The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1877-03-08
Strange Story Of Life Among the
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/ uEt1Detroit (Mich.) CorI N. f''hsraid.l
Within two weeks after the surrender
of General Lee. at .ApPomattox, the
Government had portions OF three
brigades Of cavalry on their way Wes'
to the Indian country to serve out the
few remaining months of their three
years enlistment. The Michigan Cav.
airy Brigade, reduced to about one
thousand men, were marched through to
Colorado. AS the men had only q short
j time to serve a spirit of iindignationpre-
vailed that they were not discharged In
Washington. and desertions were both
frequent and numerous. About the
middle of July, 1865, scout with the
command, named Charles Burton, be-
came angered and disgusted with some
general, order, and he. induced five
private soldiers to desert the service and
| follow him. 1t was his intention, no
doubt, to organize gang of rough
riders and become prairie rObber. The
five soldiers were all Michiganders, but
| four of them deserted Burton the first
night out and returned to the command.
The fifth, private Henry Reynolds, was
ready for any thing desperate, and
within a week the two men had picked
up enough stragglers, teamsters and
half-breeds to make up band OF thirty
six men. By hanging around the camps
of the cavalry for week or so the out
laws succeeded in stealing horses enough
| to mount the whole party, and the band
was we'll provided with arms and am
munition. There was no railroad across
the Great Plains at that time, and Bur-
| toms object, as soon as unfolded, was TO
haunt the overland trail and rob friend
and foe. The band was large enough to
have successfully attacked any thing
weaker than Government train, but
before they had struck blowa quarrel
arose between Burton and Reynolds.
The men took sides, two were killed, and
the soldier rode away at the head of six
of the party, while the rest remained
with the scout. What became of this
last party no one knows or cares, but the
career of the band Of seven was brief
and bloody. ""
They were on the south fork of the
Platte River, near Longs Peak, when
attacked by a war party of Indians.
During the half hours fight four of the
men were killed and the others captured.
Two were burned at the stake, leaving
Reynolds as the sole survivor. He AYERS
that his life was saved by his making
certain Masonic signals, which seemed to
be readily understood by the chief of the
war party. The soldier tells straight
story of his life for the next year.
There was little incident or excitement,
he being a prisoner in au Indian
village, fairly treated but closely guar
ded. He was very handy at carving
pipes, mending saddles and brides and
making moccasins, and was kept at such
work most of the time. In 1857 he was
sold to another band for two ponies and
pound of powder, and during that
summer he was taken into Arizona, near
the head waters of the Rio San Pedro.
He was in measure contt mt with his
situation, being well used and having
the same fare as the Indians; still good
opportunity for escape might not have
been neglected. In the spring of 1868,
while yet on the San Pedro, he fell and
broke his right arm. The Indian doctors
had not the skill to set the broken arm,
and the band looked upon the white
man as a useless burden, since he could
no longer use his best hand. Part of the
warriors wanted to sell him for what he
would bring, while others desired to hold
grand feast and to torture him.
Reynolds could speak the dialect very
we'll and having overheard enough to
convince him that he was to be put out
of the way by sale or death he determined
to escape. Reynolds had no other tie to
bind him to home and civilization than
an aged mother at Grand Rapids, and
until his life was threatened, he had no
great anxiety to escape from the Indians.
He was leading free, wild life, had
sufficient for all his wants, and had
accustomed himself to the habits and
customs of the red men. At the time of
the accident he was in love with squaw
named Wind-That-Whispers, and per-
haps might have been adopted into the
tribe and became husband and father.
About the time he found out that he
was to be sold or tortured the squaw
came to him and revealed the plan, and
it was agreed that they should run away
together. The preparations occupied
but few hours. The village was
situated on the west bank of the Rio
San Pedro, and one night after every
thing had become quiet the squaw stole
a horse, rife and a quantity of food, and
the two crossed the stream and headed
for the Wahsatch Mountains, intending
to get into Mexico. Good progress was
made during the hours of darkness, the
.squaw guiding the horse and the soldier
sitting behind her. At break of day
they discovered that they were being
pursued, but, burdened as he was, the
horse reached the foot hills half an hour
ahead of pursuit. He was abandoned
there, and the fugitives sought safety in
the gulches and canyons. They were
hunted for day or two, but the Indians
finally tired of the search. Left in that
wild region, with scarce hope of ever
seeing a white face and fearing to see
dark one, Reynolds says they lived
among the mountains until June, 1870.
Game was plenty, and by means of the
rifle and traps they secured an abundance
of food. Bands of Indians frequently
passed through the mountains, but the
pair lived comfortably and in safety.
In the fall of 1869, while they were
hunting for some warm and secure place
in which to pass the winter, the squaw
made wonderful discovery. She found,
on the western base of the mountains.
and at bend in ravine or gulch. a
cave which had been fashioned from the
earth and rock by human hands Within
distance of fifteen miles of this cave
were the ruins of three Aztec villages,
with faint evidences that road had
once led from one of the villages to the
cave. The cavity, Reynold says, was
walled up, and it took him and the
squaw whole day to remove the work
of the ancient stone-masons and effect
an entrance. He says there were
hundreds of bodies in the cave, or the
black dust of hundreds of bodies. As
to his further discoveries he is silent. but
he has exhibited to several wealthy resi-
dents of this State curosities and valuable
ornaments In gold, such as have never
been seen before.
In May, 1870, the squaw died, and
about that time body Of Indians made
such search after Reynolds that he