eir faces to them. I have seen several
times, when caught in a tight place, bands of Indians held by a few men by
holding to ridges and slowly retreating, always using our rifles at every
opportunity when an Indian was in range, never wasting a shot on them
unless there was a probability of hitting them. The Indians have a mortal
fear of such tactics.

In a fight the Indians will select the positions and pick out quickly any
vantage ground, and sometimes as high as 200 will concentrate at such a
point where we could not concentrate twenty men without exposing them, and
from this vantage ground they will pour a deadly fire on the troops, and
we cannot see an Indian--only puffs of smoke. By such tactics as this they
harass and defeat our troops. Many a fight occurred between Indians and
soldiers both watching the smoke to show each other's position. You can
watch this kind of a fight and never see a person unless some one is hit
and exposes himself, when it is nearly always a sure death. The Indian
character is such that he will not stand continual following, pounding,
and attacking. Their life and methods are not accustomed to it, and the
Indians can be driven by very inferior forces by continually watching,
attacking, and following. None of our campaigns have been successful that
have not been prepared to follow the Indians day and night, attacking them
at every opportunity until they are worn out, disbanded, or forced to
surrender, which is the sure result of such a campaign.

The Indians during the months they had been hostile, and especially in
their attacks on the stage-stations and ranches, had captured a large
number of men, women, and children. These prisoners had made known to the
troops, by dropping notes along the trail and through the reports of
friendly Indians, their terrible condition and the usage that was being
made of them. Their appeals to us to rescue them were pitiful.

I knew the prisoners would be sent far north to the villages, and their
winter quarters out of our reach; that these villages were unprotected
because every brave and dog-soldier had his warpaint on and was joining
the hostile forces attacking along our lines, which were increasing every
day. I also knew it would be impossible for any of our troops to reach
them or to rescue them by following them, and as soon as I arrived at Fort
Kearney I asked authority of the Government to enlist and muster into
service two companies of Pawnee In