Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-08-26
An Indian Drama.

A correspondent Of the New York ~.
nM with Hayden's surveying party, in tba
bad Lands" writes "On our way to tn
Park we met party en- route to the mines
among whom we noticed a jovial, hearty
looking man. dressed in an ornamentsa
buckskin suit, with long, dark hair banr
ing down his back, and armed with riae
revolver and gigantic hunting.knifs
Surprising him, from his appearance IN
be some celebrated character, we founS
upon inquiry, that it was Oregon BiI,'
an old Government scout and a friend nj
Buffalo Bill. The party accomranied y,
for couple of days, into Bakers Park
and many good talk and hearty lauab
did we have in company with Orecon
Bill. He has been in this Western country
nearly twenty years, part of which time he
scoute. on the plains in company win
Buffalo Bill. In 1872 he was in the Rlact
Hills, and says he found gold-dust in ,ha
gulches of the foothills on the northwest
slope of the Hills. The squaws of tn.
Blackfeet and Crow Indians were in tbe
habit of adjoining themselves with cold
trinkets which, he thinks, evidently came
from that section. A year ago Bill went
East with delegation of Caws and Osages
and, during the Centennial Exposition, he
expects to exhibit a party of Cav Indians
whose language he speaks fluently. Hs
private name is w. J. Speck, and he il
thirty light years Of age. Bill has entered
the mines, with the other boys to seek
his fortune, but as long as he has enough
to eat and a tribe of Indians to escort heIs
always perfectly happy. Although he is
man of education, fine perceptions and
good connections, he prefers this free and
rowing life, and like all true sons of the
wilds,' is proud of his reputation as
scout and hunter. In giving an account
of the first nights Indian performances at
Fort Leavenworth, he says: We had had
no rehearsal, and when the hour arrived
we knew no more what the Indians would
do than the audience But went behind
the scenes and told them to 90 out and do
their best. AT the given signal they went
hootng and yelling on the stage, and com.
menced war-dance. They had three
fresh scalps, which they had captured from
another tribe few days before, and, as
they progressed in the dance and grew ex.
cited, they tlourished their tomahawks and
knives and flung the scalps into the air,
cutting at them with their weapons as they
descended, and licking them with their
tongues whenever they could get them in
their hands. At length they got worked
up to such pitch of excitement that, for.
getting for the time where they were, thV
leaped clear over the orchestra and ran,
yelling and whooping, up and down the
aisles. The audience were so frightened
that most of them ran out of the house,
and we were rather scared ourselves, as we
did not know how the thing would end.
Two of as ran out on the stage and shouted
and gesticulated until we were tired, with
out any effect, when one of the squaws
came out and told us to let them have it
out or they might do some damage. This
was the last night we gave performance
without rehearsal, for the Indians told
us they thought they were to do just az
they had done Then he gave us an imi.
tation of the war-dance and accompany
ing weird chant, and it was done to such
perfection that our flesh crept and we al
most imagined him warrior in disguise"