Sweet Savage Surrender (33 page)

Lone Wolf picked up his ears. So,
they were going to hang him.
He must get out of here
fast.
             

John knew he had done everything
possible for the Indian without completely compromising
his already tarnished reputation.  If the Indian coul
d understand what had been said--and John had no doubt that he indeed could--
then perhaps he would think about the danger he was in and be at least cooperative enough to save his life.  Taking just one last look behind him, John followed the soldier out the door.

Later that evening, i
n the quiet hours
,
Lone Wolf gathered every ounce of strength
.
The soldier's chief had tried to shame his pride, but instead they had inflamed his heart like red coals thrown into dry grass. 
They would not get the chance to hang him
like a dog
.
He would be a prisoner no more.  He wanted to hear the noise of the victory dance when he and his band
triumphed
over these bluecoats. It was time for his brothers to set their feet on the warpath.

Using a log he found l
ying on the ground nearby as a battering ram,  he jammed it over and over against the ceiling. 
At last he 
broke  through the sod
.
The hole was
just
  large enough for him to climb out of
, then
. out of, then he jumped to the ground outside.  He silently slid along on his sto
mach the short distance to
the horses
, 
cautiously listening for even the faintest sounds that might be made by a human.
Only the horses nickering came to his ears.  Moving with the q
uietness of a mountain lion he
selected a sturdy looking animal and when he was sure that his actions had gone undetected, he guided the horse to
wait in the shadows near the fort’s big double doors.
Using his skill at hunting to move soundlessly, stealthfully,  coming up behind first one guard then another,  he rendered them
both
senseless.  Opening on
e gate, he mounted his horse and
rode away from the fort as fast as the wind.  

Chapter
Thirty
-
Four
             

The blast of a trumpet, tooting over and over again summoned the men to the parade grounds in the twilight hours of the morning.  There
,
a scartlet-faced Chivington  raged and roared to the still sleepy eyed gathering.  "That Indian has escaped!   God dam
n it all to hell and back.
"  His eyes scanned the
crowd, touching on each face.
"I want some answers. Whoever was responsible is going to lose his head.  Well....?"  His attention for the moment was focused on the unfor
tunate private George Herbert.

"I....I don't know, Sir."

"You don't know.  You don't know.  Hell, soldier, as I remember you were on guard duty last night.  Are you trying to tell me that red devil just jumped right through the roof, stole a horse, knocked the guards unconscious without anyone being the wiser?" Chivington's ruddy face turned nearl
y as bright-hued as his beard.

"Well no, Sir.  That is, Sir,  I...I just wasn't ex
pecting that he would escape."

"So you let down your guard."

"No, Sir." 
Herbert thought a moment, trying to
come up with an explanation
.
  "Sir, I heard a  noise but
,
hell, he's been doing that for a long time.  He's always causing commotion tryin' to get o
ut.  I just never thought...."

"That's the problem, soldier.  You
didn't
think!  I ought to put you in that stinking sta
ble to take his place!"

"But, Sir........"   Frantically the soldier looked around him,  trying to find another scapegoat, certain that Chivington would carry o
ut his threat.  H
is eyes touched on Major John Hanlen and his face lit up.  "It ain't my fault.  If you ask me
,
the Indian-loving Major had something to do with it.  Sergeant Riker told me when I came on duty that the Major had been talking to that Indian.  W
e had quite a laugh about it."

"What?"  Colonel Chivington screwed up his face into a hateful expression.  "You had better have some explanation, Hanlen.  I gave orders that no one was to come anywhere near that savage.  I knew that he was dangerous
and I gave orders that no one was to go anywhere near him
. 
Why were my orders disobeyed?"

John forced himself to remain calm.  He would not let the old goat frighten him.  "Your exact orders, Sir, were that he was not to be alone with anyone.  If you will question Sergeant Riker
,
you will learn that he was with me the entire time, his gun pointed sq
uarely at the Indian's chest."

"A moot
point.  What I meant was that I wanted him thrown in there and treated like the wild beast that he is, that they all are!"
T
he colonel paced back and forth
trying to cool his temper
.  "I ought to have you put in the brig
. I won't this time, b
ut if you ever disobey me again, or bend my rules to suit yourself
,
I'll see  that  you  rue the day y
ou were born.  Is that clear?"

"Yes,
Sir," John answered, saluting.

"Meet me in my quarters just as soon as this little gathering has cleared.  I want to talk with you further about what happened.  In
private
!"

"Yes, Sir."  John knew that if anyone knew his  true feelings
,
he would be in really hot water.  In truth
,
he was rather glad that Ind
ian had made his way out of the fort
.  He w
ould have hated to see him hang—a sorely
unjust punishment for the situation.  Besides, except for the theft of a horse and several sore heads, his escape hadn't caused much damage.  Just a prick to Chivington's pride.  But he knew he had better choose his words carefully when he talked about his meeting with that brave last night or he would find himself in
bad trouble.

"
That
one of the enemy ha
s
escaped
is a serious problem
."  Chivington was
addressing the group
again, holding up a long piece of paper
.
  "And he
is
the enemy.  I have here an offical letter from the territorial governor  John Evans.  He has declared that the war with the In
dians has opened in earnest."

His words were met by just the reaction he had hoped for. 
All d
iscipline
was forgotten as the men
made their feelings known
,
response
s running
the ga
mut
from surprise to fear, from  sorrow to outrage,  bravado, anger.  At that moment Chivington knew that he held everyone of those soldiers in the palm of his hand
,
and
so
he played on th
eir emotions.

"As you well know those savages have gone on a rampage from here to
Kansas
.  Stealing cattle, looting, scalping, burning
down buildings
.    If we don't do something soon
,
  this whole territory will explode with fear.  The folks hereabouts are scared half out of their wits thinking there might be a repeat of the atrocities committed by the Indians in
Minnesota
.  Hundreds of people  were killed there. The whole situation is causing havoc and panic, even as far as
Denver
City
, where the people
practically stampeded the town
."

John had heard all about that from Sam
,
who had accompanied Chivington on one of his jaunts to the city.  A rancher had seen "dark shapes" on the horizon and had run with the news causing panic
to break loose
.  The streets had become crowded with carts, women, children, horses, wagons and horseback riders trying to move to safety.  The iron shutters on windows and doors had been bolted shut.  People were down on their knees
in prayer.
  A mob had tried to break into the military ordinance storeroom, demanding the issue of arms and ammunition.  No Indians had appeared
,
and the men who scouted outside the city could find no evidence of any in sight.  It was just such
stupid
it
y
that was adding fuel to an al
ready raging flame. 

True, t
here had been scattered I
ndian attacks, but
Evans and Chivington had blow them all out of proportion, certain in their own minds that the Indian tribes were going to unite and force the whites from the territory.  The truth was, John thought, that atrocities had b
een committed on both sides. 

"In order to combat the reported alliance of the tribes,
” Chivington continued, “
Evans is putting into operation a plan designated t
o
separate
the friendly Indians….
if indeed there really are any," Chivington said
the last
beneath his breath
,
looking in John's direction.  He cleared his throat and began reading from the piece of paper he clutched.  "Our intent is to
separate
the friendly tribes from the others so that a vigorous war can be waged against the hostiles.  Agent Colbey at Lyon has been directed to arrange for feeding and support of all friendly Indians of the
Cheyenne
and Arapahoe tribes."

A chill ran down John's back as he stood at attention listening to Chivington's words.  Something terrible was brewing
,
but he didn
't know what to do to stop it,
or how to ensure that Skyraven would not be caug
ht in Chivington's spider web.

"Evans is depending on our efforts to keep the
nucleus
of the friendly Indians away from those
whose minds are set on war
.  Therefore he has ordered that this proclamation be
made known to the Indians." 

He read the missive which said that Agents, interpreters, and traders were to inform the friendly Indians of the plains that some of their tribes had gone to war with the white people, that they stole stock and ran it off hoping to escape detection and punishment, that in some instances they had even attacked and killed soldiers and
murdered peaceable citizens.

"For this the Great  Father is angry, and will hunt them out and punish them. But he does not want to injure those who remain friendly to the whites.  He de
sires to protect and take are of them." 

Chivington revealed that for the purpose of keeping the friendly Indians away from those who were at war, Evans wanted to direct them to places of safety.  They were to go to Major Colley,
U.S.
  Indian agent at 
Fort
Lyon
,
who would give them provisions and show them to a place of safety.  The s
ame would be done for the Kiowa and Comanche
who came in friendship.  They would be placed at other designated places
, he said.

"The object  is to prevent the so-called peaceful Indians from being killed through a mistake.  None but the friendly must come to these places.  The families of those who have gone to war with the whites must be kept from among the friendly Indians.  The war on hostile Indians will be continued until they are all effectually subdued.  Any questions?"
he concluded.

"Does that mean we can use hostile savages for target practice?"  The question came from one of Chivington's
Colorado
volunteers,
a man of little intelligence.

"If th
e situation warrants gunfire."

"Are
we gonna have reinforcements?"

"Evans has written to General Curtis expressing our needs.  Troops are on their way."  Colonel Chivington answered several other questions posed by the soldiers
,
then dismissed them.  Chattering with excitement
,
they  formed into groups to prepare for the upcoming Indian war, some taking their places for drill practice, others at the six straw-filled targets to make sure their aim was true.  John saw Sam Dunham walking hurriedly across the rutte
d gravel and went to meet him.

"What do y
ou think of that?"  Sam asked.

"At least he's making a designation between those Indians that want to be peaceful and those who are causing the trouble.  I
have to give him that." 
John knew he had to make certain that Skyraven and her tribe knew about the proclamation, and
Lean Bear
's people as well.

"Yeah, I guess."  Sam was quiet as he looked up
at
his frie
nd, then he asked,  "did you?"

"Did I
what?"

"Have anything to
do with that Indian's escape?"

"No.  I just tried to make him understand that he should be cooperative.  Actually I think it was Sergeant Riker w
ho was indirectly responsible.
He mentioned that Chivington had plans for hanging our silent brave.  It must have prodded him into making an escape.  Which reminds me, I'd best be getting to his headquarters before he has me skinned alive."  John started to leave then took a few steps back, touching Sam on the arm.  "If I can convince the old bastard to let me take part in getting the word out to the peaceful tribes about the protection Governor Evans is offering
, would you come with me?"

Sam thought a minute. "Sure.  I'd rather be tal
kin' than shootin' any day.
But if you can get Chivington to let you go it will be a major miracle.  I think he'll probably say no just to prove his power.  He'll know at once that you want to see t
hat little Indian girl again."

But Chivington didn't say know.  Egged on by Sedgwick
’s influence and a reminder that John had visited the
Cheyenne
before and that he knew an Arapaho medicine man, colonel Chivington was
in fact very obliging.  After listening to John's explanation about his talk with the Indian brave and issuing him a severe reprimand
, he agreed.

"The sooner we
separate
the docile ones from the trouble makers
,
the sooner we can get started with this war, with
Washington
's approval
, of course,
"  Chivington crowed.  "They'll soon see the Confederates aren't the only threat.  And once the Indian menace is over we can think of making
Colorado
a state."