Pioche daily record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1872-1876, 1874-02-27
INTERESTING LETTER FROM
ARIZONA.
The Navahoe Troubies---Pioche Pros
peetors i'm n Tight Place.
MovEABBG. Mohave Co. Arizona,
February ). 1874.

.
sisted Of a few lines, hastily scratched,
last Christmas morning, at the settle
meut on the Pahreah river, at the same
time enclosing sample Of the cotton
raised there. From that point to the
ferry across the Colorado. at the mouth
of the Pahreah river, by the trail We
Travelled, il about forty miles; but by the
wagon ronl IS much further. However,
when the snow IS not so deep as the
present season, there i, no difficulty in
travelling f:om kanab across the Buck
skin, OF more properly speaking, the
Kitab mountains. direct to the ferry,
distance Of about ninety miles, preciud-
Ing tue necessity OF taking the round
about route that we did. There Is
good ferry boat, capable Of taking two
wagons aul teams across at once. The
river, at tue present low stage OF water,
is about three hundred yards wide, but
in July, when the water is high. it is
raging torrent, over mile wide, bearing
ON its bosom Immense quantities of drift
wood from the mountains (which it piles
up in places along the banks forty and
nifty feet high and is represented as a
sublime spectacle, an assertion that l
can well believe. The great canyon Of
the Colorado commences few miles be-
low here, and am told that sometimes,
IN time OF floods the back-water, from
the narrow canyon being unable to carry
it of fast enough, submerges the country
wherever the banks are low, for many
miles. From the ferry we Travelled eis-
urely to this point, slXty-three miles,
and should have been far from here
weeks ago. but for the occurrences l am
about to relate.
On the 10th OF January, we were in
the very act OF packing the horses, pre-.
paratory to II start, when an Indian ar
rived, who proved to be Tubay, the Chief
Of the Moquis Indians, a friendly tribe
who live in ihis part of the country. |
should have mentioned that this is the
residence of John ID. Lee, man against
whom / was deeply prejudiced on &C.
count of his presumed connection with
the terrible Mountain Meadow massacre,
an imputation, however, he utterly de-
MES. l found him, on acquaintance, to
he very agreeable gentleman Mr.. Lee
speaks the Indian Language well, and
through him we soon learned the cause
of the chiefs visit. a Navahoe chief
who had received iavors from Mr.. Lee,
and was well disposed towards him, had
arrived ut TuOay's lodge that morning
(having ridden all night) to get him to
20 and tell Mr.. Lee that three Navahoe
Indians had been killed aud one wounded
by MormOus, AZ lew days before, in an
attray in the ne!ghOorhood of Grass Val
ley, on the north fork of the Sewer river;
that the wounded Indian had arrived at
his camp the hight before, and WAS now
actively engaged IL striving to rouse the
Aavahoes to war-that the young men
were clamoriug for revenge and to warn
him that he would probably be attacked
within four days, and to prepare for de-
Tense Here was u dilemma. No Posi-
bilIty OF obtaining assistance nearer than
100 miles; Mrs Lee and five children, and
a hel pless old man named Winburn, dis
abled by Il lame loot, who had not risen
from his bed fox four months. After
Fort Defiance announcing the condition
of affairs, Tubay agreeing to forward it
forthwith by one Of his Indians, and Mr..
Lee and his eldest boy started for kanab
to bring assistance. As soon as he was
gone, We placed the house in the best
state Of defense we could and awaited
the issue. On the third day Piuts In
dian, sent 10y tue Navahoes, arrived.
Il
interpreter, we gathered that the young
men Of the tribe were at first determined
on war, but that the chiefs were opposed
to it, for the present, at least, and that
they desired to await the arrival of Jacob
Hamlin, who has acted as the represeD-
tative OF Brigham Young in all negota-
tons Of importance with the Indians for
the past twenty years, and learn what
settlement of the affair lie was willing to
make. This was favorable, as two of the
slain indians were SONS Of one Of the
chiefs. He wound up Lis remarks by
lnquiring if, in case the Nayahoes did
come here, We would purchase peace hv
giving up the old man Winburn to torture,
in which case they would abstain from
further hostilties. With difficulty press
ing our strong desire to shoot him ON the
spot, we declined the offer, and charging
him with message to the chiefs OF the
nation that as soon rs Hamlin arrived
we would apprlse them of his advent, we
let him depart. Matters remained in
statu quo until the 29th inst, when
Messrs. Lee, Hamlin and Smitheon, a SON.
in-law of the former, and his wife ar
rived, the advance guard Of a party
from Kanab, now on the road. We COM
municated to Mr.. Hamln the message
from the Navahoe Chiefs, and merely
pausing 10 take some refreshments, he
started at once for the nearest Moquis
village, eight miles distant, to send a
messenger to them, to notify them of his
arrival, and request their presence, my
brother and myself accompanying him.
We reached there about shutdown, and
found, to our extreme disappointment,
that all the Indians were gone to u big
dance at the Oriba villages, sixty miles
distant, with the exception of one lame
Piute. We remained there that night,
and the next morning started for the
Oriba villages, taking Huck-a-bur the
lame Indian, who is a good Interpreter,
along with us.
We had not rode over fifteen miles
the Navahoe envoy on the former &C.
casion. lie said LIE was going to see if
Hamlin had arrived, and expressed
great delight OF seeing him, saying that
the Indians were extremely anxious to
see him, and urging him to go back with
him to the camp of the nearest Navahoe
chief, which he said was not more than
fifteen miles distant, and talk the matter
over there. After consultation, being
anxious to lose no time, we consented,
and after riding some twenty-five miles
instead OF fifteen, we reached the Nava.
hoe camp, which consisted of only two
lodges. A tall, powerful Indian, OIL
whose head the SHOWS of many Winter,
had rested, welcomed us with impress
iveness, and an embrace like the hug
of grizzly bear, and invited US to enter
The lodge, wick-e-up, which was sub