My Sixty Years on the Plains: Trapping, Trading, and Indian Fighting (1905)

by William Thomas Hamilton

The Indians now disappeared, leaving nine of their number on the field. I told the captain that it was customary for mountain men to scalp Indians. He laughed and advised me to let it go, as it might shock the ladies. These ladies showed remarkable presence of mind and nerve. They had rolled up their bedding, placing it on the outside so as to form a breastwork, and had lain down behind it with the children.

We captured seventy-four horses ; many in the bunch had been stolen from miners. We also found seventeen white men's scalps which we took with us to show, so as to teach a lesson to those sceptics who believed in the innocence of the Indians. Besides the horses we found saddles, blankets, clothing, and about five hundred dollars in gold dust in buckskin purses. We destroyed everything in the shape of lodges and scalped all the men.

The Indians were armed with lances, bows and arrows, and some Spanish flintlock guns. When we deployed on the prairie, Indians to the number of one hundred and fifty charged us. We passed through them, wheeled, and recharged, attacking the Indians in the flank. At this they became bewildered, for they had not expected to be charged in turn.

The trappers passed through them with their Colt revolvers playing before they had recovered their presence of mind. It was a slaughter. The trappers wheeled and charged the main body of Indians and struck them on the left flank, doubling them up. At this instant the Mexican War veterans had wheeled and charged with a yell. They were brave men, and if their horses had been trained as ours were they would have done three times the execution they did. As it was,

There was one tall Indian decorated with all the barbaric splendor of war-bonnet and feathers on a fine horse, who was endeavoring to rally the Indians. The trappers saw at a glance that this chief must be gotten rid of if we were to gain the victory, and we made for the cluster of Indians he was rallying, scattered them, and killed the chief and several lesser ones. When you put a quietus on a chief you have a battle won. The Indians beat a hasty retreat up the valley, where their village was located. Russell's horse went down in this charge, but he secured the Indian's horse and soon overtook us.

Six of the Mexican veterans and two miners fell in the fight. Many of these volunteers were poor horsemen and had never fired a pistol before. They were brave enough, but they could not control their horses. For such an engagement as we had just had, constant drill in the use of arms and in horseback riding was required.