South American Fights and Fighters, and Other Tales of Adventure

by Cyrus Townsend Brady

  {301}

  V

  In the Caverns of the Pitt

  A Story of a Forgotten Fight with the Indians

  One of the most distinguished of the minor soldiers of the Civil War,minor in the sense of being surpassed only by men of the stature ofGrant, Sherman, Sheridan and Thomas, was George Crook. His exploits inthe valley of the Shenandoah were brilliant, and his whole career wasreplete with instances of ability and courage which stamped him as asoldier of the first grade. A major-general of volunteers and a brevetmajor-general in the regular army, the year 1868 found him a colonel ofinfantry commanding the military district of Owyhee, a section of thecountry which included the southeastern part of Oregon and thenortheastern part of California.

  In the adaptation of means to ends, so far as Indian affairs areconcerned, the United States has usually been woefully lacking. With afew companies of cavalry and infantry not aggregating a full regiment,this eminent soldier was directed to hold the various scatteredgarrison points throughout a large extent of territory, and also tosettle the Indians, who for some time had been indulging theirpropensities for savage slaughter almost unchecked, save for a fewsporadic and ineffective efforts by volunteers and irregulars.

  The far western representatives of the great {302} Shoshone nation areamong the meanest, most degraded, most despicable Indians on thecontinent. This did not hinder them from being among the most brutaland ferocious. They made the tenure of life and property more thanprecarious in that far-off section during and after the Civil War.They were not very numerous, nor were they a great race of fighters,except when cornered. The character of the country to the eastward oftheir ravaging ground, abounding in lava beds, desolate plains,inaccessible valleys and impassable mountain ranges, to which theycould fly when they were hard pressed, rendered it difficult to bringany considerable number of them to action, and they enjoyed a certainimmunity from punishment on that account.

  The most important engagement between them and the troops, before thepatience and perseverance of Crook and his handful, finally wore outthe Indians, presents, perhaps, the one instance where they werebrought fairly to bay and the soldiers had an opportunity to give thema thorough beating. This unique battle demonstrated also howdesperately even a coward will fight when his back is against a wall.And it showed, as few other frontier fights have shown, the splendidcourage of the regular American soldier in this arduous, unheededservice.

  Early on the 26th of September, 1868, General Crook, with a small troopof cavalry, H of the First, numbering less than thirty men, togetherwith about a score of mounted infantrymen from the Twenty-thirdRegiment, and perhaps as many Warm Spring Indian scouts under a leadernamed Donald Macintosh, with a small pack train, found himself on thesouth fork of Pitt River, in Modoc County, Cal., a few miles below itsjunction with the main stream. The {303} country is wild, unsettled,largely unexplored to this day. There is no railroad even now nearerthan one hundred and twenty-five miles. General Crook had been huntingand trailing Indians in the Warmer Mountains without success forseveral days. On this morning the Warm Spring Indian scouts reportedthat a large body of Indians was encamped in the valley upon which hewas just entering.

  The general direction of the river here was due north and south.Perhaps a mile from the bank of the river to the west, rose a hightableland which terminated in precipitous and generally insurmountablebluffs of black basalt, extending above the general level of the valleyabout twelve hundred feet. Projecting eastward from the side of theselofty cliffs was a singular rocky plateau, the outer lines of whichroughly formed a half circle. This elevation was bordered on the southby a deep and broken canon, on the north by a creek which ran through aforest of scattered juniper trees. The plateau rose in two gentleslopes to a height of about five or six hundred feet above the valleylevel, and was thus half as high as the bluff to the westward, whichformed the base of the semi-circle. Near the northern part of theplateau the rocks were elevated in a series of irregular broken peaks,like the jagged ice hummocks of the higher latitudes. The wholeplateau was covered with enormous boulders, over which it wasimpossible even to lead a horse. On the lower reaches plots of grass,dotted with junipers, abounded. The valley of the river proper belowthe cliffs and the projecting plateau was a good place for a camp,although the ground near the banks was swampy and impassable.

  The peaks mentioned, it was afterward learned, {304} abounded withhidden caves and underground passages. By some curious freak ofnature, the volcanic hummocks contained no less than four naturalfortifications of varying sizes, which, supplemented by very slightefforts on the part of the Indians, had been turned into defensiveworks of the most formidable character.

  They were connected by a perfect labyrinth of crevasses and undergroundpassages and caves, so that the defenders could easily pass from one tothe other. The northeast fort, which was the principal one of thechain, was surrounded by a natural gorge some fifty feet deep andtwenty-five feet wide at the top. A sort of banquette, or balcony,making a practicable path several feet wide, extended around the fortbetween the wall and the edge of the ravine. The fort proper wasenclosed by a wall of rock, partly natural, partly artificial, abouteight feet high. An assailant crossing the ravine and gaining thecrest of the peak would have ample standing ground between the edge andthe wall. The broken ground around these forts on the plateau formed aseries of natural rifle pits.

  These works were held by no less than one hundred and twenty Shoshonesbelonging to the Piutes, Pitt Rivers, Modocs and Snakes. Their chiefwas Sa-hei-ta, one of the bravest and most brutal of the marauders.When they saw Crook's little force of fifty white soldiers and a scoreof Warm Spring Indians descending the bluff into the valley south ofthe rocky canon, they laughed them to scorn. They were confident inthe strength of their position and in their numbers, and they resolvedto hold their ground. Indeed, after the first few moments there wasnothing else for them to do, for Crook distributed his cavalry {305}and infantry around the northern and southern sides, put his pack mulesin camp in the valley on the east with a small guard, and threw theWarm Spring Indian scouts back of the forts between them and thecliffs. Thus he had the Indians surrounded, so far as seventy mencould surround nearly twice their number in chosen fortifications. Thewhole place was popularly known as the Hell Caves of the Pitt River,although in the War Department and official records it is describedmore politely as the Infernal Caverns of the Pitt River.

  Getting his men in position, Crook acted promptly. In long thin lineson the north and south, taking advantage of the abundant cover, thesoldiers cautiously advanced, clearing out the rifle pits and drivingthe Indians back toward their stronghold. There was severe fightingall during the afternoon, in which First Sergeant Charles Brackett andPrivate James Lyons were killed and a number were wounded. The WarmSpring Indians, who were good scouts, did not fancy this sort ofwarfare, and they took practically no part in the battle. They wereuseful enough in one way, as they checked any retreat toward thebluffs, although as it turned out the Indians had no intention ofleaving.

  Finally, toward evening, the plateau was entirely cleared of Indians,who had all been forced back into the forts. Crook had sent a picketof soldiers to the edge of the basalt cliffs and these men, withlong-range rifles, did some little execution on the defenders of theforts, although the distance was so great that their fire was largelyineffectual. Night found the soldiers ensconced behind boulders on thevery rim of the ravine, the Indians in the forts. In little squads the{306} soldiers were withdrawn from the battlefield and sent down to thecamp in the valley to get something to eat. They had been without foodor water since morning, and fighting is about the hottest, thirstiestwork that a man can engage in. After they had refreshed themselves,they went back to the plateau to keep watch over the fort. Desultoryfiring took place all night long, the Indians blazing awayindiscriminately--they had plenty of ammunition, it appeared--and thesoldiers firing at the flashes of the guns. The voices of the medicineme
n and the chiefs could be heard exhorting them and promising victory.

  Crook determined to storm the place at break of day. The darknessrendered it impossible to attempt the broken, precipitous descent andascent of the ravine in the night. Light was needed for that. He hadfought valiantly throughout the day, this major-general, as a commonsoldier in the ranks. He was a dead shot, and had used his Spencercarbine with effect whenever opportunity presented. He could assemblefor the assault but forty men, twenty-two of the First Cavalry andeighteen of the Twenty-third Infantry. The Warm Spring auxiliariesrefused to assault, such close work not being to their taste. Therewere several wounded men in the camp, and a small guard had to be keptthere to protect them and the horses from the attacks of some of theIndians who had taken advantage of the night to escape from thestronghold to endeavor to stampede the herd, and who from variouscovers kept up a constant fire on the camp, so that LieutenantEskridge, quartermaster, had his hands full in holding his ground.

  First Lieutenant W. R. Parnell, now of San Francisco, who commanded thecavalry, was directed to {307} lead the assault. Second LieutenantJohn Madigan, also of the cavalry, who had charge of the infantry, wasordered to support. The troops were directed to creep to the brink ofthe crevasses surrounding the fort and drop down it as quickly aspossible. Arrived at the bottom, they were to scale the rockycounter-scarp, and when they got to the platform they were to keepmoving while they attempted to break the wall of the fort proper.Crook, who believed in intimidation, advised them to yell and cheer asmuch as possible. The general crawled around during the night from manto man, acquainting every soldier with his ideas and "talking to themas a father." He reminds me a little of Henry V. before the battle ofAgincourt.

  The task he had set his soldiers was desperate in the extreme. Itspeaks well not only for the general's reliance upon them, but for thequality of the men also, that he conceived it possible and that theycarried it out effectively. So soon as it was fairly dawn the soldiersat a given signal dashed at the crest. So suddenly did they appearthat, although the Indians in the fort across the ravine opened aterrific rifle and arrow fire upon them, not one was injured. Withouta moment's hesitation, the men plunged down the walls, and sliding,falling, any way, they reached the bottom. There they were safe fromthe fire of the Indians, for the platform around the wall of the fortprevented the Indians from shooting into the ravine.

  Parnell's company immediately began the escalade of the cliffs.Madigan had not been so fortunate. Where he struck the ravine the wallhappened to be absolutely sheer. Descent was not practicable. His mentherefore stopped on the brink until he directed his infantrymen tocircle the ravine until they found a {308} practicable descent andthere join Parnell's men. He had scarcely given the order when abullet pierced his brain. Some of his men were also struck down,others retired behind the rocks, made a detour and followed Parnell.

  The sides of the ravine were so precipitous that no man could scalethem unaided. Two or three would lift up a fellow-soldier. Aftergaining a foothold he in turn would pull others up, and thus theyslowly made their way to the edge of the cliffs, Crook climbing withthe rest. They finally gained the banquette, or platform, after adifficult and exhausting climb. The Indians were behind the walls ofthe fort, the soldiers outside. Sergeant Michael Meara, leading theadvance, peeped through a loop-hole, and was shot dead. PrivateWilloughby Sawyer, happening to pass by another orifice, was killed inthe same way. In both cases the Indians were so close that the facesof both men were badly powder burned. A slug struck the wrist and anarrow pierced the body of Private Shea, hurling him to the bottom ofthe ravine.

  But the soldiers were not idle. Guns from each side were thrustthrough every loophole or crevice and discharged blindly. In thisdesperate method of fighting, the Indians, being contracted within thecircle, suffered the more. While some were fighting thus, others weretearing down the rocky wall with hands and bayonets. A breach was soonmade, and through it the soldiers streamed. The Indians, after onehasty volley, fled precipitately. The last man to leave the fort wasthe chief, Sa-hei-ta. As he leaped over the wall Crook's unerringSpencer sent a bullet into his spine, and he fell dead at the bottom ofthe ravine. The fort had been defended by at least fifty {309}Indians, and there were fifteen dead bodies in it. Among these wasthat of the chief medicine man.

  The soldiers ran to the western wall, and through loopholes opened afire upon the Indians, who had joined their fellows in the other forts.The fire was fiercely returned. About nine in the morning one of theinfantrymen, peering through a small crevice in the rock, found hisview obstructed by a small weed. In spite of Parnell's caution, heuprooted it, leaving quite an opening, in which he was completelyexposed. He was shot through the head instantly and fellunconscious.[1]

  The wounded, of which there were a number, were now taken to the campabout 11 A. M. The fire of the Indians having slackened, Crook,leaving a detachment in the fort, withdrew the rest of the men to thecamp for breakfast. The Indians took advantage of this opportunity tocharge the fort. The few defenders were driven out of thefortification and Sergeant Russler was killed, the third sergeant tolose his life that day! Rallying on the banquette, upon the return ofthe others, they in turn drove the Indians out of the fort. Neitherparty could occupy it all day long. The soldiers clung to the platformcovering their dead in the fort on one side, while the Indians from theforts on the other side prevented the soldiers from re-entering.

  It was not until nightfall that the dead could be withdrawn. Thesoldiers re-occupied the fort at night, and although the Indians sentfrequent volleys of arrows, which they shot into the air, hoping theywould {310} fall upon the soldiers, and kept up an irregular fire,culminating in a sustained discharge about midnight, they made noattempt seriously to take the fort, although the soldiers, confidentlyexpecting an attack, lay on their arms all night. During the last halfof it not a sound came from the Indians.

  The next morning Crook prepared to resume the attack by assaulting theother forts, when his suspicions were awakened by a strange quiet,which continued in spite of several efforts to draw the Indian fire.Fearing some stratagem, he delayed until he could have speech with theinterior forts by means of a wounded Indian squaw, whom they capturedafter cautious scouting. From this woman, whom they forced to speak bythreatening to hang her, it was learned that the Indians had decampedduring the night. The warriors had taken advantage of a longunderground passage which led south and opened in a cave in the side ofthe canon. This concealed way actually took them under the feet ofCrook's soldiers, and sufficiently far from his camp and scouts toenable them, so quietly had they moved, to steal away undetected. Theyleft their women and children in the caves. These caves were a perfectmaze. To attempt to search them would have been impossible. Indeed,one soldier, Private James Carey, who saw the body of a dead Indiannear the mouth of one of them, and who sought a scalp as a trophy,descended to the cave mouth and was shot dead by some one, probably awounded brave, within the dark recesses.

  The Indians' loss was about forty killed. Crook had lost nearly amoiety--50 per cent.--of his entire force, an appalling proportion!One officer, six soldiers, one civilian had been killed, twelvesoldiers, {311} including three corporals,[2] seriously wounded, two ofthem afterward died; and almost every survivor in the party hadreceived some slight wound or had been badly bruised by falls inclimbing over the broken rocks. Their clothing and shoes were cut topieces, they were utterly worn out by two sleepless nights and twodays' desperate fighting. They buried the brave soldiers in thevalley, concealing their graves so that the Indians could not discoverthem and ravage them. Carrying their wounded in rude travels slungbetween horses and mules, and taking the body of brave young Madigan,who was buried in a lonely forgotten grave, one day's march from thebattlefield, they returned to Camp Warner.

  With a greatly inferior force Crook had assailed the Indians on groundof their own choosing, which they believed to be impregnable, and hadadminister
ed a crushing defeat. The escalade of the wall of theravine, the breaching of the rampart, the storming of the fort, itsdefence, its abandonment and recapture, was one of the most gallant andheroic exploits ever performed in American history. Although he hadpaid dearly for his victory, the lesson Crook had inflicted upon thesavages was a salutary one, and the disastrous defeat of the Indians inthe Infernal Caverns of the Pitt River was a great factor in bringingabout the subsequent pacification of that section.

  To-day the exploit is forgotten. All the officers, save one, and Ipresume most of the men, who participated, are dead. It is from thepapers of the surviving officer, Colonel Parnell, and from officialreports and a few meagre published accounts in newspapers and booksthat this story of American heroism has been prepared.

  [1] He lived three weeks without regaining his senses, and eventuallydied at Camp Warner, Ore., over one hundred and fifty miles away,whither he was carried with the other wounded, after the battle.

  [2] The loss among non-commissioned officers was especially heavy,showing how well these brave men did their duty.