Bittersweet Ecstasy (51 page)

“I hope to hell you’re right, Tim, because I have this powerful urge to massacre every one of them, including their breeders and brats. The only way to rid ourselves of this problem is to squash it into the ground, then prevent it from reoccurring. What do you think?”

Timothy Moore grinned wickedly and replied, “Ye be right an’ clever, sir. Nae women, nae babies; nae babies, nae warriors; nae warriors, nae war. Nothin’ could be simpler, sir, nothin’.”

“You think the men will go for total annihilation?”

“After this?” Moore hinted, nodding to their bloody surroundings. “An’ their next attack? Ye kin bet on it, sir,” he declared with a merry laugh. “I sae we dinna leave ae single one alive an’ kickin’.”

“I say, you’re right,” Cooper agreed, then joined
Moore’s chuckles. “Let’s get some crafty plans to brewing,” he suggested eagerly.

Thursday night, in spite of every precaution, more soldiers were killed and more supplies lost. This time, however, two warriors were slain. As promised, Cooper and his officers had camped outside with the men, but had made certain they had heavy and competent guards.

Moore stopped Cooper from humiliating the nervous men again, warning him that many men were close to the panic edge, which could cause trouble. He cautioned him about how important it was to retain the men’s loyalty and confidence, and how rash it could be to provoke them with insults. A terrified man was an unpredictable man, and an undependable one. Moore concluded that the Indians did not want to attack during the night, so he wondered just how many were hiding in the forest nearby. Perhaps only a small band of elite warriors, he mused. Moore advised Cooper to allow the anxious men to enter the fort at dark and to sleep inside, or their terror could mount and get the best of them. The man with fiery hair hung the lifeless warriors’ bodies from the supporting post over the fort gate. Taking his sword, he malevolently hacked at them, laughing and dancing about playfully as if it were some game or sport. Moore knew he was being observed by dark eyes in the forest, and he knew nothing pained or riled an Indian more than having a friend’s body chopped up like firewood.

Cooper would not allow any soldier or officer to interfere, even though Major Ames loudly protested the barbaric behavior. “Have you taken a look at your men, Major? They were butchered in their sleep. And while you’re answering, tell me who and what provoked
them for the past two nights? The slaughter of half of my troops amply paid for the lives of Gray Eagle and his party of Sioux. These last two attacks weren’t for revenge or justice or their so-called honor; this was a damn declaration of war, one I aim to accept.”

“We’re supposed to be soldiers, sir, men of honor and intelligence. We’re supposed to be civilized and level headed. This conduct is outra—”

“Silence, Major Ames!” Cooper ordered, his eyes appearing to glitter with wildness. “Those Injuns made the damn rules, not me. This display is to teach them a lesson, to throw a little fear and hesitation in them. I want those red bastards to think hard and long before attacking us again. I want to repay them in like kind: vengeance seems to be the only thing they understand. If this doesn’t provoke them into an open fight where we can defend ourselves, then it will let them know we won’t take their savagery lying down. When they see we aren’t scared and we’ll retaliate, they’ll attack or retreat. I’ll settle for either. You should learn to hold your tongue, sir, because you’re forgetting who I am and who you are.”

Ames responded bravely. “I think the problem is, sir, that you’ve forgotten who you are and what you stand for. A man of your rank and reputation and intelligence should never allow something like this. I’m sorry you lost half of your regiment on arrival and I’m sorry you weren’t adequately informed and prepared for this assignment because it has done something terrible to you, sir. May I respectfully request, sir, that you return to your quarters and give this matter deep study?”

Cooper glared at Ames, then stated tersely, “Request denied. You’re the one who’s blind and foolish where those savages are concerned. Take a detail and bury
those soldiers. And if I were you, Major Ames, I would place plenty of guards around; you wouldn’t want your Injun friends out there killing you by mistake and making a liar of you.”

As William Ames was walking away, Cooper halted him to add, “When the next detail heads for another fort, I want you to go with them, and remain there. You prepare your transfer papers and I’ll fill in the date and place as soon as I can. I don’t want you around this fort much longer, Ames; misguided men and dreamy-eyed fools like you are dangerous in a situation like this one.”

Ames did not protest Cooper’s intention or insult. He realized it was futile to argue with a man who had lost his honor, reason, and perspective. The only person who could get through to Cooper was Derek Sturgis, President Monroe’s personal agent, and Sturgis was intimidatingly late. Lord, help the whites and the Indians if anything had happened to the only man who could lessen or solve this crisis…

The burial detail had no problems with the Indians, to Ames’s relief. But when he tried to cut down the Indians’ bodies to bury them, Moore refused to allow it. Ames snapped, “My heavens, man! This isn’t ancient Rome and those aren’t Christians we’re fighting! There isn’t any need to hang their mutilated bodies along the roads or tack their heads over our gates as warnings.”

Moore’s blue eyes narrowed and frosted. “Ye been fightin’ ‘em ye way fur years, an’ look wha’ happens, Major; now, we try it my way. I dinna plan tae lose another lad tae them divils.”

“Don’t you think you should keep your personal feelings out of this situation, sir? I know all about what happened to you at this very fort years ago. If you’ve returned to avenge yourself and your men, you could
be dead wrong, and you can get all of us killed. Don’t you realize those Indians believe they are only protecting their lives and lands from a white invasion? They’ve been here forever and they don’t recognize the Louisiana Purchase. Don’t you understand that we have to make peace with them? Lord knows they’re probably just as eager and ready for peace as we are. How many lives are you willing to sacrifice before you come to your senses? Why don’t you stop filling Cooper’s head with these crazy ideas?”

“We should hae sent ye tae Fort Meade instead o’ Major Butler. When he returns with our troops, ye Injun friends will be dead.”

“You really hate them, don’t you, and you’re willing to do anything to punish them?” Ames probed knowingly.

“They butchered my men an’ destroyed my command. They tried tae kill me. I kin never rest till I slay those who tricked me.”

“You mean Fire Brand, Bright Arrow, and Rebecca Kenny?”

“All those red bastards, Ames, but especially those three,” Moore admitted freely. “Go do ye duty an’ leave tha savages tae me.”

Several intrepid warriors who could speak English, and who had concealed themselves inside empty crates near the fort to observe the soldiers closely during the day, intending to escape when darkness covered the land once more and to report their findings to the others, listened carefully to the words each man spoke and memorized each’s face.

One of the hidden braves, Soul-of-Thunder, knew he must recover the slashed bodies of their fallen warriors before his retreat that night…

The Crow scout returned to where Gerald Butler was camped with his men, and with those from Fort Meade, to report the shocking situation at Fort Dakota. Butler listened carefully, then grinned at Cooper’s predicament which, he felt, the commander deserved for not heeding his warnings! Butler thought for a time, then said, “Since we can’t get in right now, I think we should go raiding. If we attack a few camps and they send for help, that should pull that war party off the fort.”

Butler looked around and concluded that he had plenty of men and supplies to “hit those Injuns where it hurts, in their camps and at their families.” He looked at the Crow scout and ordered, “Find us some camps that don’t have many warriors around.” To the men, he said, “Mount up, boys; we’re going Injun hunting.”

One soldier asked, “You sure we should do this, sir?”

Butler laughed satanically and replied, “How else are we going to lure those savages away from Fort Dakota? General Cooper is there, and he put me in charge. Mount up and let’s ride. We got us some red hides to skin.”

To the west of Fort Dakota on the trail to Fort Henry, Silver Hawk and his band were camping and waiting for the soldiers to head into their impending trap. The Blackfeet chief kept wondering if he should find a way to alert the soldiers to their imminent peril, in case he needed their help or truce later.

There was no need, for the Crow scout discovered the warriors’ camp and warned the soldiers to skirt that area. The detachment headed northeastward, hoping to join up with the one from Fort Meade.

That night at Fort Dakota, warriors bravely and furtively piled brush against the back wall of the fort and set it ablaze. Remaining out of gun range and trying to draw the soldiers’ attention while the concealed warriors escaped, Sisseton warriors sent forth blood curdling yells and Cheyenne Dog” Men yelped wildly.

Before seeking safety, Soul-of-Thunder and one other warrior cut the bodies of their fallen comrades free and returned them to their people. Their courage and daring was praised highly, and Windrider smiled proudly at his valiant son. The Indians knew how the fire and the missing bodies would affect the soldiers, and they were right.

Before Cooper and Moore realized what the Indians were attempting it was too late. The fire was doused, but the bodies were gone. It was clear to them that they had to be more careful and alert. The men were ordered to remain inside the fort until the reinforcements arrived, for Moore suspected that the Indians’ daring would increase after tonight’s victory, to include daylight attacks.

Saturday afternoon, Sun Cloud’s band cunningly and successfully ambushed the detachment from Fort James by imitating the Apache attack skills. The soldiers and Crow scouts had been fooled completely by the artfully camouflaged warriors, warriors who had used gravelike holes, bushes, rocks, landscape, animal hides, and body paint to conceal their presence until it was too late for defense. Once the soldiers had ridden into the midst of the warriors, they were too close to use rifles or to flee. There was nothing left for
them to do but fight hand to hand, at which the Indians were masters.

When the soldiers were all wounded or slain or pinned down, their leader offered surrender, hoping to save his remaining men. When he shouted, “This is Lieutenant Thomas Daniels of the U.S. Army; I want to speak truce with your leader,” Sun Cloud ordered the battle to halt.

Sun Cloud shouted to the man, “Come forward, man called Daniels, and speak with Sun Cloud, son of Gray Eagle.”

Without hesitation, Thomas Daniels obeyed. “You’ve proven your point, Sun Cloud; why kill helpless men? We don’t want to battle you.”

Sun Cloud replied smoothly and astonishingly, “We do not wish to battle with you, Daniels, friend to Ames. We know this war is not of your making, but you follow the orders of your evil leader. Return to the fort and tell the man called Cooper, the Indians will never leave these lands. He must stop the killing and attacking, or all whites will die. We left the fort and the white settlements in peace, but your men have not left us in peace. Stay where you have settled, but do not attempt to take more land or to push us aside. We tolerate your presence, but we will never allow your evil and greed to harm our people and our lands. We did not begin this new conflict; the one named Butler did so, and the one named Cooper does so. This cannot be. Return to your fort and warn your people of our anger and revenge if they continue this war against us. Warn them to heed the words of Ames and Sturgis. Warn them to reject those of Butler, Cooper, and Moore; they are enemies of all Indians. Go, Daniels, for you are known to us as a good man, and Indians do not slay good men.”

“What about my men, Sun Cloud?” Thomas Daniels inquired.

“If you order them to remain here or to return to their fort on the James River, they will be spared. If they refuse, they must die.”

Daniels smiled and nodded. “You’re a good and fair man like your father, Sun Cloud. We’ll do what you say, and thanks. I pray Cooper will listen to me, or that Sturgis arrives soon. He’s late. Ames and me hope he gets here safely, and real soon. Most of the men don’t want to fight your people, but we have our orders. I promise you, if those orders could come from Sturgis and the President, they would be different. Please, make sure he gets through,” Daniels urged gravely.

“We know of the man called Sturgis and we trust him. We will speak to him of truce when he reaches our lands. Do not fear, he will not be harmed. He is as important to us as he is to you. We do not wish war, but your people force it upon us. Sturgis can help both sides.”

Daniels said sincerely, “If your father is dead, Sun Cloud, I’m sorry. Gray Eagle is, or was, a great man. I want you to know, Major Ames didn’t have anything to do with that bloody ambush.”

“We know this, that is why we sent the warning to him to guard his back against the one called Butler, who wishes Ames and Daniels dead to continue his evil. We know the hearts of those at Fort Dakota. We do not wish to kill good and honorable men. When they side with those who are evil, we have no choice.”

“I’ll carry your message to General Cooper and I hope he’ll listen. If not, me and Bill, Ames,” he clarified, “will see if we can get in touch with Sturgis or the President before things get out of control here.”

Sun Cloud warned solemnly, “You must work fast,
man called Daniels, for control is vanishing swiftly and evil is growing rapidly.”

After Daniels rode off, Sun Cloud’s party left the wounded men to tend themselves and to return to Fort James as promised. “We ride toward my brother and Fort White, Oglalas, for my heart is troubled.”

Sun Cloud had reason to worry, for the battle between Bright Arrow and the Fort White troops was not going well. Bright Arrow had attempted a cunning plan of his father’s: lure the foe into an ambush by using a small band of warriors who retreat under fire and entice the boastful foes to follow them, placing the enemy band between two hidden groups of warriors, who can attack triangularly once the soldiers are in the middle of all three bands. The Crow scout had recognized this ploy and warned the others about it.