She said that as soon as the Indians saw the troops coming, a squaw, the wife of Tall Bull, had killed Mrs.Alerdice, her companion in captivity, with a hatchet.

The infuriated squaw had attacked Mrs.Weichel, wounding her.

The purpose of the squaw was apparently to prevent both women from telling the soldiers how cruelly they had been treated.
The attack lasted but a little while.

The Indians were driven several miles away.

The soldiers gathered in the herd of Indian horses, which was running wild over the prairie, and drove the animals back into camp.