Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1855-03-01

and started off rapidly on our bacl
8 track.
1t needed but word from my frienC
to induce me to strain every nerve t.
get forward, knowing full well that i
we came in contact with that party
again, it must be as enemies. We en-
camped late that night without fire, snC
the next forenoon entered Chicago, 1
settlement composed of few families
and a garrison of U. S. soldiers undel
command of Major W, the Indiar
agent and accomplished gentleman.
At this point the narrator seemed in
clined to digress little, to expatiate
upon the importance of the location o.
Chicago with respect to the future
growth of the great West, as it existed
in 1889; but the question from one ol
the company, whether he heard any
thing more from the dog, recalled Mr..
G. to the story, and he proceeded as
follows:
"aOh, yes, indeed 1 did. 1 had not
done with him yet. We had Just got
comfortably warmed up and were pre-
pairing to pay visit to the Mayors
quarters, when who should l see but
my five Indians, stearing straight
through town, in single file. seeming
oblivious of all about them, nor paused
till they had reached the residence OF
the commandant. Being unencum-
bered with horse they had been able to
move faster than We could, and came
thus near overtaking us before we could
reach place Of safety. We had no
doubt as to the motive of their errand.
l therefore concluded to await their
movements. In due time / received a
call from Major W., who informed me
that they had made complaint to him of
the loss of their dog, and their suspi-
cions that we had killed him. 1t ap-
peared that upon leaving US the day be-
fore, they had followed our trail to our
camping place, and by circling around
the woods, had struck the track made
by the brute in approaching us, but
could not find none leaVing as. From
the appearance of the snow, they knew
that something unusual had occurred
there, and of course could form pretty
correct conclusions as to the fate of their
property. l was about proceeding to
tell Mr.. W. the whole story, when l was
interrupted by his remarking that he
should tell those Indians everything l
told him. Whatever you wish to con-
ceal from them,' said he, you must
conceal from me. 1t will not answer
for me to tell them lie, on any con-
sideration. They know, too, that you
are white man and stranger. Per-
haps they knew it before they left you
yesterday. They are good deal ex
cited, and it will not be safe for you to
leave here till they are appeased. l
hope, therefore, that you will be eau
tious in whatever course you may take
1 saw the propriety of his remarks,
and held consultation with my guide.
We concluded it would not do to say
thatit was wolf, or anything like that,
that disturbed our camp, for they would
want to know why we
were so very particular in hiding all
signs of it; besides, they. had seen their
dogs tracks near the place. We there
fore made simple denial of the whole
matter, and requested the Major to
make the best terms he could. After
great deal of diplomacy, they agreed to
bury the hatchet, and smoke the pipe of
peace with me, for gun and blanket
each,-the whole worth seven or eight
times as much as the dog. Major W.
refused to receive pay for the articles,
saying that the government furnished |
goods to be used in such cases. After /
a day or two, / started on my Journey,
leaving my horse, thinking l could get
along without him just as well. The
weather became mild and pleasant as
we got further south. game quite plenty,
and as my Indian guide was generally |
sure shot, we had no fears of starvation
The first incident we met with out of
Chicago, occurred the second day.
In following sort of Indian trail that
led in the direction we were stearing,
we came to a place where five white |
men were murdered two days before, by
a party of Indians. The men were
United States surveying party. They |
had stopped to eat dinner and were sur
prised by the savages. The leaves and
ground were covered with pools of
blood, indicating that a desperate strug-
gle had taken place there. But the
whites were overpowered by the savages,
and murdered on the spot. The sur
veyor, himself, was a scientific and busi-
ness man, great loss to the govern
ment. The rest were said to be drunken
and of course the United
States cared but little about them.
never learned the precise motives that
induced the Indians to make the attack,
but I know that while contemplating
the scene there, thoughts of no very
pleasant nature intruded themselves
upon my mind. as 1 thought of family
and friends at home.
1 had great confidence in my guide,
Notwithstanding be knew that had
$500, in gold. We made good pro-
gress till we got around to the east side
of Lake Michigan, and were thinking of
striking into the woods, heading directly
for the Maumee, when one of those sun-