The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1881-03-10
4 FIGHT WITH INDIANS.
DESCRIBED BY A NEW MEXICO MINER WHO
WAS IN THE THICK OF IT.

From a letter written by Jas. P. Blain
We copy the following. 1t is dated at
Apache mining camp:
DEAR JAcK-Indians attacked the
camp at the mouth of the canon at p.
NJ, Tuesday. The fight lasted half an
hour. They killed two miners and
| wounded one. The Indians got away
with all the stock below.
Next camp your humble servants turn,
at P. II. Jim Wilson and myself were
coming up the gulch from the Burnt
ranch, each leading a mule. The Indians
spied US, and allowed us to come within
a mile from the lower cabins, when fif-
teen to twenty opened fire on us at a
range OF not more than seventy-fve yards
1 dropped behind bush, fred one shot,
looked around and saw my pard standing
up. L told him to squat, but before he
did we got another volley. As yet neith-
er was hurt, although I believe it was
the fact of our having the mules that
saved us. The Indians did llo5 want to
kill the mules, consequently did not
shoot as close, although they got there
eventually. We were not much struck
after them critters, no now. 1t was too
hot there, so we made up our minds to
try run. OF course, the reds were
under cover, and we could see nothing
except the puffs of blue smoke, which
we shot at as fast as we could load, We
made run of about sixty yards under a
heavy fire, running zig gag, and reached
the bed of the creek, when we threw our
selves flat on the rocks and boulders,
and, although hard, they were feather
beds compared to the leaden bullets that
we're showering about US. Wilson asked
me if | was hit. told him not yet. and
he said: $50 am l." He had scarcely
finished when piece of lead from bull
let (Which split on the rock in 'front.'
struck him square between the eyes,
He looked at me, fell back, and said:
''Jim, Tn done for; run for it.. saw
the blood squirt from the wound, and
said: "Poor jim" / fired one shot and
was loading on my back, when Wilson
almost scared me, if it was possible to
scare man any more than | was, by
saying: "Jin, guess this is light
racket. 1 don't believe it went through"
In fact, it was only scratch; but for
a moment Wilson said he felt that he was
deader than a salted mackerel, and
thought it was about the easiest death he
ever experienced.
You may think m trying to be funny;
but there's no use of talking, it is funny,
now that it is all over, although at the
time neither of US cracked smile.
In the meantime the Indians were get
ting around US, and | feared they would
get the opposite bank of the mesa, so we
made another run; but Wilson could not
run, as both eyes were filled with blood,
so we got to cedar tree near the bottom
of the bank. On the next run found
Wilson could not get up, the bank being
very slippery. He shouted to me, "Jim,
are you going to leave me -
"Never, pard," said [, "while old Bet
sey can talk"
/ covered him from the little cedar
above and kept up racket with old Bet
sey until Wilson got alongside. We
then made break for the mesa. We
ran about one hundred and fifty yards
when we got another volley, all seeming
to shoot at once, but we both fell just at
the right time. The last volley was from
the bank we had just left. Wilson again
got week and felt terribly fatigued my
self. So each lodged behind a bush
about large enough to make far to keep
the flies off. We lay within easy range
of the reds for two hours, and all we could
shoot at was the puffs of smoke, but I'll
bet there was some bullets went pretty
close to the muzzles of these Indian guns.
We made one more break. falling at least
dozen times, and finally got to high
| point where we felt that no twenty In
dams could get us, and held the fort
until darkness compelled our enemy to
withdraw.
| It's the narroweA escape L ever knew
two mortals to live through. I got my
hat punched through. taking lock of
hair with it, about an inch too high for
biz.