Mike, the Dove Creek fight was certainly an "atypical" Indian fight, if you only look at the fights with Comanches (cavalry fights), since it was more of an "infantry" fight. Thanks for the link.
One of the things Gwynne's book described so poignantly was the fact that even after the invention and implementation of large-caliber revolvers and highly mobile tactics in Texas Ranger forays against their Comanche light cavalry opponents, the lessons were repeatedly forgotten and every ten years or so Texas militias ventured out again against Indian foes with cumbersome weapons, unsuitable mounts for plains operations, and utilizing Napoleonic tactics, which inevitably gave all the advantages to the Indians and resulted in catastrophe for the whites. Only after getting their noses bloodied severely did the whites "rediscover" the lessons of earlier generations of Rangers. Talk about an example of ignorance of history and being doomed to repeat it!
When you speak of Rogers' Rangers, are you referring to Robert Rogers and his feats of arms in upstate New York and New Hampshire in the French & Indian Wars? I just picked up an interesting history of Rogers last week (War on the Run), and it's truly fascinating. FWIW, the idea of building a bivouac fire in a hole in wintertime and sleeping with one's feet in the hole to keep them thawed during the night was described by Rogers, but I expect you already knew that. The concept makes a lot of sense to me... first, you can cook/warm food and water/tea (essential for subzero weather survival during a weeks-long expedition) while keeping the light signature of your camp low, but perhaps equally important, you can dry out wet moccasins and socks every night.
