I asked what they were going to do, and they said they were just going to see where the shooting was. Then oth-ers were coming up, and some older men.
I took from this passage a sense of unity and wanting to help others, a sense of community even if they were from other tribes. Remembering the lecture from Thursday, the Indigenous people really looked out for each other and were willing to do what was necessary to help others in need.
The soldiers who were guarding our rel-atives shot at us and then ran away fast, and some more cavalrymen on the other side of the gulch did too. We got our relatives and sent them across the bridge to the northwest where they would be safe.
Though it is not much detail, this bit of information gives insight as to what the battle was like that day. The soldiers shooting at the Indigenous people then running away I find interesting because it seemed like they had the upper hand and had many soldiers there. I am curious as too if this was a strategic plan they had? Or if they were overwhelmed by the Indigenous's peoples attack?
Many were shot down right there. The women and children ran into the gulch and up west, dropping all the time, for the soldiers shot them as they ran.
The authors description here of those who were murdered as they ran into a gulch is very sad to read. The hardships that the Indigenous people faced, even before this massacre, saddens me as these were senseless actions taken upon them. Also, women and children running away from the fighting, to get to safety, to be gunned down it is truly horrific. They did not deserve this. Also, I did not know what a gulch was and having looked it up added more context as to what was going on.