The Way West

In the early morning hours of Sept. 17, 1868, Maj. George Forsyth and 50 hand-picked Indian fighters were attacked by a combined force of Cheyenne and Sioux warriors.

Fortunately, they had camped opposite an island in the middle of the shallow Arikaree River. With warriors racing through their ranks the Scouts ran to the island in a hail of arrows and bullets.

From rifle pits dug into the sand the Scouts held off a series of harrowing mounted attacks from their little isle of refuge.

Three men were killed the first day, George W. Culver, William Wilson, and second-in-command Lt. Frederick Beecher.

As night fell, a cold rain set in, deepening the misery. Eighteen men were wounded. Dr. Mooers lay in senseless agony from a head wound. Forsyth’s skull was fractured from a glancing bullet, he had a bullet in his right thigh and a broken left leg from another bullet.

Sporadic fighting continued for three days.

During the nights, Scouts in teams of two slipped away to walk 75 miles to Fort Wallace for help.

On the island, wounded men without proper medical care became delirious. Dr. John Mooers mercifully died the evening of the third day.

The Scouts’ only nourishment came from strips of horse and mule meat cut and dried from the dead animals lying about them. By the fourth day, most of the warriors had withdrawn but no one dared leave the safety of the island.

As the days wore on, the stench of the bloating horses and mules became insufferable. By the sixth day the original supply of dried horseflesh ran out. The only source of food came from the same putrid carcasses that plagued them so desperately.

Hoping to cover the revolting condition of the rotting flesh they were forced to consume, the pieces of meat were boiled and “seasoned” with gunpowder. Untended wounds among the men became badly infested with maggots.

At ten o’clock the morning of the ninth day someone cried, “Indians!” But as the riders drew near they could see Tenth Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers,” under the command of Cpt. Louis Carpenter. Cheers erupted from the little island. Feeble survivors danced and wept for joy.

Maj. Forsyth, severely wounded and on the verge of a breakdown from the strain, was unable to rise. Cpt. Carpenter found him in his rifle pit, reading the novel, Oliver Twist. Forsyth looked up and casually greeted the Captain, “Welcome to Beecher Island,” the name the men had given their defensive position after Lt. Beecher was killed in the first moments of attack.

While Dr. Jenkins A. Fitzgerald turned his attention to the most severely wounded men, Louis Farley, Thomas O’Donnell, and Major Forsyth, Buffalo Soldiers passed out rations to the starving men.

Pvt. Reuben Waller recalled,“If the doctor had not arrived in time, we would have killed them all by feeding them to death. The men were eating all we gave them, and it was a plenty. Sure, we never gave a thought that it would hurt them.”

Carpenter immediately began to move the men away from the foul stench of the island. A few hundred yards away tents were erected, and every effort was made to make the Scouts comfortable.

“The wounded, suffering, and emaciated scouts” were cared for, mostly cleaning wounds that were “badly infested with screw worms.”

Dr. Fitzgerald advised Maj. Forsyth that only amputation of his left leg would save his life. Forsyth refused. Louis Farley’s leg had been shattered during the first attack. Even so, he had heroically provided deadly crossfire as he lay in the tall grass across the stream from the island.

Unlike Maj. Forsyth, Farley accepted Dr. Fitzgerald’s recommendation for amputation. The strain was too much. Farley died soon after surgery and was buried in the sand of Beecher Island, Sept. 26, 1868. The third severely wounded Scout, Thomas O’Donnell, received tender care, although no record is known of the extent of his wounds.

Col. Henry Bankhead, commander from Fort Wallace, arrived with his 5th Infantry at noon, Sept. 27. Soon after, Maj. James S. Brisbin arrived with two companies of the 2nd Cavalry. The wounded men were loaded in wagons and the column set out for Fort Wallace. Two days later, Sept. 29, they reached the fort, placing the men under the care of medical staff at the post hospital.

Maj. Forsyth survived the ordeal, but Scout O’Donnell continued to weaken. He succumbed to his wounds Nov. 18, 1868 — 62 days after being wounded. Thomas O’Donnell, the last casualty of the Battle of Beecher Island, was buried in the Fort Wallace Cemetery where he lies to this day, on The Way West.

“The Cowboy,” Jim Gray is author of the book Desperate Seed: Ellsworth Kansas on the Violent Frontier, Ellsworth, KS Contact Kansas Cowboy, 220 21st RD Geneseo, KS Phone (785) 531-2058 or kansascowboy@kans.com .