The Shasta courier., 1867-09-21
The Massacre at Plum Creek--A Thrill
ing Narrative.

writing from Omaha on the 8th of August,
saws that the remains of Engineer Brookes
Bowers and Fireman George Henshaw have
lust arrived On the same train was one
William Thompson, native of England,
who turned out to be one of the telegraph
repairers reported killed. He attracted
great deal of attention from the very extra.
ordinary fact that the covering for the head
which nature had so kindly endowed him
with was absent. People hocked from all
parts to view the CORY, CHASTITY badness,
which had come upon him so suddenly,
without any premonitory symptoms. The
poor fellow suffered horribly. if we might
Judge from his facial contortions. He SEEM
ed weak from loss of blood He had received
gaping wound in the neck, and bullet in
the muscle OF his right arm. He was taken
to the Hamilton House, and a physician was
sent for who attended to his wounds. In
pail of water was his scalp, about niue
inches in length and four in width, some.
what resembling drowned rat, as it foated,
curled up, in the water His statement,
which we have been at some pains to get
accurately, is as follows:
g About nine o'clock, Tuesday night,
myself and five others left Plum Greek
Station and started up the track on hand
ear to hunt up where the break in the Tele-
graph was. When we came to where the
break proved to be, we saw a lot Of ties piled
on the track, but at the same moment Indians
jumped up from the grass all around and
fired on u.s. We fired two or three shots In
return, and then, as the Indians pressed on
US, we ran away. An Indian on pony
singled me out and galloped up to me-
After coming to within ten feet OF me he
fired, the bullet entering my right ARM
Seeing me still rrn, he " "clubbed his rifle"
and Knocked me down. He then took out
his knife, stabbed me in the neck, and then
making twrl round his fingers with my
hair, commenced saving and hacking away
at my scalp. Though the pain was awful,
and | felt dizzy and sick, | knew enough to
keep quiet. After what seemed to be half
an hour, he gave the last finishing cut to the
scalp on my left temple, and as it still hung
little, he gave it jerk. | just thought
then that | could have screamed my life oct.
| can't describe it to you. 1t just felt as if the
whole head was taken off The Indian then
mounted and galloped away. but as he went
| he dropped my scalp within few feet of me,
which | managed to get and hide. The
Indians were thick in the vicinity. or then
might have made my escape. While lying
down | could hear the Indians moving
around whispering to each other, and thea
shortly after, placing distractions on the
| track After lying down about an hour and
| a half. | heard the low rumbling of the train
as it came tearing along, and | might have
been able to flag it off had | dared"
| Drs Peeke and Moore Of this city will
endeavor to reset the seal p on his head, and
they are confident they can do it we'll AS
/ he is a strong man, it is expected he will re-
cover health and vigor.
From Charles Ratcliffe, supernumerary
| brakeman, who was in the caboose of the
/ freight train when the attack took place, we
had the following:
/ When the train ran off the track, he was
asleep on the bench in the cabOose, and was
suddenly thrown to the floor by the cOncus
sion. At the same time he heard the yells
of Indians. and then volley was fired upon
the people in the caboose. In the cars with
MIN were William Kinney, conductor
Fred Lewis, brakeman, and a man who had
been fireman. The locomotive was thrown
off the track by ties placed on 1t, and ran of
| about ten feet, when it was thrown into a
| hollow about four feet : the tender and the
! five first cars were piled on top of one anoth-
er, as they had been running at the rate of
twenty-five miles an hour. Looking out OF
the window of our car, they could see Indians
in strong force on the south side Of the
car, shouting and yelling at something at the
foremost end-probably the engineer and
fireman. They closed the door, but in few
came cut, and the conductor told the brake
man to 90 and flag off the train. which wa.
| coming about three miles behind; The
brakeman replied, dare not--the Indians
-
| piled, D-n the Indians; 90 and flag off
that train or, by Cd she'll be into ua''-
| Still the man hesitated, and conductor rush
ed down the track and the brakeman, Lewis,
and the fireman went after him. Ratcliffe
| hid himself on the track under the car. He
! had lain there for FIVE minutes when he saw
an Indian cautiously approaching. drawn
| thither by the light that hung in the caboose.
Ratcliffe got down from his hiding place and
struck for the sand bluffs with the speed Of
a startled deer He heard some one ruStling
after him, the dry stalks of prairie grass
cracking beneath his feet Fear added
wings aud he almost few, but still he could
| hear the footsteps of the pursuer. He was
| still a mile off from the train, so he started
directly toward it, and never did Persian
oaze upon the sun with a more loving look
| than Ratcliffe, the pursued, looked upon the
welcome face Of the reflector Ii was to
him an omen of safety, the pledge of gui.
dance, the face of delverer. Onward he
flew, faster came the pursuer. Quicker
tlrobbed the heart of the white man, as
looking back he saw two forms bounding
after him. and high impetus was given to his
limbs Nearer came the engine; be could
see the engineer; heard the whistle Of
.down brakes" saw the forms of three
men hurrying up to the locomotive few
more bounds and he can hear their voices
He now shouts out with all his power-a
welcome shout is returned One, two
three, and he is saved-saved from perils
nameless and fearful, and from death Of
agony. He was nearly wild with excitement,
and as the engine slowly started away, and
then increased its speed till the telegraph
poles were flying past and the distance be
! tween the wreck and them was increasing, be
,aughed and cried by turns, shouted, danced
| and committed all sorts of extravagauces.
| WHAT TO TAKE-An exchange saws: A
| lady of our acquaintance, young. lovely and
-, ,,aIl;ron+ % llad on n celebrated nhvsicia r