Following the news of the treacherous attack of the braves of Chief Big Foot, led by the Red Hatchet, came the startling tidings that the fearless and able chieftain, who had met the unexpected attack so bravely and well, had been removed from his command in the very face of the foe he had thus far vanquished.
It was a bitter blow to the men in the field, to know that "Colonel Forsythe, of the Seventh, had been relieved from duty."
Of course, officers and men knew that they must suffer attacks, because a few people in the far off East would urge that the Indian must be subdued with tracts and argument, and would be excused for killing the soldiers, when the soldiers would be tried for striking back.
But that is a part of the soldiers' hard lot to bear, or, as it has been briefly put, to "die fighting for one's country," and have their names spelled wrong in the report of the battle.
Officers talked in low tones over the affair at Wounded Knee Creek, and the stories afloat regarding it, and wondered if they were to be allowed to fight a foe ever cunning, treacherous, cruel, yet brave.
The effect of the battle, too, upon the Sioux was to send other bands to the Bad Lands, to make those more determined to fight, and to render the younger warriors wild with the hope of butchery, scalps, and plunder.
And among the camps, around the bivouac fires, and round the mess tables, the name of Kit Carey was upon every lip.
The services that he had rendered, with the aid of his Indian scouts, were well known and appreciated, and those who had seen him in the action at Wounded Knee Creek had told stories of his reckless daring, and deadly work at close quarters.
"One minute sooner and he would have saved poor Wallace," said Captain Taylor, sadly.
"You saw Wallace fall, did you not, Taylor?" asked Captain Carrol.
"Yes, though I was at a distance from him, as you know. I had my glass to my eye, and saw Wallace come out of a tepee dragging a chief by the shoulder. Then he was set upon by four others, and at once stood at bay. He had his revolver and sword only, and fired slowly and with deadly aim, while the Sioux rushed upon him. The chief, whom he could have killed, but instead had taken prisoner, also attacked him, and he it was who sprang upon him with his tomahawk. The brave Wallace ran him through with his sword, but he could not avoid the deadly blow of the tomahawk, and it was the last wound and fatal, for he had several others. A moment more and Carey came bounding toward him, and it was woe unto the Sioux that barred his way. I watched him, too, in action, and a more splendid fighter I never saw. He was perfectly cool, fired to kill, and when he came to where Wallace lay, dropped on his knees by his side. But only for an instant, for soon after two of his Indians rode up to him with his horse, and mounting he spurred away, and I saw him no more."