The column marched over 300 miles in the hot, early summer heat, searching in vain for the renegade Cheyenne band. Spending over five weeks in the field, they followed indian trails south to the Solomon River, then west, then north back to the Republican, with no luck....

In the meantime, the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers under Tall Bull had struck out from the Frenchman River across the sandhills toward the South Platte. Finding the Platte and other streams too full for a safe crossing, Tall Bull made the fatal mistake of going into camp on White Butte Creek, near Summit Springs, Colorado. Summit Springs was located close to the Nebraska - Colorado border, within a few miles of present-day Sterling.

Confident that the soldiers could not find him, Tall Bull had become very lax. In fact, when the attack began, most of the warriors were found to be lounging around their lodges oblivious to any danger from the soldiers.

However, Tall Bull's camp was found and preparations were made to attack it. The Cheyenne village was spread out in a picturesque valley about three miles away. The entire command broke camp about two o'clock in the afternoon and headed towards Tall Bull's village. Traveling several miles, they came to the edge of some tall bluffs overlooking the valley below. From there they could clearly see the unsuspecting Cheyenne village sitting near the end of the valley floor.

Luther recalls the battle -

The command rode within perhaps a mile and half of the village, and could have crept much closer had it not been for a company on the right flank passing over a rise of ground and thus becoming exposed to the view of the village. General Carr was informed of this fact, and being afraid that the company had been observed by the Indians, he at once ordered the bugler to sound the charge.

The Indians were lying in camp that day, and their war ponies were grazing on the prairie a little distance from the village. There is no doubt the Cheyenne were completely surprised. It was a warm, pleasant day, and a great many of the Indians were lounging in the shade of their lodges when the blue clad troops rode into view.

Both Frank and I were mounted on very fast horses and quickly outraced the soldiers. Frank was almost two hundred yards in front of me, who was just ahead of the rest of the Scouts. The Cheyenne rushed out of their lodges and frantically tried to catch their ponies. Several caught their horses and met Frank head on. He stopped, jumped off his mare, and opened a rapid rate of fire at the Cheyenne warriors. The Indians turned and ran, but Frank failed to hit any of the fast moving targets.

By this time, I had caught up to Frank and started to ride up a steep hill when several hostiles took rifle shots at him. When the rest of the Scouts arrived, they all decided to ride down to the edge of the village. At this moment, the cavalry came galloping up, turned to the left and rode on past the Scouts toward the upper end of the village. Seeing this, Frank and I then took the Scouts to the lower end of the village, trapping what Indians we could find between us.

We then took fifteen Scouts and rode into the heart of the village.

Luther then relates the next series of events:

As my brother, myself, Capt. Cushing and Sam Wallace rode up to the big lodge near the end of the village, we saw a small gallon keg of water on the ground and as we were very hot and thirsty Capt. Cushing got off his horse and after taking a drink handed the keg to my brother who was still on his horse.

After Frank had drank from the keg he handed it to me. I raised it up to drink, and as I did so an Indian who was lying in the grass about 50 yards took a shot at me. I felt the bullet strike me in the stomach and come out my back and I came near falling off my horse. I was in shirtsleeves and opened my shirt to look for blood but saw none, then I felt my back and it was alright. I looked around at the other boys, but they were busy and had not noticed me, so I took a drink of water and said nothing, thinking I had imagined to all.

(Luther had much to be thankful for, when the fight was over he noticed that his stomach was stiff and sore. The large caliber bullet had hit his square, metal belt buckle putting a large dent right in the middle of it. Opening his shirt again, Luther found a black and blue spot three inches to four inches in diameter.)

In the meantime, the Cheyenne had fled, leaving everything behind them, but only a few were able to reach their ponies. Many of them fled on foot. Some escaped on their ponies, while a large number who were unable to get away by running, dodged into ravines and little pockets and washouts in the nearby hills. All of this occupied but a few moments, and as the Cheyenne scattered, the Scouts began hunting them in the nearest ravines.

The next sequence of events have remained controversial to this day. Credit for killing the chief has generally been given to either Cody, Frank North, or Lieutenant George F. Mason. Of the three, I am convinced that Frank North's claim is the strongest.

Here are Luther's recollections:

We started up the hill out of the Village on the west side. My brother and I were a little ahead and to the left of our own men then an Indian that was hidden in a ravine stuck his head up and fired at my brother. At first I thought he was hit, as he threw his hand up to his face and stopped his horse. He jumped off his horse and handed me his bridle reins and said, "Ride away and he will stick his head up again."

I started to horses off on at a lope and the Indian raised his head to look, but did not get it very high, as my brother was ready for him and shot him in the forehead.

I turned back and dismounted, and just then an Indian woman and little child climbed up out of the ravine where the lndian had fallen back and came over to us. This woman was Tall Bull's wife, and the Indian killed was Tall Bull himself, though we did not know this, until we got back to Ft. Sedgewick three days later when the interpreter, Leo Polliday asked the woman if Tall Bull was killed. She said yes, pointing to my brother, "this man killed him when I came out of the canyon."

Luther recounted these same events many years later a little more specifically for the Platte County Times in 1896.

Major North, and myself, with a party of Pawnees and several soldier, surrounded one of the ravines in which eighteen Cheyenne warriors and a squaw and a child had fled for safety. One of the warriors, as was afterwards learned, was the noted chief, Tall Bull. He was mounted He was mounted on a beautiful orange-colored horse, with silver mane and tail. Upon reaching the ravine he placed his squaw and child on the inside, where he thought they would be safe, and he returned to the mouth of the ravine and shot his magnificent steed rather than see him fall into the hands of his enemies.

The mouth of the ravine was very narrow, and the banks were perpendicular, being from fifteen to nineteen feet high. The Indians took their butcher knives and cut holes in the banks for their hands and feet, so that they could climb to the top to discharge their guns and shoot their bows and arrows.. and then drop down again.

In this way, they kept Major North and kept us at bay for some time. Our men, who were stationed about twenty paces from one of the banks of the ravine kept firing at the indians as they climbed up on the opposite bank. While this was going on, one of the Indians climbed the bank nearest the soldiers, and raised his rifle slowly over the top of the bank laid it on the ground, and then poking it up sufficiently to take a sight along the barrel of the weapon, he fired directly at Major North.

Major North marked well the spot where the Indian had dropped his head out of sight, being convinced that as soon as the Indian could reload his gun he would make another attempt. The Major dropped on one knee, and taking a rest on the other, aimed his gun at this particular spot, and waited for the reappearance of the Indian's head.

In a few moments, he saw the Indian's rifle coming up slowly over the edge of the bank as it had done before, and soon the Indian raised his head to take aim. Major North instantly fired, and the Indian dropped without shooting. Major North's bullet penetrated his forehead, and he fell into the pit. His rifle remained on the top of the bank, cocked and ready to fire. Later in the day the dead chief Tall Bull, was found in the ravine, directly under the spot, where he had climbed up to fire at Frank.

According to Frank North, shortly after killing the Indian, he saw another head peeping up at the same spot, and after looking closer, he saw that it was the head of a squaw. She crawled to the top of the bank and pulled her little six year old girl after her. None of the soldiers fired at her, as she made signs she wanted to see someone in charge.

She walked straight up to Frank and rubbed her hands over him from head to foot as an act of blessing and an appeal for mercy. She then knelt down before him and in sign language asked him to save her. Frank replied in similar language, telling her to go to the rear out of danger, and remain there until he should call for her. She informed him that there were yet seven indians alive in the ravine. The firing was kept up from the ravine for a while, but finally it ceased altogether. Then Frank and some of his men approached the ravine and looked over the bank. At the bottom they saw eighteen warriors lying dead, some on top of the others as they had fallen back from the banks.

While Frank never seemed to care whether or not he received credit for killing Tall Bull, Luther maintained until his dying day that Frank, not Buffalo Bill, had killed the noted chief.

Whatever happened that day, Frank and Luther returned the squaw and her child across the ravine and joined Company B of the Scouts, commanded by Captain Cushing. Cushing, after the capture of the village, searched it for the white captive women who were supposed to be in camp. He had succeeded in finding two white women, one had been seriously wounded and the other fatally.

When the fight started, Tall Bull, seeing that there was little hope of taking his captives with him, shot Mrs. Alderdice in the forehead, and shot Mrs. Weichell in the breast. When the Pawnees dashed up to the lodge, Mrs. Weichell thought the village had been attacked by Indians who were hostile to the Cheyenne, and that she was about to escape from one band only to fall captive at the hands of another.

When Mrs. Weichell discovered Captain Cushing with the Pawnees, she wept with joy even as she sat on a mat in the lodge, suffering intensely from her wound. When Captain Cushing stepped up to her she seemed to forget her pain and grabbed him around the legs hugging him again and again.

Being German, she could not speak a word of English, and Cushing could not understand a word she said. By using signs and speaking to her in English, he made her sit still and told her she should be properly cared for. At this moment Frank, Luther, and the Cheyenne squaw and child, joined the group. Just as they came to the other woman, Mrs. Alderdice, who lay unconscious and weltering in her own blood, drew one or two long breaths and died.

Outside the lodge, the Pawnees were resuming the hunt for the Cheyenne, and several running fights ensued. After the Cheyenne had been driven away from the village and the fighting concluded, Mrs. Weichell was taken to the surgeon's tent and treated.

The result of the attack on the village was the killing of 52 warriors, and the capture of 18 women and children.

FOOTNOTE:
Mrs. Alderdice was buried on the battlefield. The next day the burial service was read and General Carr gave the name of Susanna to the place where the battle had occured, that being the christian name of Mrs. Alderdice. The name was afterwards changed to Summit Springs because there is was a spring of cool, clear water on the summit of the several sandhills located between the Platte River and Frenchman's Creek.

After a very colorful life, Luther North died on April 19, 1935 - Click HERE to read how he was remembered.

Some of the excerpts through out this area, were taken from a book called "Luther North, Frontier Scout" - and written by Jeff O'Donnell. Some of the photos, primarily those of his parents, his funeral and the military photo, are from the Nebraska State Historical Society.