and had been captured and massacred. So far as is
known, this is the only instance in which cowardice was shown by any
man in the command.

The remaining four men stood bravely by the gun, however, loaded and
fired it twice at the assaulting party, and then, as the Indians closed
around it, used their rifles on them. When they saw that they could not
successfully defend the piece, they threw it off the trunnion and
retreated. Corporal Sayles was killed and Sergeants Daily and
Fredericks wounded at their posts. The horses that were hauling the
piece were both shot down. Private Bennett, the driver, was caught
under one of them in its fall, and pretended to be dead until the
Indians withdrew, when he took out his knife, cut the harness, and then
prodding the animal, which was still alive, made it move sufficiently
to release him, and he retreated and reached the wagon-train, where
Sergeants Daily and Fredericks also arrived later in the day.

The Indians, finding the howitzer useless to themselves, took the
wheels off the trunnion, hid them in the brush, and taking a pack-mule
that had been brought up with the howitzer and which was loaded with
2,000 rifle cartridges, returned to their camp.

The loss of the cannon was a serious blow to the command, for, could it
have been gotten into position and held, it could have done excellent
service in shelling the Indians out of their strongholds, whence they
so annoyed the troops. The piece could not consistently have been more
strongly guarded, however, than it was, for every available man was
needed in the assault on the camp. The loss of the 2,000 rounds of
rifle cartridges also weakened the command seriously, for it compelled
the men to reserve their fire all day, in order to make the supply
taken into the action with them hold out. Had this extra supply reached
them, they could have killed many more Indians during the day than they
did.

Meantime the fight continued to rage at the mouth of the gulch, with
varying fortunes and misfortunes on either side. Late in the afternoon
a smoke was seen rising from beyond the brow of the hill below Gibbon's
position, and the cry went forth that the Indians had fired the grass.
A wind was blowing the fire directly toward the beleaguered band, and
all were greatly alarmed. The General had feared that the Indians would
resort to this measure, for he knew it to be a part of the Nez Perces'
war tactics, and he believed that they intend