Presently the firing on the hill ceased, and hundreds of Indians came
slowly back. But they were hard pressed by the soldiers, and the battle
was soon resumed, to break out intermittently through the entire night.
In a quiet interval the two soldiers got their horses, and with their
companion and De Rudio holding to the animals' tails forded the river
and made a detour round the Indians. Several times they passed close to
Indians. Once or twice they were fired on and answered the fire, but
their luck was with them and they escaped bringing a general attack
down upon them.
As they were making their way toward the edge of the clearing they saw
directly before them a party of men dressed in the ragged uniforms of
American cavalrymen, and all drew deep breaths of relief. Help seemed
now at hand. But just as they sprang forward to join their supposed
comrades a fiendish yell broke from the horsemen. In another instant
the four unfortunates were rushing to cover, with a dozen Indians, all
dressed in the clothing taken from dead soldiers, in hot pursuit.
The Indians had been planning a characteristic piece of Sioux strategy.
As fast as it could be accomplished they had been stripping the
clothing from dead and wounded soldiers and garbing themselves in it
with the purpose of deceiving the outposts of Reno's command and
surprising the Americans as soon as day broke.
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