St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-06-30
THE INSIDE HISTORY
OF the Real Cause Of the Claim About
au Indian Outbreak.
WHITE MAN AND SIOUX MEET.
And Neither Can Understand the Other
Mot the Slightest Danger of
Trouble.
Special to the Globe

RAPID CITY, Dak., June 81 would
ike TO open up bit of local history
that has been dropped, but which was
never accurately ventilated by the
press, local or elsewhere. 1t concerns
the recent Indian scare, or more partic-
ularly the origin. The scare was gen.
ulne enough, but it sprang from most
frivolous circumstance. / gathered the
story from man who was reared
among Indians aud knows their nature
well. L have long known him, and
know him to be truthful man. He is
at this time holding down ranch on
HOrSehead creek, near the CHEYENNE
river, and but a few miles from the
ranch OF Barkdale, the man whose tim
ldlty stampeded the settlement. He
gathered the story from the Indian and
from Barkdale, and the two tailed per-
fectly as to detail.
IT WAS THIS WAY:
The Indian was working a farm on
one side OF the liver and Barkdale on
tne other. Crossing over, for an aim
less trip through the country, the In
dian came across Barkdale working in
bus field. "a fellow feeling,n etc. MIR.
Indian stops and commences to talk
crops to the white man. Unfortunately
the one could not talk Sioux, the other
could not talk English, so the CONVEX
Satlon was. strange to relate, mostly on
the part of the Indian, and he grew elo-
quent and yoluble in his expressive
pantomlme, telling the white man how
many acres he had seeded. how high
above the ground his crops were. how
many days since rain had fallen, and all
such things as are supposed to be of in
tereSt between two farmers exchanging
notes. BllSsfully ignorant of the In
dlan'S meaning, and inwardly quaking
at his presence, Barkdale soon resolved
In his own mind the Indians show of
kindly interest and neighbOrly feeling
INTO bloOdthirSty announcement of the
Intention of the Sioux
TO TAKE THE WARPATH
and massacre the whites who had settled
along the upper Cheyenne. As soon as
the savage moved on. the thoroughly
alarmed farmer fastened to his home
and told his wife his fears. She shared
them and they decided to go to town
for safety. Barkdale hastily spread the
news of the threatened massacre, and
soon the stampede was started. Every
man in the valley hurriedly prepared
to move his loved ones to some place of
shelter, and soon all were moving toward
Oelricks. The Indian, returning.
saw the preparations being made,
and fearful lest some harm should come
to him, hid in a gully. Here white
man stumbled on tohim. Both were
TERRIBLY FRIGHTENED,
the one thinking of ambuscade, the
other dreading discovery, and each ran
for dear life. 1t was but a short time
until every one who could was on the
way to what appeared to be safety.
How they swarmed into Oelrich's, car
rying the alarm; how the news of the
uprising at Pine Ridge agency was tel
egraphed all over the country: and how
the settlers in a day or two went back
to their farms, laughing at their ridicu-
louS fright, is well known. The basis
for the fright has never been known,
and would not have come to me had
not the Indian met the Old-timer. to
whom L referred, and on being cues
| toned regarding his fright, told his
story and asked protection. BOrkdale,
Oh returning to his ranch, was cross
questioned and told his tale, which cor
roborated the Indians. Thus may be
seen ''what a great fire small matter
kindleth." There is absolutely no
danger of an Indian outbreak here, and
the people of the Black Hills are as
safe from being maSSacred as are those
of Iowa. The rumored uprising of the
Indians and the fright of the settlers
was harped Oh in many ways to initiate
against this region, but, like the great
| blizzard stories of Eastern Dakota, it
will be its own denial.