Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-09-13
A ROMANCE OF THE WEST.
A Gold Miner Saves the Life OF an Indian,
and is I'm Turn Rescued From Death by
the Grateful Savage.
from the Columbus News.

the Grateful Savage.
/ a from the Columbus News
Friday morning, q man walked int,
the bakery on the west side Of Higl
street, between Long and Spring, ant
asked for something to eat. He bad al
honest, intelligent appearance, although
not clothed in the richest attire. II,
said he had eaten nothing since the
day before, and was very hungry. The
baker gave the man good meal, and
being Intercepted as to his history anC
present condition, he related the fol
lowing narrative, which is SO romantic
and interesting that we report it for the
benefit of our readers:
The man gave his name as George
Saunders, stating that he is plastere1
by trade, and that his mother lives
about three miles from Big Run station,
on the Marietta and Cincinnati railroad
IN Athens county. Saunders says he
left his mothers house january 8, 1875,
and went to st. Louis, where he re-
manned for short time, and then start
ed for the Black Hills in search of gold,
arriving there about the first of June.
He went to work Immediately, and up
to the 28th of July last had succeeded
IN mining large amount. of gold ore
worth about $15 per ounce. 1t may
be stated that the ore referred to is
what is known as surface ore, not
quartz, and is very rich indeed. Saun-
ders was IN a camp of thirty persons,
who divided themselves into pairs, and
erected small wooden huts, two miners
occupying each. Saunders occupied
hut with a man named Smith. Their
means of sustenance consisted of buff
falO meat, venison and fowl, with some
salt, which they carried with them
from the settlements. They had no
bread of any kind except few crack
ers which they carried with them, but
the supply of which was soon exhaust
ed. %
During last winter, while the snow
was SO deep as to render it necessary
for them to remain in their huts for
long period, an Indian one day came
to the door of Saunders hut in an
almost exhausted condition, stating by
means of signs gestures, that he had
been out hunting and got lost in the
snow. Saunders and Smith fed and
sheltered the wayfarer for several days,
and when the snow disappeared the
Indian went on his way rejoicing, ap-
parently very grateful to his preservers
On the 28th of July last the party
were surprised by band of two hun
dred Indians, supposed to be Sioux
At the time of the surprise Smith had
gone from the hut for a bucket of wa
fnr o1,I So,,,,Inro of I1v,o
from that day to this. The miners,
altough taken completely by surprise,
made desperate resistance in
a hand to hand conflict, They
had nothing but their knives to
defend themselves with. Twelve of
their number were killed upon the spot,
and the rest were overpowered and
taken prisoners. Saunders, with others,
was tied upon a horse, his feet under
the animal and his hands behind his
back. They were tied with wet raw
hide thongs Their captors then set
out upon the march, and the prisoners
were kept in the saddle from Friday
evening until Sunday morning at 6
o'clock. The savages then went into
camp, and the prisoners were taken
from the horses and tied to trees. Four
of these unfortunates begged for meat
and drink, for which the indians burned
them to death at the stake, pricking
their naked flesh with burning sticks.
One Sunday afternoon, strange In
dian came into camp, and Saunders
recognized him as the savage whom he
had befriended the previous winter.
He was about to speak to HIM, but the
latter slyly motioned him to remain
silent. About 10 o'clock that night,
this Indian crawled up to Saunders, in
a manner peculiar to the savage, and
after cutting him loose, motioned him
to follow him, which he did, After
travelling two or three hours, they came
to halt, when the Indian, leaving
Saunders for few moments, returned
with a magnificent black stallion, sad
died and bridled, and telling Saunders
to mount, gave him the direction to
take to reach Denver, and bid him
make the best time possible, which he
did. Before leaving Saunders the saw
age told him to follow a certain trail
until he should come to a cross trail,
where he would find five stakes and
some meat close beside them. Saun-
ders did as directed, and about 2
o'clock on Monday he found buffalo
head, from which he made a good (?)
meal, and soon after came to q small
prairie stream, where he slaked his
thirst for the first time since the Friday
previous. Saunders got nothing to eat
or drink from that time until he arriv-
ed in Denver on the Wednesday follow
ing, at Pm.
Saunders had been stripped by the
Indians of all his clothing except pair
of buckskin pants, and in that condi-
ton he had ridden the entire distance.
He had an excellent beaded buckskin
shirt on wnen captured. At Denver,
Saun ters traded the horse for suit of
clothes. The stallion was splendid
animal, of extraordinary bottom and
remarkable speed, and would undoubt-
edly have been worth q large sum In
this market.
From Denver Saunders worked his
way on stock trains to Detroit, Mich,