Rangers and sovereignty Page: 21 of 188

24

RANGERS AND SOVEREIGNTY.

From this point I could fire down the gully and as
long as I could hold the position, put the Indians
under a sort of cross-fire. I had a much better view
and could do more effective work from this position.
When an Indian would rise from behind the brush
to shoot at me, the boys in front had a better shot
at him, and when he exposed himself to shoot at the
squad, my time came to shoot.
The bullets struck all around me, but I used the
Indian tactics, jumping from one side to another of
the gulley, with my gun always in position to take
advantage of an opening for a fair shot. I suspect
I must have grown a little bit careless when there was
a momentary lull in the firing. I was standing, partly
exposed, with my gun in position, when a big bullet
struck me in the left thigh, missing the bone and passing
entirely through my limb. The shot did not knock
me down, but the blood spouted so freely that I
thought the main artery had been severed. By this
time William Ingram had worked his way around and
was firing on the Indians from a short distance from
me. I called to him that I had been shot and feared
I was mortally wounded, but urged him not to come
to me. I continued to stand with my gun in position
to shoot.
"Bill" Ingram was a big, heavy-set, good natured
boy, somewhat easy going, but he had the heart of a
lion. It was useless to tell him to avoid danger when
a comrade had been shot and needed his services.