The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-08-17
A FRONTIER TRAGEDY.
Horrible Results of nm indian Fight.


On Saturday evening there arrived in
st. Joseph q young man who gives hi:
name as VIM. MacMoore, who relates q
terrible story of his adventures on the
Texas frontier. He says he went from
Elizabethtown, KY, IN tho summer oi
1869, and went to Texas. In June he
engaged with one J. g. d. Blackburn, q
government contractor, to drive q team
to Fort Sill. His train consisted offour-
teen wagons, with fourteen persons as
drivers, and started for the fort On
Sunday evening, June 25, the party had
reached stream, which was skirted by
strip of timber, about thirty miles east
of the fort, when they were suddenly
ATTACKED BY TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY
CHEYENNE INDIANS.
Part Of the teams had crossed the
stream two lone of them the team dri-
ven by Mr.. MacMoore) had not yet
come up, and one had stuck fast in a
ditch. A number of the drivers had dis
mounted, leaving their arms in the
wagons, to assist in extricating this
wagon. No one for moment dreamed
that foe was near. The Indians were
posted in the timber on both sides of the
stream, and kept concealed until the
party were completely i'll their power.
Then they came dashing out, with hor-
rid cries, and in a moments time the un-
fortunate teamsters found themselves
completely surrounded. Resistance
seemed hopeless, and yet to give up was
certain death. A few of those who were
in their wagons fired "a dozen or so shots
but without effect.
KILLED, WOUNDED AND sCALPED.
The contest was soon over. Seven of
the party were shot dead on the spot,
another was wounded, and then scalped
and tomahawked and six, with Mac
Moore, taken prisoner. MacMoore can
not say what was done with the train
and stock, as Immediately after his cap
ture he and his companions were bound
and removed from the spot. The saw
ages moved to the northwest, and after
going some distance camped for the
night. The next day after the capture,
one of the party, who attempted to es-
cape, was shot dead.
BURNED AT THE STAKE.
On the next Friday the savages came
to the conclusion to torture two of the
teamsters, Jack Jones and Thomas Hay
ward, and in the evening proceeded to
carry out their purpose. The unfortu-
nate men were brought out and bound
hand and foot to stake. Their tongues
were then cut QUIT is supposed to pre-
vent them from screaming when burn
ing-and their ears cut off. A heap of
fagots was then put around the stake,
and so arranged as to be slow i'll bum
ing. The entire band then formed in a
ring, and indulged themselves in the
luxury of tormenting their victims be-
fore the work of torture commenced.
The other prisoners were brought out
and forced to witness the horrid sight.
The fagots around Jones were dry and
burned quicker than had been intended,
and his sufferings were soon terminated,
the stomach and lower part of the body
being first consumed. Hayward died in
about thirty minutes, and his agony was
terrible. MacMoore says the remem-
brance Of that scene can never be eifaced
from his memory.
DETERMINED TO ESCAPE.
Satisfied that they would soon share
the fate of their companions, the re-
naming prisoners, MacMoore, Henry
Brown, and Harvey jackson, determined
to make an effort to escape at any haz-
ard. They were closely guarded, how
ever, and for some days no opportunity
was presented. On the night of the 9th
of July heavy rain set in, and their
first good chance for escape came. The
Indians had been drinking considerable
" fire-water r" during the afternoon and
evening, and slept very sound. About
midnight MacMoore discovered that the
buckskin thongs with which he was
tied, dampened by the rain, began to
"give" considerably. With some exer-
tion he succeeded in getting his hands
free, but could not unfasten his feet.
Henry Brown discovered his bonds "giv-
ing" too, and he succeeded in freeing
himself. He then approached an uncon-
scious savage, drew knife from his belt,
cut the bonds of his comrades, and the
three hastened away. After going some
two miles together, the three separated
for safety, and started for Fort Riley.
MacMoore reached the fort on Wednes-
day, having walked one hundred and
twenty-five miles in two days and half.
His feet were terribly lacerated, and he
had nothing on but two shirts and pair
of drawers. Brown reached the fort four
hours later in the day, and Jackson came
in next day. The parties were nearly
exhausted, and would have perished had
it not been for the assistance of some
friendly Pottawatomie Indians, whom
they met on Tuesday. jackson remained
at the fort, his feet being SO sore that he
could not travel. Brown started to Den
yer. On Wednesday, the 18th of July,
MacMoore started on foot for Leaven-
worth, and walked the entire distance,
reaching there on Saturday. The same
evening he took the cars on the Kansas
City, st. Joseph and Council Bluffs road,
and came to st. Joseph. That night he
stopped at the residence of @. III. Buck
man, Esq, whose wife is relative of his.
On Sunday he went to the house of Mrs.
Bush, on Bush street, who is his relative,
where he is now stopping,
WHITE MEN WITH THE INDIANS.
MacMoore says that one-fourth of the
party of Cheyennes was composed OF
white men, and many of the Indians
speak English. Among them was a
man named Stanley, from eastern Texas,
who said that he had killed thirteen
men, and intended to kill five times as
many more. The whites dressed like the
Indians, were just ,as barbarous, and
seemed to enjoy the torture of Jones and
Hayward with as much zest as the In
dians.
WHITE WOMEN CAPTIVEs.
The Cheyennes had two white women
with them as prisoners-one, Mrs
Bowman, aged about 30 years, from