The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-05-02

! Selecting some embankment. one end Of
the rails was lifted from the chair in which
it rests and propped up to height of three
feet,in which position it was securely fasten-
ed. The approaching train; driving head
long in the darkness Of night, saw no dan
ger until too late TO put on breaks, and the
elevated rails broke through, the cylinder
overthrowing the engines and piling the
cars upon the wreck. In two instances
persons were literally roasted alive, while
the painted savages tore the scaps from
their victims and increased the horror Of the
scene by their wloops and yells.
i Note the barbafous Turks can devise
more devilsh ways to perpetrate and in
crease tile sufferings Of the unfortunate ones
who fall into their hands, than can these
brave sons Of the forest, and one look at their
ugly, painted faces, their coarse, unkempt
hair, is sufficient to rob me of all the dreams
| I ever had about the s'noble red man,
4 grant, as a race, they have been abused,
4 shamefully abused, just as the weaker will
always be by the stronger, until the millen-
mum comes !; bu: what ha We they eyer been
but ~ mpsaimensse ~ ErOwth of 'civtli-
zation And after 4 hundred years Of ex-
perimenting with them our Governments
policy has proven far more successful in the
matter Of developing the dishonest tenden-
cles OF officers placed over them than in
| putting the Indian question upon settled
basis.
1 One Of the tenets Of faith in the Nor
man Church is that any Norman may be
baptized for as many dead people as he
chooses, and his baptism, in their name, will
have the effect OF causing ST. Peter to. hunt up
his Keys at once and throw open the gates of
Paradise for these post mortem r.generates
to enter. During one of tie many trouh-
lous times the Saints at Salt Lake, said
a meeting of the elect was called to discuss
the subject, s'What shall we do with the
Indians?' Oae Elder proposed that they
send out couriers to invite them to meet
with the Mormans in council, when they
should propose to give the Indians tracts Of
land, farming tools and stock, II they would
agree to keep the peace another man sug-
gested giving them certain valleys to be
their hunting grounds forever, the Saints to
pledge themselves to give them guns and
ammunition for term Of years. But there
rose up one among them wiser than all the
rest and strong in his faith, he said I: "No
brethren let us give them no lands; let
us not impoversh ourselves and our fami-
lies to enrich them neither will we put
guns in their hands and ammunition with
which to kill us and our children rather
will we keep the guns and the ammunition
and our sons shall go forth and kill them
l,.and I soill be baptized for them {" i
| Sensible man, he! But as the Indians
still steal stock and scalp white men sup
pose there was some hitch in the Morman's
plans.
They have learned to let the railroad
alone. but they ride over the road as much
as they please without so much as s'by your
leave" OF course they are excluded from
the first-class cars, but they crowd the plat
forms pack into the baggage car, and 60
in droyes on the freight.
| Strange to say they have rarely molested
the telegraph wire and regard it as some
thing supernatural. At first they would
not believe it when told that man could
talk over the wires with his friend a thou
sand miles away. One chief expressed his
| want OF faith in this way: s'Injun not very
smart, sometimes he big fool, but he boiler
pretty loud; you hear him, maybe, half
| mile you say Boston man hear you thou
sand mile away. I spects you fool me
Cap'n. Maybe you lie."
All Americans are known to the Indians
as Boston men, and an Englishman is:
King George man.
They are always keen for trade with
any one and will sell their best squaw for
whiskey.
Major Dennison, a brother Of ex-
| Governor Dennison, of Ohio, was for
ten years Indian Agent in New Mexico,
and when he went there he carried his
bride, young and very beautiful Virginia
lady. lie was the first agent who had ia
ken his wife there, and she was soon the re-
| ClpGuI VI any cttllOuut VI htUOiCiOu 1lOul GHC
Indians. A few days after their arrival the
chief of the tribe appeared at their house
and requested an interview With the agent.
1t was granted and through the interpreter
the chief proposed to ''trade squaws - he
seemed to have an eye for beauty, for he
was willing to give his two best squaws aud
large number of dogs in exchange for the
Majors dainty BRIDE. Perhaps it is unnec-
essary for me to state that his generous Of
| fer did not receive favorable consideration.
When this road was first operated herds
of buffalo, antelope and deer were often
seen bound ng away across the plains, but
as the number OF settlers increased, they
gradually disappeared and now the buffalo
and antelope steak, which the hungry trave-
Ter finds at the eating house en- route, are
about the only specimens one has an oppor-
tunity to see. The prairie dogs and coyotes
still hold their ground, and on all bright
| days the dogs, which arc about the size Of a
squirrel, may be seen sitting on the mounds
! slightest intimation Of danger they go
| yelping into their under ground habitations.
| 1t isn't worth while to try to shoot, much
| less to catch one alive, for they are as swift
| as the wind and scent ones approach Won
derfully quick. The coy otes belong to the
wolf species, and are about the size of a
fair dog, but not as brave as any decent dog
is expected to be. They are heard only at
nght.and that is all sufficient,fo no stretch
OF the imagination, however powerful, can
turn their dismal howlings into music
Horrible as 1t is, however, it is the settlers
lullaby, for they know as long as the coyote
bowls no red skin is at hand waiting a
chance to snatch them bald-headed.
Before Sydney is reached, agr.cu lture has
given way to grazing and on every hand are
to be seen cattle and sheep feeding upon
the sweet, well cured grass. The snow is
fine and dry and drifts into the holows
leaving the hills bare, and there is plenty
1 of nutritious buffalo grass to keep them fat