Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1868-11-20

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II will b. good to day."
STRANGE STORY OF CApr1yIry-A
CAROLINA Girl AMONG TIE INDIANS
FOR MANY YEAns.-The Colorado Tri-
bune has the following strange story ::
We saw at the Planters House YES
tcrday woman named Lizzie Black
burn, native Of Mount JACKSON,
South Carolina, who claims 10 have
been Il prisoner among different tribes
OF Indians about four years. She is
now twcnty-cight years old and is
IL cripple from the loss of both her
limbs, which have been amputatcd
twice, the first time at the ankle
joints, and again about three inches
below the knee. Her story Of her
capture and imprisonment. are rs fol-
lows, commencing with how she came
TO bc i'll the Indian country: When
she was five years old her father,
Thomas Blackburn, cmigrated from
South Carolina, and joined the Nor
mons at Nanvoo, Illinois. lie accom-
panied them to Florence, Nebraska,
and finally cmigratcd to Utah, with
the earliest cmiyrants, and preached
among them: In 1863 OF 1861, the
father having becoming somewhat
dissipatcd, and having for some timo
been accustomed to living among the
Mormons Indians, Lizzie and her
mother and two younger sisters, aged
respectively ten and fourteen years,
concluded to run away from him and
the Mormons, and if: possible reach
California. They took with them only
what they could pack about their pcr-
sons, and with 4 rifle and some ammu-
nitioGn started westward from Salt
Lake, Wandered for nine months,
when they were capture,i by the
Digger Indians. Lizzie was sold by
the Diggers to tho Foxes. The
mother md two remaining sisters
when they learned of Lizzic's sale
ran away from the Diggcrs and were
pursued. When found they had starv-
I'd and frozen to death, and were bu-
ricd Oh Horse Creek. The Foxes
sold Lizzie to the Snakes. Then sho
learned the death Of her mother and
sisters and saw them buried. She
ran away from the Snakes, but was
captured. She was badly frozen in
the attempt, and was afterwards again
frozen. She says that two half breeds
named Towantinus and Puchanatagh,
took her to Washington, DC, where
her limbs were amputatcd, and that
she was afterwards returned to tho
Snakes by his his direction, he being
among them rs kind of chief ut the
sine: She says that her father has
spent most Of his time among the In
dians for the last seven Or eight years
and is one Of them now. He is with
tho Araphocs or Chcyenncs. The
Snakes traded her to the
Araphoes, from whom sho escaped
about one year ago, by the assistance
of Fred Jones, a government scout,
and was brought into Ellsworth. At
the tinsc of her escape, the Arapahocs
were camped at the Big Bend of the
Arkansas. A portion of her time
since her escape she has been engaged
as scout, but for the last few months
has been doing housework alta stage
station down on the Smoky Hill road.
Fred Jones, her rcscucr, was discharg.
cd from Government employ last
spring just before the out break down
on the Solomon in Kansas, and rs he
threatened to 60 with Indians, it was
supposed that he was with them at
that time. She says she counted ono
hundred and fifty white men in one
Indian camp which she visited while
acting in the capacity Of scout and
that there arc a great many among
oil tho tribes. Tho diggers treated
her most cruelty, and all treated her
very roughly. Her father though,
often protected hor FROM sovero treat,
ment. Sho says. that she has an un-
Gle living on the North Platte River
and she is now on tho way to him.
She expected to leave this morning.
Il s