Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-05-15
TN 4

ADVENTURES TN UTAH.
A Wyoming Trapper Relates Some Thrf
ing Stories of Former Days.
Were you ever followed over q trackle
waste by a pack of swapping, snarling, co
ardiy, hungry and sharp-fanged woIyesl
inquired Henry Yount, the noted Wyomil
trapper, hunter, scout and Indian fghte
as q starter for one Of the choicest yars
in his repertoire OF Western tales OF y,
venture.
mo? Thought not. Few men have bee
and being chased by prairie wolves is
peril which ! devoutly wish my worst en-,
my, white or red, may never be compelle
to experience.
III | remember correctly, itwasin Marcel
1858, that the overland freight train, 10
which was night-herding, was showed in q
Echo canyon, Utah, for three weeks o
more. Naturally, we ran short OF provi
sions, and at the end OF fifteen days abso
lutte grimly threatened the party
Scarcity Ct food, however, was really
OSobAbAy dLAlCUlOA Om Dlu6IuOT6, III
fieDd in charge of the outfit, Was a par
owner in the concern, and 1 firmly beiiev
that he wept owe the demise of ever,
mule which succBmbed to lack of lo0d anf
the indescribable cold.
This man, or the devil in human guise
compelled his subordinates to use blankets
which were their Individual property, tc
shield the mules from the chilly blasts. WI
exercised in order to maintain the circula
ton OF blood, and heartily cursed the fore
man when out OF his hearing. Stories o
adventure similar to our own were repeated
Canlbaiism was limited at by Implication
and mutiny was advised by several OF the
more courageous OF the desperate crew.
remember distinctly that about this tims
Arctic explorers came in for a share OF
abuse. We felt that they had set a fright,
FULLY bad example.
"The t%ortuous pangs OF hunger made
more bitter the feeling against Dinsmore
and. finally it assumed tangible shape. In
council we blamed him for all o1r misfor.
tunes. From this condition OF affairs it did
not require a great deal of reasoning OF
even an extra ordinary exercise OF our
dulled faculties, to draw all inference that
an avaricious brute was slowly but GER
tainly methodically numbering twenty-sev.
en- innocent men, and his own SON one OF
the number.
made desperate by the gloomy outlook,
q cold wave that destroyed the ordinary
mercury thermometer. and the inhuman
course OF q goulish being whose love of gold
overpowered and crushed out all consider
ton for the welfare of his fellowmen, we
concluded to hang our foreman. On second
and al the mildly urged suggestion
Of his SOM we agreed to give Dinsmore fair
trial.
Attorneys were selected, a jury drawn,
evidence taken, arguments made, a YER
dict returned and sentence passed by
The judge, who happened to be a mar
about my size, age and general appear
ance.
"Five minutes after the verdict was an.
bounced, Dinsmore was hanged to q rude
made by planting wagon.tongues in
snow.
1.-THE victim OF that remarkable court ut
,ered not a word throughout the proceed
andI have since come to the belief
hat he was insane all the time. His treat
nent OF the teamsters was Incompetent
severe. and entirely without reason.
lie would not even permit us to slaughter
,ne of his beloved mules, and fed the four
Dotted animals better from a small store
II corn than he did the men.
tThree months after the execution the
twenty-seven men were arralgned
)efore the criminal court in Salt Lake,
harged with the murder Of Dinsmore. Our
recited the facts OF the case in
highly dramatic style, and the prosecu-
ion moved for our discharge. Ihave since
hought that Dinsmore might possibly have
zen forced to act in difference to our
Vishes, but half-famIshed men will invaria-
'y resort to violence where mild force or
tudied persuasion might better serve their
.esired ends.
but I started to tell yod something
bout wolves, and / will finish soon, for
b's getting late. Five days after we cut off
it became painfully evident that,
Mess supplies were soon Forthcoming from
ONE source. all must perish. The mules
ad nearly all been slaughtered, but their
Lesh Yves not all to our liking. We had
,urned cur cargo, which was furniture, and
majority of the wagons had been dis
osed of in the same n At a terri
ly earnest family council, /, on account OF
hysiqne, experience and familiarity with
region, was selected to proceed to Salt
lake and secure aid.
alright and early the next morning /
trapped on a pair OF s~nowshOe6, stretched
nv stiffened limbs, and started on my jour-
which 7 estimatedsat not less than $50
niles. l wasted no time, and about 3
,'clock in the afternoon of the fourth day
ut sighted the Mormon capital from u
noantain peak. This put me in splendid
umor, although still about forty miles
rom the city. Halt an hour later. as
from a ravine, a ravenous-iooking
,rairie wolf scampered across my path not
nore than a hundred yards In advance OF
z.-,1ol - ~ ran. Hn M nrfinkIU
,ined by another, and then the brutes
eemed to spring from holes in the ground,
O rapidly did they appear. In ten minutes
he pack had increased to fifty OF the gaunt
nd savage brutes. All eyed me viciously,
nd tapped their strong jaws with their
,ng tongues, evidently in anticipation OF a
are feast.
81 realized that safety lay in fight, and
lcreased my speed. They also moved
lore rapidly. had a good lead, and felt
could hold it for a time, but those yelps
,ade my hair raise, and l will acknowl-
dye that 1 became pretty nervous. l was
ow moving over the hard surface OF the
Did snow at a terrific pace. No bali
avage Norwegian coasting down his native
ills could have overtaken me. | now be-
hotgbt myself Of my armory-a pair of
Diendid six-shnoters-and drew one from
~ belt. 1t would have been suicide to
Iacken my speed and take aim at my pur.
Iers, and | WAS coute with an occasional
andom shot into the pack. They were so
umerous and close together that twelve
ullets disposed OF eleven oil the frightened
Whenever one fell the remainder
ould halt an instant, tear the remains to
and devour the last shred. Then,
ith more growls and snaps and snarls,
ley were upon my heels Letter than ever.
Now I weakened, and Immediately after
ring my last shot and dropping the Sec
revolver, I reached into my boot fer a
,rge dirk knife, which I always carried. |
i'd not need it. As l stoppej-oh, ioy-I