Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/359

342 S42 OSAGES VS. OOSPJSbERATtS. as Bithered f roin the Itt#ans: Two 4*7? l^'^fore the messengers arriyed<>at Hiimboldi, a small paxtj'e^'tn- diaas„B;umberm'g eight or teQ) had startled out frdm Big EGU village to the Missip|i, When not far frbin their camp they (iiscQvered the traces of a recently abandoned camp, and at once: took up the tnul, soon oyeriakiag a mountedforoe ofwhitemen^ This paity niimberedtwenty or twenty- two men and had no wa- gons. Riding up to this party the Indiana inquire^, who they were, and received the reply that the party was a dGtachrrient of Union troops,.and were a part of the command stationed at Humboldt. To this the In- dians replied that they knew the troops tJien a,t Hum- boldt, and failed to recognize any familiar faceS in the party. The Indians stated that the GoverniHent held them responsible for what occured in th^ conjitry, and askfed the party to accompany them to Humboldt to be identified by the commander of the post. To this the white men would not consehti The Indians then sought to restrain them, whereupon one of the Indians was shot andkilleid. The Osages be- ing outnumbered,' dropped over on their ponies and were soon out of range, and racing for their villages they aroused the camp with the news of the killing of one of their number. "This village must have numbered over '200 fight- ing men, and the entire force turned out in pursuit; the little party of whites were hemmed in on aU sides by the circle of death. In the running fight of five miles, the Confederates (for so the whites proved to be) had two killed and left where they fell. Being well armed and in the open they were able to keep