Capt. W. F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts, As Pilot to Emigrant and Government Trains, Across the Plains of the Wild West of Fifty Years Ago

by William F. Drannan

As soon as the pistols ceased firing, Capt. McKee came to me and said,
"I think we have got them all."

I said, "Now Capt., call the boys together and see if any are wounded."

He stepped out a little ways and called to the men. "If anyone is hurt, report to me at once, so we can attend to you."

No one came to us but the one I have spoken about. He was cut on one arm and had a slight cut on one shoulder. The Capt. said, "Now boys, go around to every dead Indian and take every knife and anything else that you can find that is of any value and bring them here and lay them in a pile," and then he gave me a title when he said, "The scout and I will go and see about the horses."

Capt. McKee gave me this title in fun that night, but he little thought that years after that night I would win the right to not only be called a scout but would have the honor conferred on me of "Capt., Chief of scouts."

We went to where the horses were feeding, but they were so mixed that we could not count them. After we had looked at some of them, the Capt., said, "I wonder where the Indians stole them. Such fine horses are not found every where. Perhaps after daylight we may discover some brand that will show whom they belong to."

We went back to the Indians' camp and saw that the boys had gathered up all that belonged to them. Each one of them had had a nice blanket and nearly all of them had butcher knives. The Capt., said, "Now we will get our horses and stake them out so they can feed, and we will get to our blankets and try to get a few hours rest, for I am dead tired, and I reckon the rest of you boys don't feel any better."

It was nearly sunrise when I opened my eyes in the morning, and there were only a few others stirring, and I was not long in getting something to eat, for I had not broken my fast since noon the day before. In a short time all the men were cooking their breakfast and as soon as the meal was over Capt. McKee asked me what we should do with those horses. I told him, we could not fight Indians and care for a band of horses at the same time. We must drive the horses some where and sell them, and I think we had better go back to Fort Worth, and if we can not dispose of them there we can take them to Dallas.

The Capt. then called four of the men to us and told them to go out where the horses were and count them and to be sure and get the right number. They were gone about an hour, and when they came back they said there were one hundred and twenty horses out there, and one of the men said, "Some of those horses are of the finest breed that I ever saw, and nearly all of them have been broke to the harness, for I could see the marks where the collars have rubbed the hair off their shoulders, and I bet those Indians drove those horses hundreds of miles, maybe from Kansas or Arkansas, and they and the horses being so tired was the reason that the Indians stopped here to rest."

Capt. McKee and I went back and took another look at the horses, and we found them to be much better horses than we had thought them to be, but we could find no brand on them or any thing that would show whom they belonged to. This convinced us that they had been stolen from farmers. As the horses showed that they had been driven hard and we thought a long distance, we decided to stay over one day as the grass was plentiful and a stream of pure, cool water ran a few feet from where they were feeding.