The weekly Arizona miner., 1871-06-17
REALITY AND ROMANCE.
Ten Years a Captive Among the Indians
fFum the Dc,roi, Free Press

woman named Mary J. Phillips, who has been for the last ten years not only an un- willing captive among the Indians of Colo rado Territory, but the slave of n revcngoful tribe, whose hatred of the white race was exhibited in maltreating her Co degree which would have ended in the death of al- most any man. The woman has two ears which arc not ears, both having been cut and slashed until they resemble pieces of flesh at
 tached Co her head without purpose. Her fingers are broken and crippled she is lame from dislocation of the hip, which she re- ceiyed five years ago, and she stated to our reporter that her body bore numerous scars to show the dogs life which she led among the sayages. Her story is this: Nearly eleven years ago, she being then twenty-two years of age, her father started from La Salle county, Illinois, to go to California by the overland route He fitted out in the usual way, having covered wagons, and taking con
 siderable furniture. The family consisted of father, mother, this woman, boy of sixteen, and a girl of eleven. The party crossed into Kansas at Weston, Mo-, and were detained at Leavenworth about three weeks by the sick
 ness and death of the mother, who was bur jed there. For some days the family de- bated whether to go or return to Illinois, but ! finally concluded to make the journey, and | fell in line with a Government train which was loaded with provisions and ammunition | for the interior posts. Everything went well until after leaving and reaching fort kearney, when, owing to one of the teamsters having attempted an outrage upon Mary, the father broke off from the train and could not be prevailed upon to go in company any further, although travelling except in large parties was known to be dangerous. He thought more of the honor of his daughter than the danger to the party, and went into camp un- ! til the Government train had left, following one day behind. The woman says that they were afterwards joined by another family, whose name she believes was Fuller but can not distinctly remember. Together they | travelled for three days, getting long dis tance west of Kearney, and seeing Indians almost every hour. The other family con- sisted of four persons, and the children were quite small, boy named William being about seven years old. The third night
 about two or three o'clock in the morning
 the party were attacked by large band of ! Indians, who swooped down on them so si- | lently that both men and one of the women were murdered at the first fire. The young est Fuller child was wounded by shot in the body, and the savages dashed its brains out to still its walls of pain. Mary's brother escaped during the night, but was next day hunted down and killed. the Indians taking great pains to parade his scalp before her face. This left Mary, the Fuller boy, and his sister and mother captives in the hands of the brutes. Mrs. Fuller could not be kept still, iamenting and moaning the shocking fate of her husband, and soon after day light she was horribly maltreated, taken little ways out of camp, and there shot to death with arrows, her screams being plainly heard by the living captives.
 1 The wagons were of no apparent use to the Indians, and, after selecting from their contents such articles as pleased them, the savages burned the whole together. The captives were then mounted on the horses, and the party struck for the West. On the second day they divided, and one gang took Mary's sister, whose name was Henrietta. The sisters were weeping and lamenting their hard fate, when both were cruelty beaten, and Henrietta was hurried off at a rapid rate, while Mary and the Fuller boy were urged in another direction by blows and shouts of derision. After several days trav- cling, the party reached the Black Hills, and there they found the balance of the tribe
 Here it may be stated that the girl Henrietta
 was never aftarward seen by Mary, but she heard, two or three years after, of her death by maltreatment. The cap.iyes were re- ceived with kicks and cuffs, and Mary was especially ill-trcated. The lad was 6 smart and active boy, and the Indians soon made a favorite of him. In the fifth year of his captivity, the lad, then \ boy of good size, got lost from a hunting party, or detached himself in the hopes of escaping, and several days afterward was found dead, having been
 frozen to death. The girl soon got command of the Indian dialect, and she relates some curious matters about their consultations ir regard to the war and the building of the Pacific Railroad, the Indians regarding the
 latter fact as a death-blow to them, and re
 ceivng new motives for hating the white
 men. She was made to cook, carry wood
 and to do all the drudgery that one person
 was capable of doing, and for three month,
 after her accident was daily maltreated be-
 cause she could not use her limbs. An In dian doctor attended the injury, but per formed the service in such bungling man
 ner as to leave the woman a bad cripple. Sh'
 made several attempts to escape, but va
 each time recaptured, and made feel tn weight of their vengeance. A party O United States soldiers, in the fall of 1866 came near capturing her, one of the mei coming within few feet of her m charging
 the Indians during fight. About tw, months ago she received intimation that ne gotistions were pending for her ransom Sh
 had twice been sold, and was then sbou
 two hundred miles below the mouth of tn Yellow Stone River. In week or SO afts
 getting the first news she was carried ava many miles to a military post, the name c
 which she cannot speak, and there eSchang