COL. HENRY DODGE AS A U.S. RANGER.
CAPT. JAMES CRAIG.
CAPT. J.R.B. GRATIOT.
Gathering the fragments of the mutilated bodies together, they buried Captain Adams and his faithful companions that evening, the 15th. The dismantled baggage wagons, ruined saddlebags, dead horses, destroyed provisions and the whisky keg, said by Black Hawk to have been emptied by his direction, were found upon the field.
The army camped that night upon the south bank of the creek, with little to disturb it save the casual firing of small arms in the distance, which might have indicated the presence of the enemy, but Major Henry and his battalion of spies, detached to scour the country and test the presence of the Indians, returned to camp at an early hour of the morning without discovering a sign of them.
On the morning of the 16th the army began its return march for Dixon’s Ferry for provisions, presuming, of course, that Atkinson’s forces would be there against their arrival in the evening, but the progress of the keel boats up the river had necessarily been very slow, and when the army reached Dixon’s Ferry the regulars had not yet arrived. This caused a storm of protest to reach the ears of the officers, which demanded decisive action. The unplanted crops, the futility of the enterprise and innumerable other reasons were urged for disbanding. The “fun” of an Indian campaign had proved too serious for the younger generation.