The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1868-11-26
Four Years Among the SaVages.

The Colorado TriJanc has the following
strange story
We saw at the Planters House, yester-
day, woman named Jennie Blackburn, a
native of Mount jackson, S. c., who
claims to have haen prisoner among diff.
ferent tribes of Indians about four years.
She is now about % years old, and is a
cripple from the loss of both her legs.
which have been amputated twice, the
first time at the ankle joints, and again
about three inches below the knee. Her
story of her capture and imprisonment is
about as follows, commencing with how
she came to be in the Indian country
When she was FIVE years old, her father,
Thomas Blackburn, emigrated from South
Carolina and joined the Mormons at
Nauvoo, Ill. He accompanied them to
Florence, Nebraska, and finally emigrated
to Utah with the earliest emigrants, and
preached among them. In 1863 or 1864,
the father, having become somewhat dis
sipated, and having for some time been
accustomed to living among the Mormon
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 posi-
bic reach California. They took with
them only what they could pack about
their persons, and with rife and some
ammunition started westward from Salt
Lake and wandered for nine months, when
they were captured by the Digger Indians.
Lizzie was sold by the Diggers to the
Foxes. The mother and two remaining
sisters, when they learned of Lizzie's sale,
ran away from the Diggers. They were
pursued, and when found, had starved and
frozen to death on Horse Creek The
Foxes sold Lizzie to the Snakes. She ran
away from the Snakes, but was captured.
She was badly frozen in the attempt. She
says that two half-breeds, named Towan-
tinus and Punchanatah, took her to Wash
ington, d. c., where her limbs were
amputated, and that she was returned to
the Snakes by her fathers direction, he
being among them as kind of chief at
the time She says that her father has
spent most of his time among the Indians
for seven or eight years, and is with them
now. He is with the Arrapahoes or
Cheyennes The Snakes traded her to
the Arrapahoes, from whom she escaped
about year ago, by the assistance of one
Fred Jones, a Government scout, and
was brought into Ellsworth. At the
time of her escape, the Arrapahoes were
encamped at the big bend of the Arkansas
A portion of the time since her escape she
has been engaged as scout, but for the
last few months she has been doing house
work at stage station down on Smoky
Hill road Fred Jones, her rescuor, was
discharged from the Governments employ
last spring just before the outbreak down
ON the Solomon in Kansas, and as he
threatened to go with the Indians, it was
supposed he was with them at that time.
She says she counted one hundred and
fifty white men in one Indian camp which
she visited while acting in the capacity of
a scout, and that there are great many
among all the tribes. The Diggers treat
ed her most cruelty and all treated her
very roughly. Her father, though often
protected her from severe treatment.
She says that she has an uncle living
somewhere on her way to him. 1t is a
strange, romantic story.