The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1888-10-03
BURNING AN INDIAN W:cCH.
A Young Squaw Suffers Two horrs of Tor
ture Before Released by Death.


The story comes on good authority al
Los Angeles of the burning of young
squaw by Mojave Indians because she
was accused of practicing witchcraiE. The
scene of the torture was near IT, 'olora'
do River in the eastern end of IA Ber-
nardino county. For the last two months
a strange disease has attacked members
of the tribe. Its spread at last becalc.e
so alarming that the Indians became
panic.stricken and slaughtered their dogs
and burros as sacrifice to appease the
anger of the Great Father. This proving
of no avail council was held.
Every buck in the tribe was present.
The medicine men sat around q huge
pot, which was filed with herbs, wl.le
the bucks were squatted in semi-circle,
some distance away. The medicine men
watched the steaming OF the herbs until
the mess had been bcied down to tea
cup full of LIQUID. Then male pigeon
and his mate were taken from basket
and held by the medicine man while the
liquid from the herbs we're poured down
their throats. The male bird, when re-
leased, flew away. The female bird
huttered few yards and fell helpless
and dying on the ground. The medicine
men now seemed crazed with excitement.
They ieaped to their feet and danced,
while the bucks sat in sullen silence.
While the medicine men were in the
midst of their incantations they declared
that there was witch in the tribe. The
female bird had died while the male bird
had flown away into the night. This
test determined the sex Of the evil doer.
When the bucks heard the words Of the
medicine men they became wild with
rage. Each brave suspected the other
of harboring the witch in his tepee or
cabin. But final test was to be made.
With yells and imprecations the frenz!ed
Indians drove their women to the place
where the council had been held and
where the white pigeon still lay among
the herbs and grasses. The squaws were
driven in single file, the medicine men
watching with nervous excitement the
face of each as sh. passed the bird.
Finally, a young squaw, the daughter
of Croso, a sub-chief, stepped out of the
ranks and was about to pick up the bird,
when the medicine men with loud yells
seized the girl and pinioned her arms.
The unfortunate sqnaw pleaded piteously
for her life, which she seemed to foresee
was in peril, but her cries were OF no
avail, her own relatives assisting in drag
ging her to the council place. The death
of the female pigeon was conclusive
evidence that a squaw was the witch.
The first squaw to touch the bird was to
be the guilty one.
The poor girl, who was but l9 years
old, was stripped of her clothes, tied to
a stake and slow fire built under her.
For two hours she fingered in awful
agony, and while her death screams filed
the air the braves danced about and the
fire and the medicine men muttered in
carnations. When morning came moth
ing but the whitened bones of the girl
and the black embers of the fire remain
ed about the stake.
The disease from which so many of
the Mojave braves died is believed to be
malignant typhoid fever. The details OF
this strange story were brought to Los
Angeles by ranchers who had been at
tracted to the camp of the Indians by
the noises which attended the terrible
death of the girl.