The hydraulic press., 1860-05-19
Indian Troubles in Utah.

and relatives in the silver regions OF Western
Utah, have been terribly excited by sue
cession of telegraphic reports from that ter
ritory, to the effect that powerful league
of Indians had taken up the hatchet and
commenced merciless war The number of
aborigines in arms is generally stated at 500,
and this figure is not perhaps too small,
though it has been put up as high as 1000
The first hostile demonstration, as published
in our telegraphic dispatch week since
was the burning of the house of one Will
liafas at the sink of Carson river and mas
sacre of seven whites thereat A band of
some 500 Pah Utes, Shoshones and Smoke
Greek Indians, was reported to be marching
towards the settlements on the Carson and
in the Washoe region. Great apprehensions
of an attack were reported to exist at Genoa,
Carson City, Virginia City and other towns
in the diggings, and volunteer companies
were Immediately formed and equipped at
Carson City and Virginia for the purpose of
driving back the foe. Eighty mounted men
from the former place and twenty six from
the latter, started towards the Pyramid Lake
country, some sixty miles north where the
Indians were said to be and where they were
really met on the 18th inst. The accounts
of the fight that ensued differ materially
Those first received allege that the Indians
fired from an ambush This seemed improb-
able, for the country there is open and free
from any larger vegetation than sage brush.
Subsequent accounts represent the whites to
have been the attacking party. They charged
the Indian lines and broke them, repeatedly,
but were finally compelled to retreat, either
from failure of ammunition or the over
wheiming force of the foe, who was 500
strong, well mounted and armed with rifles
The Indians harassed the retreat of the
whites for twenty miles, and were said at
hrst to have killed about sixty of them. The
little band was completely routed, lost nearly
all their baggage, mules and provisions, and
the survivors came struggling into the set
Elements one by one. The number of dead
was much exaggerated, aud is not now
thought to exceed twenty-five.
The news of this disastrous affair naturally
caused quite panic 1t was thought thou
sands of Indians were on the war path and
approaching from different points to attack
the settlements. Farmers and miners con-
gregated in the towns, which were guarded
by pickets. partly fortified and placed under
martial law. Calls for help were sent over
the wires to California and Immediately res
ponded to, two companies of U. S. Artillery
and Infantry, embracing l5O men being des
patched from Alcatraz Island, with 500 stand
OF arms and 100000 cartridges; besides
which relief meetings were held in many of
the cities and principal towns, money sub
scribed, and volunteers enlisted to convey
across the mountains supplies of arms, am
munition and provisions. The independent
military companies of Sacramento, Marys-
vile, Nevada and Coloma were ordered by
the Secretary Of State for the Governor to
hold themselves in readiness for duty, and
those of Nevada and Downievile actually
started for the scene of trouble IF arms and
ammunitons had been plentiful in the noun
tains, many hundreds if not thousands of
brave hearts and stout arms would have
poured into Western Utah within the next
forty-eight hours after the news of the de-
feat of their countrymen reached them The
~
slope represented that 1900 Indians had pos-
session of Long Valley, which is northeast
Of Downieville and near the settlements in
Sierra Valley, and that the Henness Pass.
which route the Nevada volunteers were
travelling, WAS blocked by them. This, if
true, indicated wide spread and deeply laid
scheme on the part of the Indians, and
seemed to render the raising Of large force
on this side urgently necessary. The report
proved to be false, as pack trains subse-
quently came across by the Henness Pass
and Long Valley as usual.
The proportions of the entire outbreak ap-
pear to have been greatly exaggerated. and
the common dread in Western Utah, as here
of a general war, nearly baseless. There
is no reliable evidence that the Indians have
extended their depredations beyond the Pyr-
amid Lake country, nor that they coutem-
plate molesting the settlements. All the
routes from here there are open, and have
been travelled in safety during the past week.
The sole motive of the Pah-Utes, so far.
seems to have been to expel from Pyramid
Lake Valley the inrruders whom they for
bade coming there and warned to leave by a
certain date. They were in arms to protect
themselves against what they considered ag-
gression. 1t is not certain that they would
have fought the party which proceed ded
against them, if a fight had not been forced
upon them. There should at least have been
an attempt made to parley with them, and
to investigate the circumstances of the mas
sacre at Williams house. The whole diff
Guilty appears to US to have resulted origin