Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1867-08-31
The Indian Massacre On The Plains

K
inst, says that the remains Of engineer
Brooke5 Bowers and fireman George
Henshaw, have just arrived. On the
same train was man named William
Thompson, native Of England, who
turned out 10 be one of the telegraph re-.
Pairers reported killed. He attracted a
great deal of attention from the exTaordi-
nary fact ihs, the covering 70; the head
with which nature had SO kindly endow-
ed him was absent. People focked from
all paris 10 view the CORY, gbssi!y bald
ness, which had come upon him 80 sud
denly without any promoul:ory symp-
toms. The poor fellow suffered horribly
if We might Judge by his facial con:or'ions.
He seemed weak from loss OF blood. lie
had received gaping wound in the neck
aud bullet in Tho muscle OF bis right
arm. He was !aken 10 the Hamilton
House, and physician was sent Tor, who
attended TO his wounds. In Pai. Of va.
ter was his scalp, about nine inches in
length and four in width, somewhat re-
sembling drowned rat, a: it aOaied ,cuIi-
cd up, on the water. His statement,
which we have been al some pains TO get
accurately, is as follows
about nine o'clock Tuesday night
myself and five others loft Plum Creek
Station, and started up the rack on
hand.car TO hunt up where the break in
lie telegraph was. When We came 10
where the break proved 10 be, We saw
lot OF ties piled or he track, but al The
same moment Indians Jumped up iGom
the grass all around and ired on us. We
fred Two or three shots in Feluru, and
then, as the Indians pressed oil Us, we
ran away. In indian Oh a pony singled
me ou! and galloPcd up to me AieI
coming TO wi!h!a ten feet Of me he fired,
the bullet entering my right arm; seeing
me still run, he 'cluJbed his rifle end
knocked mo down. lie then took out
his knife, stabbed ne in the neck, and
then making twill round his fingers
with my hair, he commenced saving and
hacking away g! 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 las! finishing cut 10 The scalp on my
leii temple, and as il still hung . lit,le, he
gave il a jerk. Ijusl though, then tha! !
could have screamed my life out. can't
describe il to you. II Just le, as il the
whole head was taken rghi of. The In.
dian then moun!sd and gallOped away,
but as he went he dropped my scalp with
in few feet of me, which managed 10
get and hide. The Indians were thick
in the vicinity, or then nigh. have made
my escape. While Iying down | could
heal the Indians moyi.g around, whis-
pering 20 each other, aaj then shoEtly as-
Ter placing Instructions Oh The track. II
ter lying down about an hour and half
heard ,ho low rumbIing Of the train as
il came tearing along, and | might have
been able TO Aag it of had dared
Drs. Peake and Moore, Of this city,will
endoavor to reset tho scalp on his head,
and they arc confident they can do it well.
As he is q strong man, il is expected he
will recover hoalih and strength
From Chas Radcliffe, supernume!a-
~ brakeman, who was in the caboose Of
the freight train when the attack took
place, we had the following
When The train ran of the track he
was asleep on the bench in the cabocse,
and was suddenly thrown 10 the floor by
The concussion. Al the same time he
heard The yells of the indlans, and then
volley was fred upon the people in the
caJoose. In the cars with him were VIM.
Kinney, conductor; Fred. Lewis, brake
man, and man who had been fireman.
The locomotive was thrown of the rack
by ties placed on il, and ron off about ten
feet, when il fell into hollow about four
feet; the tender and the FIVE first cars were
piled on top Of one another, as they had
been running al the rate ol twenty-five
miles IN hour. Looking out Of the win
dow Of ouc car, they could see the Indi-
ans in strong force on The south side OF
Tie track, shouting and yelling al some
thing al the foremost end-PTobabiy the
engineer and fireman. They closed the
door, but in few minutes came out, and
the conductor told the brakeman to 60 and
flag off the train, which was coming about
three miles behind. The brakeman re-
piled ~ dare not-,ho Innians are all a
round here" To which the conductor
replied, "D--n tie Iadians; 60 and flag
off ha, train, or she'll be into US. Still
the man hosiia,ed, and The conductor
rushed down the track himself, and the
brakeman, Lewis, and the fireman went
after HIN.
Ra,c!tfe hid himself on tie rsck under
the car. He had laid there for five mnu-
ties, when he saw an Indian cautiously ap-
preaching, drawn thiiher by the light lhs;
hung in the caboose. RaicIjfe &C, down
from his hiding place and struck for the
sand bluffs with the speed Of a startled
deer lie heard some one rasdinE sf,er
him, tic dry stalks Of the prairie grass
cracking beneath his feet. Fear added
wings, and ne almost flew, but still he
could hear The footsteps Of lhe pursuar.