Many of them jumped on their ponies, and, leaving everything behind them, advanced to meet the attack.  On second thought, however, they decided it would be useless to resist.  Those who were mounted rode away, while those on foot fled for the neighboring hills.  We charged through their village, shooting right and left at everything we saw.  Pawnees, officers, and regular soldiers were all mixed together, while the Sioux went flying away in every direction.

The general had instructed the soldiers to keep a sharp look-out for white women when they entered the village.  Two were soon found.  One of them was wounded, and the other had just been killed.  Both were Swedes, and the survivor could not speak English.

A Swedish soldier was soon found to act as interpreter.  The woman’s name was Weichel.  She said that as soon as the Indians saw the troops coming, a squaw, the wife of Tall Bull, had killed Mrs. Alerdice, her companion in captivity, with a hatchet.  The infuriated squaw had attacked Mrs. Weichel, wounding her.  The purpose of the squaw was apparently to prevent both women from telling the soldiers how cruelly they had been treated.

The attack lasted but a little while.  The Indians were driven several miles away.  The soldiers gathered in the herd of Indian horses, which was running wild over the prairie, and drove the animals back into camp.  After a survey of our work we found we had killed about one hundred and forty Indians and captured one hundred and twenty squaws and papooses, two hundred lodges, and eight hundred horses and mules.

General Carr ordered that all the tepees, lodges, buffalo robes, camp equipage, and provisions, including a large quantity of buffalo meat, should be gathered and burned.  Mrs. Alerdice, the murdered Swedish captive, was buried.  Captain Kane read the burial service, as we had no chaplain with us.  While this was going on, the Sioux warriors recovered from their panic and came back to give us battle.  All around the attack a fight began.  I was on the skirmish line, and noticed an Indian who was riding a large bay horse, and giving orders to his men in his own language.

I could understand part of what he said.  He was telling them that they had lost everything and were ruined, and was entreating them to follow him until they died.  The horse this chief was riding was extremely fleet.  I determined to capture him if possible, but I was afraid to fire at the rider lest I kill the horse.

Often the Indian, as he rode around the skirmish line, passed the head of a ravine.  It occurred to me that if I dismounted and crept up the ravine, I could, as he passed, easily drop him from the saddle with no fear of hitting the horse.  Accordingly I crept into the ravine and secreted myself there to wait till Mr. Chief came riding by.

When he was not more than thirty yards away I fired.  The next instant he tumbled from the saddle, and the horse kept on his way without a rider.  Instead of running back to the Indians, he galloped toward the soldiers, by one of whom he was caught.