ered with hundreds of others for the dangerous duty. The
government needed men badly, but McGee's youth militated against
him, and he was below the required stature; so he was rejected by the
mustering officer.

Mr. Barret, in hunting for teamsters to drive his caravan, came across
McGee, who, supposing that he was hiring as a government employee,
accepted Mr. Barret's offer.

By the last day of June the caravan was all ready, and on the morning of
the next day, July 1, the wagons rolled out of the fort, escorted by a
company of United States troops, from the volunteers referred to.

The caravan wound its weary way over the lonesome Trail with nothing
to relieve the monotony save a few skirmishes with the Indians; but no
casualties occurred in these insignificant battles, the savages being
afraid to venture too near on account of the presence of the military
escort.

On the 18th of July, the caravan arrived in the vicinity of Fort Larned.
There it was supposed that the proximity of that military post would be
a sufficient guarantee from any attack of the savages; so the men of
the train became careless, and as the day was excessively hot, they went
into camp early in the afternoon, the escort remaining in bivouac about
a mile in the rear of the train.

About five o'clock, a hundred and fifty painted savages, under the
command of Little Turtle of the Brule Sioux, swooped down on the
unsuspecting caravan while the men were enjoying their evening meal. Not
a moment was given them to rally to the defence of their lives, and of
all belonging to the outfit, with the exception of one boy, not a soul
came out alive.

The teamsters were every one of them shot dead and their bodies horribly
mutilated. After their successful raid, the savages destroyed everything
they found in the wagons, tearing the covers into shreds, throwing
the flour on the trail, and winding up by burning everything that was
combustible.

On the same day the commanding officer of Fort Larned had learned from
some of his scouts that the Brule Sioux were on the war-path, and
the chief of the scouts with a handful of soldiers was sent out to
reconnoitre. They soon struck the trail of Little Turtle and followed it
to the scene of the massacre on Cow Creek, arriving there only two hours
after the savages had finished their devilish work. Dead men were lying
about in the short buffalo-grass which had been stained and matted by
their flowing blood, and the