The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-06-03
Thrilling Iudian Adventure.
From the Prescott ~CArizOna) NIiner.I

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When the Richardson party divided near
Mount Floyd, eighty or ninety miles north
westfrom Prescott, twenty-one of the party
turned their faces this way, and the
remainder started for Cataract creek,
to look at a patch of county which
they had, on a former trip, seen
from a distance, and in which they sup
posed gold existed. The first party had
travelled about SIX miles towards Prescott
when three of their number, Edward Pearl,
- Mcdonald and Ferdinand Wonder,
seeded, and with a burro, on which they
packed their blankets and provisions, start
ed for the Little Colorado. Two of this
latter party got back here Saturday last,
and related a fearful tale of Indian dupli-
city, treachery and murder. We give it a
related to us:
Shortly after leaving their companions,
the little party of three struck an Indian
trail and followed it northward. They soon
reached a creek which they supposed TO be
Diamond creek. Here they met a party of
WaBnRais Indians, who acted very friendly,
and showed ''peace papers" from some
army officer. This satisfied the whites,
who then turned east. They travelled two
days, and the night of the second reached
a country that looked exceedingly we'll for
gold, the beds of the streams being filed
with granite and quartz powders and
gravel. Timber and game abounded. The
party unpacked the burro, cooked and ate
supper, and retired to dream of what they
might find next day. During the latter
part of that night their ever faithful burro
awoke the party by certain antics which all
burros cut up upon seeing something I'M
usual-mOre especially in the dead hours
of night.
But, alas, for the men, they paid no at
tention to the snorting of the donkey, and
fell back again into sound sleep, from
which they were aroused about daylight by
a party of four savages, who had crawled
to their beds and opened a murderous fire
upon them with bows and arrows. Upon
seeing how matters stood, the whites grasp
ed their weapons, turned loose upon the
savages, and drove them away. The result
of the fight was as follows: Ferdinand
Wonder was MORALLY wounded. and Nc
Donald and Pearl were wounded in several
places, not seriously enough, however, to
prevent them from travelling. They look
ed around for the burro, and not seeing
him, concluded that the Indians had Cob
bled him. They then packed their blank
cts ON their backs, took hold of Wonder,
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had proceeded scarce a hundred yards,
when Wonder, from whose wounds tine
blood spurted, informed his comrades that
it was impossible for him to travel with
them any further, even with their assist
ance, and begged them to shoot him.
This they would not do, so he imIdedi-
ately shot himself in the head with his six
shooter. Mcdonald and Pearl remained
by mis- side until satisfied that he was dead,
when they took up his arms and proceed
ed on their way. They travelled two days
and nights without water, preferring to suf-
fer for want of it rather than risk their
lives by hunting tor it in the non and
brushy places, where, had they entered,
the savages, who logged their steps all the
while, would most assuredly have surround
ed and murdered them. From Anvil Rock
they followed the road to Camp Tollgate
where, after relating the desperate trials
and snfferings they had gone through,
everything possible was done for them
The men think they killed and wounded
some Indians. They think there were some
20 or 80 Indians on hand the morning of
the fight. They feel pretty certain that
the attack was made and the murder COM
mitted by Wallapais, with, perhaps, a few
Pah-Utes.
Ferdinand Wonder, the man who lost his
life on this trip, was from Iowa, where, We
are told, bis relatives reside.