The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-12-25

north of Weiser. The ores of its lode!
. carry silver, chlorides and copper. Min
eral district is making regular bullion
shipments.
The mines of Rutterburg are being
worked for gold. There are several mics
N ines in this county.
Coal has been found on some of it
streams and there are hills of chalk OF
Mannis creek.
One of the greatest difficulties that pre-
sented itself to the early settlement O.
Idaho was the hostile attitude of the In.
dams. The murder of Grimes in Boise
basin for time delayed the prosecution o.
mining in that locality. Subsequently {
party assembled on the Payette river, at &
place known as Picket corral, with hostile
intent. A company was organized under
Captain Standifer, who succeeded in eff
fectually subduing them. Owyhee county
suffered for years. In July, 1864, an en-
gagement took place about eighty miles
from Silver city on the Owyhee river. The
fight commenced about 2 p. m. and lasted
until midnight, and resulted in tbirty-siy
Indians being killed and an unknown num-
Der wounded. Two whites were killed. An
encounter took place on Battle creek, in
Oneida county, between United States
troops uI der command of General Connor
and large force of Indians during the
winter of 1868. The general had come
from Salt Lake city with force of fifty
regulars and was joined by volunteers. AT
the first fire eleven whites were killed and
six or seven wounded. Pressing on he en-
tirely routed the Indians, killing one hui
dred and sixty-ive.
The Nez Perez Indians were divided into
two classes, the treaty and the non-treatv
indians. Three treaties We're made-one
IN 1855. another June 9, 1868, and still
another in August, 1863 The reservation
Indians were always the fast friends of the
whites. The non-treaties resided in the
Wallowa valley, in Oregon. They never
accepted government bounty and refused
to live on the reservation. In 1877 thew
startled the country by series of murders
OF solitary settlers, which inaugurated the
Nez Perce war. The Indians finally re-
treated and were captured within davis
march of the Canada line. They were sent
I y o
turn during the year 1885.
During the Nez Perce war of 1877 the
Bannocks assisted the whites against
Chief Joseph and his hostile band OF Nez
Perces Don-treaty Indians. Among them
was young chief of the name of RuffaIo
Horn. He seemed very proud of the
achievements he had made and spent q
great deal OF his time at the barracks near
Boise city. At length he disappeared
About the 3lst of May, 1873, two white
men arrived at Boise city on foaming steeds
and reported that the Bannocks had become
openly hostile-that they were strongly
encamped to the number of several hundred
IN natural fortress of lava rocks near
Camas prairie in Alturas county. whence
party had issued on the preceding dav
and made murderous assault on two
Whlte men who were herding cattle on the
prairie.
The news caused intense excitement and
within an hours time Colonel R. F. Rer-
rard, in command of troop G of the First
cavalry, was on the way with his COM
mand to the scene of the trouble. Major
Patrick Collins, then commanding Fort
Boise, promptly telegraphed General
Howard at Fort Vancouver, and the latter
hastened preparations to meet the danger.
Upon the approach of Colonel Bernard the
Indians fled towards Silver CITY. in
Owyhee county, destroying property and
killing white men who CHANGED to fall in
their way. A volunteer COMPANY of
whites met the Indians and had an ENGAGE
ment in the Silver city mountains. The
whites were repulsed with small loss. but
Buffalo Horn was killed.
The Indians crossed over into Oregon
and were followed by Colonel Bernard
who had several engagements with them
the last upon the Umatilla reservation
where he utterly routed and dispersed
them
Lemhi county continued to be troubled
more or less with Indians until 1878. The
latest massacre in that section was that of
five transfers on Birch creek In the
same year Mr.. McCaleb was killed by a
party of Indians on Lost river. He had
been member of the legislature and was
leading business man of the territory.
During the Bannock war about thirty of
the Sheep Eaters and Miser Indians es-
capped from the troops and secreted them
selves in the Salmon river mountains from
whence they raided remote and unpro-
tected settlements, murd ering several citi-
zens in the spring of 1879. They were
captured by General Howard late in the
fall and taken to Fort Vancouver.
In Governor Stevenson's report to the
secretary of the interior for the year 1888
he gives the following information in rela-
ton to Indian reservations: The Fort
Hall, Shoshone and Bannock reservation.
This reservation is situated in Bingham
county on the Snake, Blackfoot, Port Neuf
and Ross Fork rivers, and comprises
l ,202, $50 acres of land, about five hundred
and twenty five thousand acres of the very
best quality, level and easily irrigated; the
rest is all fine grazing land, and considera
BILE of it rich in mineral. There are at
the present time of the Bannock and
ShoshOne tribes not far from one thous |
and seven hundred men, women and chill |
dren. There are $50 of these engaged in |
agricultural pursuits. The Indians who |
occupy the Lemhi reservation are a part |
of the Bannock and Shoshone Indians who