The Spencer Rifle

PURSUED BY HOSTILE native Indians, Major Geo Forsyth his command retreated to an island in the valley of the Arikaree River. The sandy strip of earth about 60 yards long and 20 yards wide was covered with low brush and a sing cottonwood tree. Here, Forsyth and his 50 me hastily used tin plates and knives to dig in then braced themselves to receive the attack they knew would come. And it wasn’t long before 600 Cheyenne and Sioux warriors, mounted on their war ponies, thundered down on the small force of cavalrymen.

However, the soldiers were all battle-hardened fighting men who, like their leader, had served during the recent Civil War. Ordering his men to hold their fire, Forsyth waited until the warriors were 50 yards away before he yelled, “NOW!” A sheet of lead struck the enemy front