Page:On the border with Crook - Bourke - 1892.djvu/378

 themselves about the plunder taken on the battle-field, and many will want to slip into the agencies and rejoin their families."

But, while waiting for Merritt to come up with his ten companies of cavalry, Crook sent out two large scouting parties to definitely determine the location and strength of the enemy. One of these consisted entirely of Shoshones, under "Washakie;" it penetrated to the head of the Little Big Horn and around the corner of the mountain to the cañon of the Big. Horn; the site of a great camp was found of hundreds of lodges and thousands of ponies, but the indications were that the enemy were getting hard pressed for food, as they had been eating their dogs and ponies whose bones were picked up around the camp-fires. From that point the trails showed that the enemy had gone to the northeast towards the Powder River. The other scouting party was led by Louis Richaud, and passed over the Big Horn Mountains and down into the cañon of the Big Horn River; they found where the Sioux of the big village had sent parties up into the range to cut and trim lodge-poles in great numbers. Richaud and his party suffered extremely from cold; the lakes on the summit of the mountains were frozen, and on the 1st of August they were exposed to a severe snow-storm.

Later advices from Sheridan told that the control of the Sioux agencies had been transferred to the War Department; that Mackenzie and six companies of his regiment had been ordered to take charge at Red Cloud and Spotted Tail, assisted by Gordon with two companies of the Fifth Cavalry. Although showers of rain were of almost daily occurrence, and storms of greater importance very frequent, the weather was so far advanced, and the grass so dry and so far in seed, that there was always danger of a conflagration from carelessness with fire.

One of the Shoshones dropped a lighted match in the dry grass near his lodge, and in a second a rattle and crackle warned the camp of its danger. All hands, Indian and white, near by rushed up with blankets, blouses, switches, and branches of trees to beat back the flames. This was a dangerous task; as, one after another, the Shoshone frame shelters were enveloped in the fiery embrace of the surging flames, the explosion of cartridges and the whistling of bullets drove our men back to places of safety. In the tall and dry grass the flames held high revel; the whole infantry command was turned out, and bravely set to