September 7, 1874; McLean: By September 1874 the army's Red River campaign against the Indians of the southern plains was in full swing as five columns of troops crisscrossed the Texas Panhandle. Col. Nelson A. Miles, with four companies of his Fifth Infantry and eight companies of the Sixth Cavalry, had recently fought Cheyennes, Comanches, and Kiowas between Mulberry Creek and Tule Canyon. As his supplies began to run low, he decided to send messengers to Camp Supply in Indian Territory.
On the evening of 6 September, Miles sent the reliable Lt. Frank D. Baldwin, Fifth Infantry, and three scouts, Lem Wilson, Harry Wing, and William F. Schmalsle out from his camp on McClellan Creek. The messengers traveled through the night, and at 4:30 a.m. they made it to a secluded spot on Whitefish Creek, in present-day northeastern Donley County, Texas, where they planned to hole up during the day. Soon, in the dawn's red light, an Indian appeared only fifty yards away. The messengers shot him down, perhaps realizing too late that the shots would draw attention to their hideout. Before long, a number of warriors surrounded their position.
Baldwin ordered his men to mount up and break out, and the unexpected charge startled the Indians. The lieutenant and his three scouts rode to higher ground, dismounted, and set up a small defensive perimeter. From there they drove the encroaching warriors back with accurate fire -- Wing's "Sporting Rifle" was particularly effective. When the warriors had had enough, they took off, leaving Baldwin and the scouts to continue their journey north.
Baldwin was convinced that they had killed or wounded at least eight Indians. He reported that his party had all acted as calmly as if they were "shooting buffalo," but the fight was "one of the most desperate skirmishes I ever participated in."
