Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1885-02-06
STORIES ABOUT A SCOUT.
THE LIVELY CAREER OF LIVER
EATING JOHNSON"
Episodes I'm the Campaign Against
Chief JOseph-EOw the Scout Got
His Name-Scared Soldiers

AS NOV AAAAAS AlCe
ohnson, the scout" said an officer of |
the Seventh Horse, "was in 1877, when |
we were out after the Nez Perces. 1t |
was pretty lively campaigning that sum-
mer and what with Howard, Miles and
Sturgis in the field, trying to capture
Chief Joseph, good scouts were in de-
mand, for every small party detached |
from either of these three columns
operating against the Indians must have
a guide; and he must be one who knew
his business, able to detect the faintest
signs of Indians, and quick and sure
on the trail. johnson came to us from
the Crow agency at Saltwater, where
he spent most of his time when not en-.
gagged in trapping. A tall, burly fell
low, standing more than six feet in his
moccasins aud weighing over two hun
dred pounds, his strong, well-knit, mus
cular frame and his face, framed in am
plitude of flowing beard and curly locks,
would have made him conspicuous in
crowd anywhere.
''He was first-class scout, bold and
quick to scent danger You see he had
lived so long among the Indians that he
was up TO all their tricks. But Liver
Eating's forte was telling stories of
frontier life, and he had good stock of
them at his tongues end. There was
hardly night during that campaign that
group of officers did not gather at the
camp fire to listen to him. So admirable
areconteur was he that the thought often
occurred me-and, Ipresume, to 9TH
ers-that, with proper education, he
might have made his mark in the world.
Of course, like many frontiersman,
especially when speaking of his own ex-
ploits, he was greatly given to exaggera-
tion-lying, we call it in Montana-but
his stories, whether truthful or lying,
were, as l have said, always entertain.
ing, and never failed to draw full
house. If remember rightly, he said, he
had spent the summer of '76 (the year of
the Custer tight) in Whoop-Up country
That's the country north of Benton and
near the international boundary line. 1t
is the paradise of smugglers and horse
thieves, where the traders have their
houses built right on the line-half on
American and half on British soil. They
have revolving or reversible bars, so that
when they see the mounted police com
ing to hunt for contraband whisky they
transfer the stock to the American side
of the shanty and keep on dealing out
their viIlainous 'rotgut.'
"But, with all his keenness while
scouting. l noticed Johnson generally
| took mighty few chances himself, and
ran no risks that could be avoided.
Coming across some very fresh signs of
bear while hunting, Iasked him to go in
the brake with me and see if we could
find the game. With perfectly sober
face, he said well, Lieutenant, you
and your man go in and stir him up, and
I'll shoot him when he comes out on the
other side' One day, while scouting
near the mouth of the Musselshell, he
pointed to belt of timber near at hand
and remarked There is where got
the name of Liver Eating. You see,
said he, there was party of twenty of
us hunters and trappers camped here in
'68. The country was just full of game
and Indians, and beaver was almost as
thick as buffalo. We were having splen-
did luck, and our camp was just piled
with peltry. But one morning we were
Jumped by band of abont fifty Sioux,
who circled toward us, whooping and
yelling like devils, and firing under the
necks of their ponies. We gave them a
volley, and the Indians, thinking we
were armed with the common rifle,
rushed in. But most of us had repeat
ing rifles Gt was the first season we
had them in the Territory, and
as they came on we gave them another
round, which fairly staggered them, but
when we pulled on them again more
surprised lot of bucks you never saw
They skinned out quick, but we gave it
to them on the run, and dropped nearly
every last one of them.
81 saw one buck tumble from his pony
and crawl into the bush, so went in
after him. Putting my knife into him,
/ gave it turn, and when I pulled it
out there was piece of his liver stick
ing to the knife. So held it up and
yelled to the fellow next to me: Say,
jim, won't you take bite2' That's all
there is to the story. Some say | ate it,
but it's a lie." "They do say" con-
tinued Captain -, 'that johnson
really ate a piece of the liver as Indians
sometimes do, believing they acquire the
brave qualities of the man they have
killed rememlbessIE, ssI, 4Ivf, dave galhe
upon Joseph's trail. 1t was near the foot
of the Heart mountains, and miles away
from the columns of Sturgis. The trail
was very fresh, and at little distance
ahead of us could be seen the bodies OF
two white men. AS soon as Liver
Eating. who was in the lead struck the
trail and saw the bodies lying there
he came galloping back, and yelled out
"There have been more than milliol
Indians hero inside of ten minutes Well
sir. YOU could have knocked me dow
with a feather, for was scared; an'
when looked around and saw the whit
faces of my men, more than half of whom
were green recruits, was afraid of
stampede, but instantly gave the wor
10 dismount, leaving every fourth ma
to hold the horses of the Others. This
of course, prevented the men from stan
peding; and then l ordered the scout t
ascend the hill in front and look for In
: dams. He refused at first, but tol
, him he was a dead man if he disobeyee
/ and. seeing Imeant business land | woul
have shot him, sure), he rode on. Cav
tiously ascending the hill he took OF
look and found no Indians.
"That Joseph was the slipperiest GU
toner | ever saw, and led us all pret
;. dance that summer before he was ca
a tured. On examining the bodies we four
!, them to be two prospectors that sturg
4 had hired as scouts. One was dead al
! the other was shot toypieces, having fl
"a bullets in him-two of them through t
" body-but he was still alive, and to
le us it was the Nez Perces that ana
a Well, we fitted the poor fellow out
,e comfortably as we could with blanke
re and, leaving him eighteen canteens II
~ ra4A. ntnrtnd for namn When Str