Item 003

ON THE PLAINS

April 21, 1866, pages 248-250 (Illustrated Article)

We give on this page and on page 248 some interesting illustrations of life on the Plains. In No. 474 of the Weekly we alluded to the attack made last winter on Butterfield’s Overland Dispatch Coach. Our artist, Mr. Davis, was one of the party attacked, and has furnished on page 248 a sketch of the occurrence, together with other illustrations, of which he gives the following descriptions:

ATTACK OF INDIANS ON AN OVERLAND COACH

Leaving Atchison we journeyed out into the vast plains, that never can be other than the vat wilderness that they are. We had, or thought we had, a journey of six or seven days before us. But circumstances alter cases: at least they did ours.

Two hundred and fifty miles from Atchison we became aware that Indians were more plenty than usual along the route. This gave us no uneasiness; but soon after the discovery of the bodies of murdered men—some of whom had been captured alive, and undergone the most awful torture, such as the cutting out of tongues and other parts of their person, then burning them alive—caused us to be continually on our guard. At this part of the journey Colonel Tamblyn, an able officer and a good Indian fighter, when he has the men, furnished us with a small escort.

Soon after this we discovered the bodies of two more men, from which we drove the wolves, and buried them. These men had fought and been killed; their bodies were covered with arrow-wounds. Brave men as they were, we could only cover them with so thin a blanket of prairie sod that would hide them from sight but not from the wolves.

Still further on we buried three more bodies that the Indians had left most barbarously mutilated. These discoveries, following each other so rapidly, caused us to be ever on the alert for an attack, which came about two o’clock one bright day, when one would have thought that the Indians would have been busy hunting the buffalo.

We had nearly reached a station known as Smoky Hill Spring when we discovered a party of fully sixty Indians within short pistol-shot of the coach. Our escort had reached the station and dismounted, leaving our little party to fight the affair out alone, which we did in the most determined style—arrows and pistol-balls penetrating the coach every moment, strange to say, without any thing more serious resulting than a couple of arrow scratches!

The Indians, beaten off, were joined by parties that seemed to come from every bluff. Thinking to drive us from the shelter of the station, which we had by this time reached, they set fire to the tall grass to the windward of us. The strong breeze brought the smoke and flame rapidly down, nearly reaching the adobe before we could check the fire by beating it down and out with our blankets. This we finally succeeded in doing. Then, so far as fire was concerned, we were safe; for prairie grass will not burn twice on the same day, and an Indian is too careful of his life to come within rifle range, if he is sure that the party that points said rifle is used to the weapon.

No attack was made until nightfall, when an unlimited quantity of arrows were distributed among us. Dawn found us ready, and the Indians perceiving this, no attack was made. About ten o’clock a company of Colonel Tamblyn’s regiment came to our rescue, at the sight of whom the Indians mounted their ponies, and we saw no more of them except at a great distance.

April 21, 1866, pages 248-250 (Illustrated Article)

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