The weekly Butte record. [volume] (Oroville [Calif.]) 1866-1887, 1867-01-19

They took rs at our word, and left. We overlook
the main party, and reported. From fhat time We
| kept strong advance and rear guard As We
! come TO the upper end of the bottom, We discover
| ed We had 10 ford the river. - Etf.l
| 1t was getting late in the day, and we concluded
to cross and camp the other side, where the bot
t tom was wide and more safe in case of night at
tack The advance guard had crossed. aud most of
the pack animals had reached the other side; some
were still in the water, being driven over; the rear
| guard remained on the bank overseeing the pass
age, when crack! crack. went the red devils guns.
They we're hid in the rocks the side of the noun
| tain Overshooting the rear guard, they hit 4
| Spaniard in the arm-the ball going through and
into his side. Another ball struck mule that had
load of four we got it ont of the river but had
to shoot it, as it mortally wounded. The guard
rushed up among the rocks, but never got sight of
an Indian We camped. and after securing our
horses, put out very strong guard- Our Span
lard, upon examination, we found to be badly
wounded, but not mortaly. He recovered.
The next morning was a dreary and drizzly day;
we all felt dull, for We knew that the ball had
opened, and Indian lighting was to be the order of
the day. the balance of journey up that stream
We had not travelled more than four miles that
morning, when we had to cross the river again.
Seven from the advance guard went up through
the willow thcket to search for good place to get
our animals down the bank to the ford. One Of
| them, an Oregon man, by the name Of John Guess,
was slightly in advance, when bangl went a gun,
and his horse came back to the others without a
rider. We rushed to the spot, and there lay poor
| Guess. shot through the body, and quite dead We
placed his body on his horse, and lashed it there
securely, as to bury it when we camped.
After crossing the river, We had to follow on the
side of the mountain the river came close to the
foot of it. At one place it was nearly half mile
down to the stream from the trail, as we were go
ing round a small ravine or gulch. The leader of
the advance guard, Benjamin Reynolds, stopped
for instant TO throw his coat his shoulder.
when a report, and Reynolds sprang from his feet.
fell over backward, with his head down hill, "a
corpse-one ball through his brain. and one
through his heart The Indians that fired the shot.
ran around the next point, and then down to the
river. After the excitement over. we put his
body his horse and on arriving at the next bot,
tom, we camped. We had just finished picketing
and securing our stock, when party of Indians,
coming from the same direction that we had come, +,
stopped about Ave hundred yards below US; and
one old covy, riding white horse, who we sup
posed to be their chief rode unconcerned as pos
sibe into our midst. We Immediately invited the
old gentleman to aiight, took his horse and picket
ed it, and thenrequested him to call the Others into
camp, SO we could have big talk.
l think he did not feel altogether safe, and did
not wish the others put their heads into the
trap. He did not call to them. bIt instead of COM
ing, they went back into the brush, and We sup
posed that he had told them not TO come Six of
us concluded to cross the river, and get below
them then recross and come up behind them. and
make them come into camp or kill them if We
could not induce them to do We left strict Or
ders in camp, that il, during our absence. they
should hear shooting to Immediately kill the old
sinner they had under guard. We crossed and
made our way through the brush and over the rocks
about mile down the river, when one Of our men
peeped over bank, and greatly to our astOpish
ment, there came our Indians up the bottom; they
had seen us crossing. and anticipating our design
had gone below ard crossed with their horses and
come up so to wayay us: bnt as luck would have
it we made the discovery in time to save ourselves.
One young fellow rode some way in advance of
the others, and as be came along, one of our men
fred and broke his shoulder; he made his eecape.
Another charged up, and as he would under full
speed pass us fred his rifle and also pistol which
he dropped and got. We all fired, but do not
know if we did any further damage or not; they
wheeled and made tracks down the river. We re-
turned to camp, and when We reached there, We
found that the boys had obeyed orders and the old
chief was dead.
We had made up our minds to bury our comrades
after dark so TO conceal as well as possible their
graves. That night was the widest and stormiest
night ever saw. IT rained in torrents, and the
thunder and lightning were terrific. On the edge
of our camp was very large pine log; about 20
men with the assistance of levers and prys turned
it partly over, and under it we dug the grave, and
placing one body at each end. feet to feet we cov
cred them up then turned the log back to its origi
nal position. and in the morning burned fires all
around it, SO as to completely obliterate all traces
of fresh diggings. We broke in pieces the old
chiefs gun and took off his clothes and burned
them We were tormented by the red devils until
We reached Nicholas Lake on Thompson river. but
lost no more lives and but one horse and that
the identical white horse we got from our chief
SEVEN YEARS AvERAGE.-The farmers of this
State like their contemporaries the world over,
addicted to grumbling Weather and taxes; labor
and prices;. are seldom to their satisfac ton. In
CALIFORNIA; men ave often heard to say that they do
not complain of the soil, of the climate, but yet
the prices of wheat are unremunerative. Even if
the prices at the time are Ariy profitable, they
will remind you of the seasons when they
higher, and entertain you with gloomy forehodings
of what they will be in the future. II appears,
however, from the tables compiled for the Bulletin
and published on Saturday that the average of the
monthly quotations of wheat in the seven years,
from Iar,ls ry1s 1890. 10 Decemtes 81 .z1s66, was
- OF per 100 pounds The yearly averages are as
follows: lS6e, 81 ST; 1861, 81 81; ls62, 81: 1885,
81 52s; 1854 - 50: 1865. So Is; 1856, 81 IS. 1t
will be seen that the two lowest years were 1850
and 1StS. and that in every year there have fbeen
opportunities for farmers 10 sell prices far above
the average of the twelve months. For instance,
wheat sold in 1860. in this city, at 81 80; in
1>s at 81 95: in 1852 at 81 55: 1858, at 81 IS;
in 1854, at 81; in s65, at S.: and in lSs at 81 25
ANY farmer can insure obtaining the full average
by merely making monthly sales of equal quanti-
ties bat sllrewd man who is familiar with the
course Of the markets and will hold back part Of
his crop when prices below the average and sell
more freely when they are above it, and vet not al