fort Wallace "with despatches. The intervening country was , literally swarming with ho&tilea, but he was within three miles oEWallteeboibre herfound .his position penldtti. "Rrnnntt Noae and -his band, numbering about SoObuoks/mide a sudden dash 'on the overland stage at*tiona mile from the fort, and gobbled up about fifty horses and mules. They expected to get the scalps of fivo or six employees aa well, but the men ran, to their dugouts and poured in suoh ahot fire as to drive the Indians off. Boman Nose then ordered an ■ attack on the fort, whioh was only a collection of tents and shanties, and slimly garrisoned. He -was beaten off after a sharp 'fight,-and while retreating his force came upon Hall trying to make the fort. Thescout was cut off, and be turned to make a jun for it. His mule would have distanced any pony in the band, but the race had scarcely begun when a bullet from the rifle of a .pursuer struck Hall in the back of the head. It was a spent ball and didn't draw blood, but it gave him such a shock that he tumbled out of his saddle and was a prisoner when he recovered consciousness. 'There were thirty different warriors who knew Hall by sight, and when it became known who the prisoner was the rejoicing was something : terrific. He was thoroughly up in the Cheyenne ■dialect, and, of course, caught everything said. When Boman Nose was told that Hall was the prisoner so fortunately picked up, he rode up and isaid: "I have lost nine warriors to-day, tout I shall no longer grieve. lam more pleased than if I ■haA captured the fort." Hall knew that he must die, and he hoped to •provoke the chief to kill him off-hand. He •called him a squaw, a coward, and a braggart. He taunted him with having a coward for a son, he offered to fight ten of his men if they would turn him loose. Some of .the warriors were for killing him on the spot, but the old chief waved them back and said: < "We will put him to the torture! He shall die iten timea over ! Seven suns shall come and go death comes to him! " . The Cheyennes had their headquarter village on the Smoky Hill Fork, about thirty •miles away, and thither the whole band proceeded. It was after dark when they reached the town, and Hall was tied hand and foot and placed in a tepee and four guards stationed around it. A small raiding party had that day captured a man belonging to the Seventh Cavalry waggon train. The Cheyennes had determined not to spare man, woman, or child who fell into their hands, but after a powwow lasting' an hour the teamster was brought out and Boman-Nose said iohim: "Wohave captured Flying Horse (Hall) and •we want all white men to know it. They will not believe us, but they will believe you. Come and see him." He was led to the tepee and Hall admitted his identity and charged him with some farewell messages to friends. He also gave him the despatches he was to deliver, or rather asked Boman Nose to do so, and the chief then .said* "That your white brothers may know you have been a captive in our bands we will Bend them our mark." - H© thereupon sliced off both of the teamster's ears and handed them to him to put in his pocket. The direction of Fort Wallace was pointed out, and he was given one of the stage horses and started ofE, teaching the post next forenoon. There did not appear to be one chance in a hundred for Hall to escape, but the village had no sooner become quiet than he began to plan. He was so triced up that it was utterly impossible to free himserf. He worked at his lashings for an hour or so, and then gave up the attempt. He knew the situation of the village and the country ■ .around it, and he Anally decided that his opportunity would come next day, when taken out to run the gauntlet. No matter what the rest of the programme is this portion or preface is never omitted. The Indians seem to get more amusement out of it than any other part. When morning camo Hall's arms were cast loose and he was provided with a hearty breakfast. The Indians knew he was game, and they wanted him to keep 'his full strength and last at long as. possible. He also had an object in view and ate all they brought him. It was about .nine o'clock when he was taken to run the gaunt-1 et. Allhislaflhings were .east off, -a rope tied at ~!»nd his waist, and he was exercised for fifteen nUnrtT- 1 *q dber him up. There were-tbout 400 bucks! n aa lines as they wore presently formed. In most instances the warriors are allctved to strike with clubs, the handles of tomahawsks, or their ijuckory bows, but in lbiaoase only switches wrere uqgd. Hall was a swift runner, and his plan was to snake a bofc for it when he reached the west en 4 clihfi line. To bis chagrin ho found a dozen mount*! wan&qra placed to head off any such attempt. He made it, however, Burming down ' bhoiineeti tkfi ippi^bitf weed twitmeiviag a cat

from almost every warrior as he passed, he broke out on the prairie and ran for his life. The pursuing Indians could have killed him, but the idea was recapture. He got two full miles from camp and dodged them for an hour, before this was accomplished. He was then made to pass -up and down the lines four times, after which he was returned to the tepee for an hour's rest, Being stark naked, every blow of the switches had raised a welt and he was scarred from head to hoeL The next move on the programme was- to bind him to a tree and throw knives and tomahawks at him. The idea was to torture his mind, but 'some of the weapons slightly wounded him, and those who threw them were laughed at as bunglers. The lobe of one ear was split by a tomahawk, and the rim of the other carried away by a knife. Hall won the admiration of all the warriors by bis display of nerve during the trying ordeal. At noon he was taken back to the tepee, where be <had another hearty meal. It was about one o'clock when he was brought out to be bound to a stake to undergo the splinter torture. The old men and boys had furnished -a great heap of dry splinters, which were to be stuck into' his flesh and lighted. As four stalwart bucks were conveying Hall from the tepee to the stake something was'happening on . the eastern edge of the camp. The Choyennea had about 600 ponies in their >hetd, with fifty or more captured hones and mules. The herders, anxious to witness the torture, bad come into the village, and Hall's mule, which was a vicious animal, took advantage of their absence to raise a rumpus. The whole herd had -become excited, when ail old buffalo bull, ■pursued <by wolves, dashed into it. With the rush of a cyclone the whole herd broke "for the village, and so sudden was the alarm that everybody was for the moment upset. The idea was that an attack was being made by soldiers. The frightened horses, followed 'by the bellowing bull, ran over everything in their way, and Hall and his guard weie knocked down like tenpins. The instant be was freed he rose to his feet among the horses and ran with them, hanging to the tale of a pony and yelling to keep the animals excited. Ho was carried along for a mile or more, and then, as the speed of the. herd began to slacken, he suddenly caught sight of his mule. She was as obedient to bis whistle as a dog, and he was soon on her back. As he circled around to the North the herd followed after, and it was not until he had put five miles behind him that they slackened Up and finally stopped. A hundred warriors had pursued the herd, but before they could get a mount Hall had a long start. He was riding without saddle or bridle, but that was no trick for a ecout. He headed away for Fort Wallace, and, tho ugh pursued to within a mile of the [ post, none of the Indians got within a mile of him. After the red men had been thoroughly whipped And returned to their reservations. Hall and I one day met four Cheyennes who were out hunting. All four recognised him. at once, aa all were in the lines when he ran the gauntlet, and two of them had hold of bis arms when the stampede occurred. We eat down for a smoke, and, after inquiring about Boman Nose and Black Bird, Hall observed : " You were having lots of fun with me that day, and I have always felt sorry that I had to leave you so suddenly." "We are at peace now," replied one of the warriors as he drew his knife and felt its edge, "and I will tell you something. Before you were burned at the stake I should have used this very knife to cut out your tongue and cut off your lips and eyelids, and I would have taken muscles from your arms and legs to make bowstrings for the little boys! " have a drink!" replied Hall, as he passed over his flask and arose to go.