In a
short time we saw Gen. Canby, Col. Thomas, George Meeks and his
squaw coming. When they reached the lower end of the little
opening one hundred and fifty yards from where Captain Jack was
standing, they dismounted, tied their horses and walked slowly in
the direction where Captain Jack was standing, and every few steps
Gen. Canby would look back, apparently to see if any one was
following them. On arriving at the spot they shook hands with
Captain Jack and the other Indian, and probably fifteen minutes
elapsed when Captain Jack dropped his blanket from his shoulders
to the ground and suddenly turned and picked it up. This, I
believe, was a signal for an attack, for the next moment I saw
smoke from a number of guns from the rocks and could hear the
reports also. Col. Thomas, Meeks and his squaw started on the run,
but Gen. Canby fell in his tracks, a victim at the hands of
Captain Jack and his followers. Col. Thomas only ran about ten
steps, when he fell. Meeks ran nearly one hundred yards, when he
fell, and the squaw escaped unhurt, but badly scared, I presume.
As soon as Gen. Canby had fallen George Jones asked if he had
better go to headquarters and give the alarm. I told him to go
with all possible speed. George reached camp twenty minutes ahead
of me. The other officers could not believe that he was telling
the truth, but when I arrived and told them that the entire crowd
had been killed, with the exception of the squaw, they were
thunderstruck, and by the time I was through telling them the
squaw was there.
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