The William F. Cody Archive: Documenting the life and times of Buffalo Bill

BUFFALO BILL'S GLOOMY VIEW.

He Thinks That a Big Indian Battle Will Soon Be Fought Near Pine Ridge.

LONG PINE, Neb., Jan. 7.—All along the line of Elkhorn and Missouri Valley railroad the people believe themselves in great peril in case the battle that seems imminent at Pine Ridge should result adversely to the troops. A part of the National Guard of Nebraska, 1,000 men, is already in the field, and Gov. Thayer has ordered reinforcements. Gen. W. L. Colby of the state troops is in command, with headquarters at Rushville, where the larger body of militia is stationed. Col. Cody, (Buffalo Bill) chief of staff to Gov. Thayer, will confer with Gen. Colby at Rushville, and the two will decide upon the best points at which to station troops. The report that Col. Cody was to join Gen. Miles at Pine Ridge is untrue. Buffalo Bill takes a gloomy view of the future, and says it is his opinion that a big battle is almost sure to occur within a few days in the immediate vicinity of Pine Ridge. The Indians, he thinks, have reached that stage of their madness in which they will court death. Since the Wounded Knee affair they are worse than ever, and the Messiah craze has made them fatalists to the degree that they firmly believe that if they go under in battle they will come to life again in the spring. Should the Indians mass and make an attack on the troops at Pine Ridge and overcome them, there would be an overrunning of the country that would mean more than a repetition of former horrors. Even if defeated the Indians will scatter in small bands and do an immense amount of damage. The fear of this more than any belief that the Indians will raid the country before offering battle to regulars, had led to the throwing out of a line of state troops along the Nebraska frontier. There are sixteen companies of state militia on the frontier. Four companies are stationed at Rushville, three at Gordon, six at Crawford, one at Hay Springs, one at Cody and one at Chadron. The rumors of another fight at Pine Ridge have sent hundreds of the settlers into the small railroad towns. At nearly every station one sees white-topped wagons, which form the temporary homes of the fleeing settlers.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., January 7.—Orders were received here yesterday from the Governor calling upon Col. Moore commanding the third regiment to have his men reayy to move at an hour's notice. It is understood that a call had been made by the United States government upon the states of Kansas and Missouri to send troops to the western border of the Indian territory if they should be needed. The Indians have been acting in an unruly manner over the reported order to disarm them, and it is said that they have threatened war if the order was enforced. There are four companies of state guards here and all have been told to be ready. There are two companies of infantry and one battery, the members of which have nearly all seen service.