TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
while the balance, while the others [sic] on horseback would gallop around birds men & let fly their arrows. After a few interchages of shots, Bird order [sic] his men to take possession of the ravine, which they did without much difficulty. The indians uow became scattered, but soon concentrated in the same ravine, two hundred yds below; Bird still pursued them; they made a stand for a few minutes & ex- changed a shot in which the indians suffered some loss, and dashed off & was soon out of sight behind a hill. Here the battle seemed to be ended; but not so. After reposing for a half hour, Hughs & Jae. Brookshire was ordered to ascend the hill & look out for the enemy; just as Hughs was mountig his horse, his gun accidently went off; before he could reload it, the enemy made their appearance on the h\11 about 250 yds off; rienforced to 300 strong- They halted a moment and presented quite a martial appearance. The officers were seen rid- ing up & down the ranks apparntly giving orders. There was then a white flag hoisted; a red one immediately after, and then a black one on the extreme right. Capt. Bird in the meanwhile had arranged his men in the best position to receive the shock which was evidently com- ing- The whistle of the enemy was heard, and soon the whole force came rolling like a mighty chatteract [sic] against the handfull of men who stood ready to receive them. They were repulsed - another charge was made;· they shared the same fate. They retired and formed again, as if to make a more determined & desperate effort. In the third charge they divided and poured in their arrows on all sides, & then retired. Thus the action continued for some time, when the danger to the American!! was increased by a party of 50 who had dis- mounted & entered the ravine with rifles- The conflict was now desperate and violent- it lasted from three oclk until sunset, when the indians abandoned the field and went off yelling like divils- The moon shone bright and when the Americans summed up their loss they found their gallant leader dead He was shot with an arrow in his heart. He was the bravest of the ~rave; and died encouraging his men to fight like heroes= William Weaver was shot in the forward [sic] & fell in the hottest of the action ; Jessee Nash was the first who perished; he was shot with a ball, in his breast; Thos Gay was wounded in the spine & died; H. M. C. Hall, shot in the breast with an arrow, at the openg of the fight & died the next day. Among the wounded, were Geo. Hansel shot with a ball in the thigh; Wm. R Allen, Second Lieut, was wounded by a ball in the right arm. The enemy's loss, could not be known exactly, as they are in the habit of bearig off their dead. It was supposed at the time that there were 30 killed; but Miss Lockheart, a prisoner of the Comanchees, on being recovered, stated that the number killed was 75 & a grat number wounded. The Chief Commanding-, was kill~d in 30 ydl'l of the ravine, eucoura<:reing his men to charge into the ravine. He wore Buffaloe horns on his head. His name is unknown. The Americans, exhausted with long continued fatigue, and feeling too feeble to withstand such another assault, deemed it best to retreat which they commenced forthwith, and reached Fort Smith {15 miles off) about 2 o'clk. On the evenig of the next day the Company took up the line of march for Nash".ill; there they encreased their numbers and returned to the battle field for the pur- pose of interring the dead which had be!ffi left unburied. The Indians had been there before them and had borne off the body of their leader.
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