Wichita eagle., 1888-02-19
Daily u Eas1e
A MONTANA PIONEER.
WHY HIS HAIR AND BEARD ARE IS
WHITE AS SNOW.

Incident in the Career of Paul McCor.
mick, One of the Men Who Helped to
Open up the Yellowstone in Spite of the
Sioux.
After being besieged in Fort Pease for
some time it became evident to our advent
urers that further supplies of provisions,
ammunition, etc, would be necessary to hold
out against the besiegers, and it was deemed
important that one Of these daring pioneers
should volunteer to run the gauntlet and Sc
cure not only an ample supply of provisions
and ammunition, but re-enforcements also
1t was 800 miles to Bozeman, the nearest
place of relief, and over lonely, wild coun-
try, infested by savages, but Paul McCor-
mick cheerfully volunteered to make the
dangerous trip alone Leaving the fort by
dusk and travelling mostly by night, in ten
days he was at Bozcman and secured not only
plenty Of necessaries for the garrison, but
organized quite little company of recruits,
and with the stealth Of wild animal they
slipped down the river and succeeded i'll gain
ing the fort without any loss. Soon after it
was found necessary that another trip should
be made, and again Mccormick passed
through the Indian lines alone and returned
again In safety. Then he at various times
slipped out of the fort by night and after
killing deer or an elk the next day at some
great distance off, would return in the same
manner to supply the inmates with fresh
venison. So daring were his feats that his
companions had concluded that he was in
reality insensible to fear.
RUNNING A GREAT RISK
One evening, after nearly a weeks cessa-
ton of firing by the Indians on Fort Pease,
and none of them have been seen in the
vicinity of the fort for days, Mccormick
told some Of his companions that he proposed
to venture out early in the morning horse
back and ascertain if there were really any
Indians still in the vicinity. His friends
warned him of the danger, but he secuted
their warning and persisted so determinedly
that they gave up in despair, intinating
loudly that they would never see him again
alive.
True to his determination, the next morn
ing found him ready for the trip. One of
his comrades, realizing the risk Mccormick
would undergo alone, volunteered to accom-
pany him, and at the first approach of day
light the gate was opened and the two horse
men quietly departed, the ominous warnings
of their companions still ringing in their
ears. Proceeding up and down the valley,
which is here wide bottom, they failed to
discern the slightest signs of Indians, and ac-
cordlnSly came to the conclusion that the
Sioux had abandoned the siege Before re-
turning, however, curiosity led them to make
a reconnaissance to a coulee which came
down from the foot hills, and while passing
along this shallow coulee McCormick's com
panlon remarked that he saw something like
the tracks of Indians in the sand only short
distance away and begged Mccormick to
come and see .k
VoLLEY FROM THE sAyAGES
Just at that moment whole swarm of
savages rose UP from behind the sage brush
and emptied a volley from their rifles. The
distance YVES less than twenty feet, but evil
IDENTIFY the aim of the Indians was very poor.
owing TO their haste and excitement Nc
'iormlck's companion was badly wounded, |
and the horse, instead of making toward the |
Tort, rushed among the savages, and the |
rider was of course lost. Mccormick, how |
ever, wheeled his own horse toward the |
Tort, and dashed back in the greatest haste,
being surrounded by the red devils, who |
seemed TO rise up out of the earth on all |
SIDES, shooting and giving unearthly yells. |
being mounted on fine charger, |
quickly passed the Indians on foot, but was /
suddenly confronted by two Indian horemen,
VINO, In some unaccountable manner, had got |
between him and the fort. McCormick's |
morse, being very swift, enabled him to pass
one OF them, though the Indian gave him a
terrible blow on the shoulders, his rifle having
been emptied when Mccormick was approach
ing. The other horseman was now across
his path and waiting his turn, but, being
under considerable excitement his gun.
though so close TO McCoruicls's face that his
hesh was filled with powder, failed to do any
harm, and the occupants of the fort, having
heard the firing, now rushed out to protect
their coTlrade, and one of the Indians was
shot and his seal taken
But, poor Mccormick! his terrible scare
1uflng that brief space of time had nearly
him. Never was there exhibited
4 more awful picture of fright than was Dor
rayed on his countenance on reaching the
tockade. Hair erect, pale as a ghost, he
luaked with such fear that he could not for
long time give any account of his advent
ire In fact, he presented a pitiable spec
acle, and did not fully recover his senses
or weeks. But the stransest affair of the
Whole occurrence was that his hair ard
which had been of Jet black color
md glossy in appearance, during those ten.
MINUTES Of peril had become white as the
rlVen snow, and the stranger could now
aslIy mistake him for an octogenarian.-
Philadelphia Times