New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-09-19
n Wiga IVeird Tale.

i ~
The story comes from good authori
ty at Los Angeles OF the burning of {
young squaw by Mojave Indians be-
cause she was accused of practicine
| witchcraft. The scene of the torture
! was near the Colorado river in the cas-.
tern end of San Bernardino county.
tor the past two months a strange dis
ease has attacked members of the tribe.
Its spread at last became so alarming
that that the tn N members Of the tribe became
Panic stricken and slaughtered their
dogs and burros as sacrifice to ap.
pease 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
a huge hole, which was filled with
| herbs, while the bucks were squatted
in a semicircle, some distance away.
The medicine men watched the steam.
| ing of the herbs until the mess had been
boiled down to tea cup full of liquid.
Then a pigeon and his mate were taken
from a basket and held by the medi-
cine men while the liquid from the
| herbs was poured down their threats.
The male bird, when released, few
| awhy. The female bird tfuttered few
yards and then fell helpless and dying
on the ground. The medicine men
! now seemed crazed with excitement,
They leaped to their feet and danced,
while the bucks sat ii sullen silence.
While the medicine men were in the
! midst of their orgie 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
witch. When the bucks heard the
words of the medicine men they be-
came wild with rage. Each brave sus-
pected the other of harboring the witch
in his tepee or cabin. But final test
was to be made. With yells and i'm
precautions the frenzied reds drove their
women to the place where the council
had beensheld, and where the white
pigeon still lay among the herbs and
grasses. The squaws were driven in
single file, with the medicine men
watching with nervous excitement the
face of each as she passed the bird.
Finally a young squaw, the daughter Of
Creso, 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 squaw
pleaded piteously for her life, which
she seemed to foresee was in peril, but
her cries were of no avail, her own rel
atives assisting in dragging 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 the fatal test OF
guilt. The poor girl who was but Is
years old, was stripped Of her clothes,
tied to stake and slow fire built I'M
der her. For two hours she fingered
in awful agony, and while her death
screams filed the air the braves danced
about the fire and the medicine men
muttered lamentations. When morning
came nothing but the whitened bones
of the girl and the black embers of the
, fire remained about the stake, The
disease from which SO many Of the Mo.
iaye braves died is believed to be ma
lignant typhoid fever. The details OF
this strange story was brought to Los
Angeles by rahchers who had been at
tracted to the camp of the Indians BY
the noise which attended the terrible
death of the girl.