Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1875-1878, 1876-05-31
SLAVE.

SAA .
Il y sas zsi 81 Il ----..-----l l.la s. zi
How the Noble Red Man Eell--The
/ kind Of stPapers,2 he Presented.-
The story as told by Jim jerks.
], The following clipped from the Grand
Forks Plaindealer,. is an extract from a
letter from jim jerks who killed tie
chief Slave, whose friends try to make
it appear was shot down by the whites
when he was approaching their camp
with 4 white. fag. The whites, it will
be seen, ,stell q different story, and theirs,
no doubt, is attrue versiolrcf the affair:
When weleft Bismarck our train con
sisted Of seyenty-five men, forty teams.
and about forty head Of cows and young
stock. On the 1st Of April the Indians
made araid on the stock, driving off Is
head of stock, Holmes pony and also
one of Budge's, this was about II O'Clock
in the night. AT day light Tom Hall,
our captain, called for volunteers to fol-
low and retake the stock if possible.
Fourteen men stepped out, Bulge, Jim.
and myself amongst the Huan-
ber. had pony furnished me, and
had AL. McKinley's Spencer rife. We
could not travel very fast as the snow
was foot deep, and our horses tired
out. We had gone about twenty miles
from camp when We came on to them.
There we're only four Indians, whom we
ran off and started the stock back, but
could not get the. horses. we had trav.
eled about q mile when the Indians came
down upon US from all sides. We were
in ravlne at the time, while they were
on the hills. They numbered only if
teen Or twenty, but they were behind
and on both sides Of as, so the boys got
scared and ran. had the best horse
in tho party and was the last to leave
the stock, but when I saw the rest leav-
ing started. caught up with Bulge,
his horse (the one he got from Traill)
having played out and could not run.
AS rode past him he told me not to
leave him as he would be killed. !
promised to stay with him, but that I
would overtake the rest and stop them
on the hill half mile ahead. I was the
third man on the hill and stopped all
but two, Jim Williams being one of
them, but could not stop him. rais~
ed my gun to shoot another, or to scare
him, but he was badly excited and would
not stop. BY this time the Indians were,
within forty rods Of US, and the bullets
were dropping around US like hail.
Bulge had not got up yet, and there,
was an Indian following fifty yards be-
hind firing at him every jump. Bulge
finally turned and shot him, the Indian
falling off his horse and started to run,
but the next shot finished him. BY
this time the Indians had surrounded
US on the ridge, and some were only
twenty rods from US, One Indian rode
up and fred at me but missed, as saw
him just in time to jump off my horse
and saved myself, as the ball struck the
horse. About the same time one of our
boys fired at the Indian and he jumped
off his horse and ran behind the ridge.
He raised up to fire at me again but ]
caught him this time; both rifles cracked
together, his ball whizzed by my ear
but my ball took him in the chest or
head, and he fell over the ridge, leaving
his horse, which I captared and have
yet, and I tell you he is clipper. BY
this time things were red-hot. One
man was shot in the knee on one side of
me, and the next instant another fell
dead-shot through the heart-about
ten feet from me. tell you it was ter
rible. I dropped on the ground fat and
was aiming at an Indian when ball
struck the ground right under my face
and threw the dirt up into my eyes and
blinded me for minute, but that Indian
never knew whether he hit me or not,
for Collins, the wounded man, killed him
the inmate he fred. By this time the
Indians drew off little, and We dragged
four of our horses that had been killed
together and made breastworks of them.
Six of the Indians took after Jim. Will
Jams and shot him with an arrow in the
thigh, breaking bis leg, and he fell into
a buffalo wallow and kept them off for
a while. ....a ....... .~.E..-- ..., -. t....s.
The Indians finally left US, when we
went to jim, and helped him out.
q We got back to camp about 10 O'Clock
that night, and such hand-shaking l
never got in my life, as the fellows who
ran away told them we were all killed,
and that I was the first one to fall |
tell you those three fellows caught hell
the rest of the trip.
stAlphonso.' said Mrs Taft sternly :,
when her husband told her he was
going to be Secretary Of War, ''that
Is all right, but it won't be safe for
any post trader TO come !ooling