The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-11-06
A HAPPY DELIVERANCE.
The Women and Children from the White
River Agency-How they Were Treated
by Their Captors.

lowing special has been received by the Den
yer Tribune from Los Pinos Agency, Oct
I %, via Del Norte, Colo, %:
/ We this morning have had the best posi-
/ BILE evidence of the success Of Gen. Adams in
/ his mission of procuring the release Of the
captive women and children who have been
I in the hands of the hostile Indians since the
: massacre of all the males at the White River
Agency on the 2Sth of September, on the ar
( rival in person of the recent captives, who
] were Mrs. Meeker, Miss Josephine MeekeT
| Mrs. Price, and two children Of Mrs. Price.
! They came into the Agency quite early this
/ morning, and were, of course, received by
( the few white people here, representatives OF
| the people of the entire country, with feel
1ngs Ofmingled joy and gratitude, and a sigh
| of relief at being released from the terrible
/ bondage which had enslaved them, and which
/ threatened them with the most terrible of all
| fates-eyen death. Among others who were
4 here to meet and welcome the cap
I tives was Ralph Meeker, the only
living son of Agent Aleeker, who, as
will be remembered, accompanied Maj.
/ Pollock on his journey to this place with the
! intention of penetrating the reservation with
the Major, had not Gen. Adams taken his
/ departure before Maj. Pollock, Mr.. Meeker
/ and your correspondent arrived. will not
/ attempt to describe meeting which was so
I full of giadness, and, at the same time, by
necessity, Of sadness-a meeting full of Joy
on the part Of the son and brother, of graf
I itude and thanksgiving on the part of the
mother and sister, and vet full of sorrow in
/ the recollection of all Of the fate Of the hus-
band and father. | don't think Mrs Meeker
or her daughter knew Of the good fortune
which awaited them here, of meeting Ralph,
till they reached Ouray's house last night,
where they were told of his presence, which,
of course, only increased their impatience
l 10 70 ha 4 ho
carewOrn and fatigued, as they naturally
would after the experience through which
they have passed during the last twenty-five
days, twenty-five of which they were cap
tiyeS among savage Indians, in a wild coun-
try, and apparently cut off from sue
cor. The ladies express themselves as
most thankful for their early deliverance,
which was almost more than they dared to
hope for.
SAID MRS. MEEKER,
in speaking to your correspondent: al
hardly knewwhat to expect. At times the In
dams almost ignored us, and went forward
with their councils without regarding our
presence at all; again they jeered, and
tainted, and threatened us; at other times
theywere comparatively pleasant There
was but one who seemed determined to pro-
tect u.s. This was Susan, JOhnsOn's wife.
who has shown herself, from the beginning to
the end OF the troubles, woman Of fine feel
ing, and genuinely humane and kind in her
disposition to her fellOw-creatures. l can
never forget her or repay her kindness to
myself and daughter, and our entire family.
She Is good woman. les, as to the threats -
said she, being requested to proceed eve
hardly expected again to see the faces of our
friends in a civilized land; yet we never lost
hope, yet at times were very respondent in
deed. We hoped, and vet we feared. at all
times. Sometimes one feeling was in the
ascendant, and sometimes the other. We
believed we would be held as hostages, and
saw in this hope the prospect of being
surrendered to procure terms for the
Indians when it should come to the
settlement Of terms of peace; and, too. we
believed our friends would do all in their
power TO rescue us as soon as possible. But
we feared that the very effort to save us
must be the means Of Fastening our death
We heard Of the approach of troops, and we
were fearful that they might push forward
in their zeal to avenge the murders commit
ted by the Indians, and place the Indians in
such close quarters that they would be COM
PEELED to rid themselves of us as a burden.
They would have killed us before leaving us
to be rescued by the soldiers. Then, we
never knew but that some conflict with the
soldiers might cause the death of several In
dianS, in which case we were fearful we
would fall victims to the Indians love of re-
savage ones OF the tribe would Kill us out of
the mere desire for blood, or the mere sport
of the thing. In fact, we thought our lives
were subject to the merest Whim of the saw
ages. The treatment which my daughter
underwent at the hands of Chief Douglass is
an illustration of what l mean. We owe
every thing to Susan, at least more than to
all Others"
This is the tenor of Mrs. Meeker's Ian
guage, but L do not profess to give her exact
words.
THE ENTIRE STORY OF THE CAPTIVITY
is Of interest. They were brought to Ouray's
house by Capt. Klein, who resides near the
Agency and keeps stage station, and Mai.
Sherman and Mr.. Saunders, who are con-
nected with the Agency, and who accom-
panied Gen. Adams on his mission. When
Gen. Adams approached, which was noted
by the Indians, they rushed the captiyes into
a secure place in the brush, where he could
not see or hear them. They were securely
guarded while the conference which was held
was in progress. Their camp was on a tribu-
tary of the Grand River. OF course the ar
rival of Gen. Adams was hailed with joy, but
five long hours passed before they knew
whether be brought them deliverance or he
would be compelled to 90 away and leave them
with their hOrrid captOrs. The council which
succeeded Gen. Adams's arrival lasted five
hours, and was marked by great yehemence
on the part of the Indian orators Who took
part. There were two parties-a peace and
a war factiOn-and for while, war seemed
bound TO win the day. In the powwOw
Susan, the squaw, who is referred 10 above,
took leading part in the controversy, and
she raised her voice for peace, and She did
good work. Susan, besides being JohnsOn's
wife, is sister OF the great chief, Ouray,
whose counsel is still more weighty among
the Indians. She was supposed to represent
her brother in measure. Her words were
listened to with respect, and were allowed to
have their full weight. Notwithstanding
her entreaties and Gen. Adams'S presenta-
ton OF the case, 1t ut one time seemed as il
the Indians would refuse absolutely to sur
render their captives. They We're deter
mined to keep and make the most OF them.
Susan was followed by her husband, john
son, who also made speech advocating the
release OF the captiYeS--in fact, made a
strong appeal in favor of the women, setting
forth their great grief and the advantage to
the Indians in this release, which might Sc
cure special consideration for them when it
should come TO arranging a treaty. He
quoted and dWelt with emphasis on Ouray's
advice TO the Northern Utes. 1t was novel
attempt, as may well be imagined, to see a
squaw addressing the hardy warriors
Susan has taken first rank as a leader among
them. The instance was the first one on
record OF squaw joining an important
council and taking a prominent part in ii.
As Is well known, the Utes make slaves of
the women, and, so far as their councils are
concerned, impose the same silence on them
that st. PaIl did. 1t is supposed that in this
case susan was listened to because she was
supposed to represent Ouray, and to Ouray
the Indians now look to save them in pro-
curing peace. At any rate, she obtained
hearing, and she pleaded well. Johnson
her husband, an influential Chief, is sup
posed to have been brought over by her to
the advocating Of peace policy. Notwith-
standing their eloquent appeals, however, it
is probable that the ladies would not be re-
leased had not Gen. Adams risen from his
seat and told the Indians that they must give
an affirmative or he would give immediate
orders 70 the soldiers TO Dur>Ue their own