nd was
admired alike by officers and men for the alacrity with which he shared
in every danger. His conduct in that fight gave the lie to the carpers
who had accused him of cowardice in the affair in Lo Lo Canyon. In
short, every officer, every enlisted man, and every citizen volunteer,
fought as though the responsibility of the battle rested solely with
him, and all acquitted themselves most nobly.

CHAPTER IV.

As soon as the command abandoned the camp, the Indians reoccupied it,
and under the fire of the sharpshooters, hauled down several of their
teepees, hastily bundled together the greater portion of their plunder,
packed a number of horses with it, and, mounting their riding ponies,
the squaws and children beat a hasty retreat down the valley, driving
the herd of loose horses with them. They had hot work breaking camp,
and several of them and their horses were killed while thus engaged.
Two of Joseph's wives and a daughter of Looking Glass were among the
slain, who were believed to have been killed at this time.

When the command retired into the timber, the Indians followed and
surrounded them, taking cover along the river banks below, and behind
rocks and trees on the hill-sides above. The men dug rifle pits with
their trowel bayonets and piled up rocks to protect themselves as best
they could, and a sharpshooting fight was kept up from this position
all day. At times, the Indians' fire was close and destructive, and
here Lieutenant English received a mortal wound. Captain Williams was
struck a second time, and a number of men killed and wounded.

Two large pine trees stand on the open hill-side some 400 yards from
the mouth of the gulch. Behind one of these an Indian took cover early
in the morning and staid there until late in the afternoon. He proved
to be an excellent long-range shot, and harassed the troops sorely by
his fire until a soldier who had crawled up the gulch some distance
above the main body, and who was equally expert in the use of his
rifle, got a cross-fire on him and finally drove him out. He went down
the hill on a run and took refuge in the willows, but with one arm
dangling at his side in a way that left no doubt in the minds of those
who saw him that it was broken.

A large number of Indians crawled up as close to the troops as they
dared, and the voices of the leaders could be heard urging their
companions to push on. A half-breed in the camp, familiar with the Nez
Perce