by J. R. WRIGHT
Luke studied the anguish on Little Thunder’s weathered face as he desperately searched for the right decision. The dilemma: there wasn’t a right decision. Fighting would get them killed. Running may get them killed as well and would leave the women and children to their own fate. Surrender was now looking to be the best choice. But even that may not be available if action wasn’t taken soon. Once Harney was in place with his artillery at the south end of the valley, and the cavalry closed them in from the north end, as he figured they would eventually, surrender may not be accepted. Knowing what Harney was capable of, it may not be accepted even now.
Luke pulled up the telescope one more time and saw Harney’s troops only three miles out now and on a run. Swinging the glass to the north, he saw what he had expected would happen all along: mounted cavalry were closing off the north end of the valley. He handed the instrument to Little Thunder so he could look for himself.
After studying the movements at both ends of the valley, Little Thunder handed the glass back and said, “Wakinyan Kitala ee che chue pee!” (Little Thunder will surrender). He then signaled the warriors below to lay down their weapons and follow him out.
Red Cloud screamed “No!” in Sioux, so loud it echoed through the valley. But in the end, they all did as Little Thunder asked.
Luke affixed a white rag to his rifle barrel and rode with it extended high, Little Thunder by his side. Soon those from the village, as well the others from high above, fell in behind. Once assembled, they all walked their horses slowly, their own heads bowed humbly, toward the advancing troops.
Now that they were within a thousand yards, the infantry was sent forward to receive the surrendering Indians. At least that is what Luke thought, before he saw smoke pouring from their rifles, and bullets began whistling past him. Angry now, he stood in the saddle and waved the rifle, white flag attached, frantically.
At that point he saw Colonel Snively ride his mount to the front of the troops in a desperate attempt to cease the firing. However, it didn’t stop. In fact, it increased. And then the dragoons were released. They charged their horses wide away from the infantry in an attempt to flank the surrendering Brule.
Seeing them coming, Little Thunder ordered his warriors back to the village and their weapons. Luke halted the mule, gave the down commanded, and from behind her, watched them go, the dragoons in hot pursuit.
Once the fleeing Indians were out of range of the infantry, the shooting stopped. Luke remounted the mule, ordered her up, and rode at a full gallop on toward the advancing army. His initial frustration had long since turned to anger, and he wanted answers. Seeing General Harney ride his buckskin colored horse smartly to the front of the column caused Luke to steer the mule directly for him.
Noticing the rapidly advancing calico mule was not easing up, Harney made a last ditch effort to spur the buckskin out of its path, only to discover the attempted maneuver was too late. The mule, without hesitation, struck broad side, knocking the horse and his rider sprawling on the dusty ground, both scrambling to regain their feet.
“You son of a bitch!” Harney, upright now, shouted and reached for his sword. Not soon enough, however, to forestall Luke’s quicker action.
With his Hawken squarely on him, Luke booted the wide-eyed Harney in the face. This sent the dust covered, hatless general reeling to the ground once again.
As Luke danced the agile mule about for a third charge, Colonel Snively managed to maneuver his mule between the two them. “Stop it, Tom! That’s enough!”
“That bastard needs to die!” Luke barked, trying to bypass the colonel. “They were surrendering! Is he blind! I had a white flag!”
“Just cool down! Let me handle this,” Snively pleaded. “I’ll call for an inquiry.”
“You’ll do no such thing!” Harney came up from the ground, blood trickling from his nose, his coat more powder white than royal blue. “Arrest that man!” he ordered the infantry officers who were standing idly nearby, somewhat confused as to what to do in this situation until now.
“Now hold on, General!” Colonel Snively protested. “There’s no call for that! Hill has a right to be angry…”
“Colonel, I’m relieving you of command!” Harney snapped. “Now, get yourself to the rear, or I’ll strip you of your rank right here!”
Having little choice in the matter, Snively, clearly angry, reined the mule over and departed for the end of the artillery column a half mile back.
“I said, arrest him!” Harney looked back to Luke. With that, several infantry solders, upon signals from their immediate superiors, rushed forward to pull Luke from the mule.
The mule, however, had another idea and began whirling about, kicking with both rear legs as she went. It was all Luke could do to hang on, nearly losing his grip on the rifle. Even General Harney had to scramble out of the way to avoid the flying hooves.
“Shoot him!” Harney shouted.
Hearing this, Luke reined the mule in and ordered her down. It was done in an effort to avoid the two of them being killed, as it wasn’t clear who or what Harney intended shot with the order. He then stepped from her back and put the rifle on the ground. “You’ll pay for what went on here today, General!” Luke got out before the soldiers got to him.
“And I’ll see to it you’re hanged for treason, Hill!” Harney fired back.
“Treason?”
“Consorting with a known enemy of the U.S. Government. Interfering with the apprehension of wanted…”
“It was requested I be here, General!”
“By who?”
“Thomas Twiss, of the Indian Bureau. As I understand it, his authority surpasses yours when it comes to Indian disputes, as specified in the Treaty of eighteen fifty-one.”
“Tie him to his mount and take him to the rear!” Harney ordered. “I don’t have time for this banter! We’re at war here!” He picked his hat up from the ground and dusted himself with it. “You’ll hang, nonetheless, Hill,” he said before mounting the buckskin horse brought to him. He then rode on toward the Indian village, where a battle was taking place; gunshots could be heard from here. “Bring up those cannon! On the double!”
CHAPTER FORTY
When the artillery moved out, Colonel Snively rode, with Luke tied to his mule, to a plateau overlooking the village, where the two of them watched the destruction and ruthless killing taking place below.
“Cut me loose, Colonel,” Luke requested.
Without hesitation, Snively did as he asked. As it appeared, his military career was over anyway. What was one more violation going to hurt, he reasoned?
Hands free, Luke reached for the telescope and leveled it at the action farther up the valley a mile or two. The dragoons on the south and the cavalry on the north were having great fun picking off the near defenseless Indians as they rode in circles between them. With all the dust flying, it was impossible to see how many of the near two hundred warriors remained. That is, until some began breaking away from the group. Clearly now he could see Red Cloud’s near all black horse out in the lead. It seemed there was some sort of plan in the works, as some raced to the east side of the deep walled valley. The cavalry raced to the east side as well, fearing a mass breakout at the northeast corner. And with so many of them going there, it gave the bulk of the Indians in the dust cloud near the center an opportunity to break for the northwest corner, and they took it. Clearly, it was Little Thunder on his white horse that led this group, and Luke watched intently, privately cheering them on.
Colonel Snively, with his own telescope on the action now, said, “By Jesus! It looks like they may break out. Is that Little Thunder?”
“It is,” Luke responded. “Go!” he rooted, unable to control himself.
Snively was confused. Some of those troops out there were under his command. But he too was hoping Little Thunder and his warriors escaped, if for no other reason than to spite General Harney. It wasn’t as if his men were in much danger. The Indians were mostly unarmed, e
xcept for a few old guns which were near impossible to load or even fire accurately on the run.
Once the Indians broke through their line, the cavalry, it seemed, lost all sense of direction. It was a mad scramble of three hundred mounted soldiers going every which way. Some went east, some west, but most chased after the fleeing Indians. And since the Indians came out of the valley at various intervals, there were Indians chasing up on cavalry that were chasing Indians ahead. It was a mess. Colonel Snively was at first embarrassed, then became angry.
“Jesus H. Christ! It’s a god damned free for all out there. A hill of ants has better organization!” he fumed, watching them go. Some were miles away already, with no sign of easing up.
So occupied had Luke and Snively been, watching what was transpiring to the north, that they lost track of what Harney was up to at the village. That is, until a series of thunderous booms drew their attention there. Except for a few dead warriors that were there from the earlier skirmish, it seemed General Harney was using the cannons, ten of them neatly in a row, to level an empty village. Time and time again, they reloaded and fired, until not a single tepee remained standing.
“Look!” Luke said and pointed to the cliffs on the far side of the valley. It appeared all the echoing cannon fire had frightened the women and children from the caves they hid in. Many were gathered at the mouth of each. It appeared they were undecided as to what to do: remain inside as they were told, or make a run for it. ‘Run where?’ Luke wondered.
“Shit!” Snively said. “Harney wouldn’t…! Would he…?”
“He is!” Luke said, watching as the cannon were turned to fire at the caves. “That son of a bitch!”
“Doesn’t he know they’re only harmless women and children?”
“I think he does,” Luke said, seeing Harney atop his buckskin horse, his own scope trained on the caves.
After a moment of watching as the cannons were being recharged, Luke reached for his rifle from the scabbard on the mule and took aim. Why it hadn’t been removed when he was tied never entered his mind. His only concern now was saving those women and kids. Surely a bullet from his fifty caliber Hawken could travel four hundred yards, which was about what the distance was to General Harney from here. Even more. But there would be considerable drop over that distance, and he allowed for it, aiming three feet over Harney’s head.
“What are you doing?” Colonel Snively pulled away from his glass and shouted. “Don’t…!”
Smoke poured from Luke’s rifle at the same instant cannon fired, killing the sound. The bullet, however, would take a considerable length of time to reach the target from here, he knew. Perhaps a second or more. That became evident when Harney’s horse suddenly reared, and he fell from it.
“You shot him!” Colonel Snively bellowed with surprise in his tone. “Are you insane?” He reached for the rifle and yanked it from Luke’s hands.
“Crap!”
“What?” Snively said as he pulled his eyes away from Luke and focused on what was happening below. Harney was already on his feet and hobbling around.
“Leg shot! I was aiming for his god damned head!”
“You could have killed him!”
“Naw,” Luke said. “Not from this distance.”
“Admit it! You were trying to kill him!”
“In that case, you would be in command, Colonel,” Luke said, which set them both to thinking. “Now give me my rifle back!”
“Not on your life, Hill!” Snively said and re-focused on what was happening below. He saw the cannon fire was coming up short of the caves the women and children had re-taken shelter in. “I’m going down there!”
“Best hurry then,” Luke suggested from behind his telescope. “Harney is giving orders to the infantry officers now.”
“Bastard!” Snively handed Luke his rifle back. “You stay here, understand?”
Luke watched him ride away, then reloaded the rifle. Soon after, the foot soldiers split forces and marched off toward the caves on both sides of the narrow valley. Dust in the distance to the north told Luke the cavalry units were on their way back. No doubt the young warriors had outdistanced them with their swift little ponies, carrying a lighter load in most cases.
With much gesturing, Luke could see Colonel Snively serving up a bit of holy hell, while General Harney limped about before him. Through the glass he saw a spot of blood on Harney’s trousers just above the knee. From that, he guessed his bullet had some penetration after all. Probably not deep, but penetration nonetheless. It wasn’t the extent of the injury, but the fact that he had inflicted some pain on this evil man, that pleased him now.
Snively had remounted his horse and was on his way back to where Luke was when he first heard them. The sound of rifle shots echoed throughout the valley. The source of it was difficult to determine, since they seemed to be coming from everywhere. And in fact, they were. On both sides of the valley, at the caves, soldiers were firing into them. Screams were now added to the echoes as women and children began pouring out of the shallow caves and falling to the ground. Some fell dead instantly, while others lay writhing in pain from bullet wounds. Babies were dropped to the rocks as mothers were shot from beneath them. Running children were shot as well. Luke could not believe what his eyes were telling him and spurred the mule into action.
Within minutes Luke was at the first cave on the left side of the valley, using his rifle butt to club soldiers who were firing into downed bodies at point blank range. The mule did her part too by kicking any soldiers that came within her reach. “STOP!” he yelled near continuously.
Unbeknownst to Luke, Colonel Snively was doing much the same as he on the opposite side of the valley. Then, just as abruptly as it started, the shooting stopped, leaving only the sounds of moaning and crying from the wounded and grieving.
What a disastrous sight it was; blood and dying was everywhere. As much as he tried to control his emotions, Luke felt tears welling up in his eyes. Even some of the young soldiers were walking about the carnage, dazed and crying.
“They never told us they were women and babies,” one of the soldiers looked up to Luke on the mule and said. He was bleeding from a wound on his head inflicted by Luke, as were many of the others.
Luke looked around and saw Colonel Snively coming across the valley toward him. He also saw General Harney smartly riding his buckskin horse, out to receive the returning cavalry as if he had just accomplished a great victory. This angered Luke to a point he raised up the rifle once again.
“Hill…!” Luke heard Snively shout as he approached full out on his lathered mule. “Nooooo!”
Eyes still tearing, Luke reluctantly lowered the gun and turned his mule to ride down and join him.
The remainder of the day was spent putting the severely injured out of their misery and relocating the dead to the village site, where all were piled and burned, along with every possession these people had. The fire burned throughout the night as Luke watched from above, chained bodily to a lone ash tree.
Upon orders from General Harney, Luke was re-arrested and a detail was assigned with instructions to return him to Fort Laramie, where he would be jailed awaiting an inquiry. If Harney had his way, he would be hanged, and he said so many times as Luke berated him for what he’d done in front of his men.
“How does it feel to be the murderer of nearly eighty defenseless women and children, General? Does that make you more of a man?”
“It’s retribution for what these people did to Grattan…”
“Women and children, General! Babies…! Did they participate in the killing of Grattan and his men?”
“Get him out of here!” Harney had ordered and limped away, nursing the injured leg.
At least Luke had the satisfaction of having done that. And would do more as the opportunity arose. He would say plenty at that inquiry, as well as to the eastern reporters when they come around, as they always did when General Harney was involved.
Colonel Snivel
y came by later that night with some food from the officers’ mess tent.
“Officers’ mess? I thought you were relieved of command?”
“Harney had a change of heart,” Snively said. “I guess he’s worried what I will say about what happened here today. He wants as many on his side as possible.”
“Are you?”
“What?”
“On his side?”
“Nope! I’ll be telling the truth about what went on here, when asked. I’ve also spoken to Colonel Cooke of the cavalry and Major Cady of the infantry. They plan to do the same. If anyone ought to be hanged, it’s Harney. But you and I both know that’ll never happen. Washington’s darling? No way!”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Luke was allowed to ride the calico mule unchained upon the assurance of Colonel Snively that he would not attempt escape. The fourteen man detail had in its charge seventy prisoners, most of them women and children. In fact, there were only two males in the lot over the age of fourteen, and they were far from being warriors. The entire bunch was to be marched to Fort Laramie and held for an indefinite period of time as punishment for something they had absolutely nothing to do with. No one seemed to know why they were taken prisoner in the first place, except that General Harney had ordered it. It always looked good in the battle journal to show prisoners were taken, was the only reason anyone could come up with as to the why of it.
Regardless, here they were traveling the prairie with a haggard bunch of women and children, many of whom were badly injured and had no idea where they were being taken or why. Seeing a badly wounded young woman struggling to walk, Luke climbed down from the mule and lifted her and her two little ones aboard. Even at that, she was so weak she could hardly hang on. This prompted him to walk alongside, supporting her the entire day. Sadly for him, that night she died.
The following morning Luke awoke to find some from the group of prisoners had put the torn and bloody body of the dead woman high in the branches of a barren tree, near the camp site. And there she stayed for the whole world to see as they moved on. This day Luke put four children aboard the mule, and a fifth later in the day, who had difficulty keeping up. And this was the way it went, day after day, until they reached Fort Laramie five days later.
