The Delta independent., 1889-11-12
STORY OF A SCOUT
Fearful Retaliation of a Murdered Man
While Suffering Torture.
The Upper Country the Scene Of the Horrible
Afair--Poisoned Whisky Eagerly Devoured
by the Red Devils Mine Dead Indians the

From Fort Abraham Lincoln to Fort
Sully, both on the upper Missouri river.
is q bee line Of 160 miles, but the dis
tance as q rider has to make it is fully
200. 1t is on record that the first dis
patch passing between those posts was
carried in my pocket, said an old scout
to a N. Y. Sun reporter and that at q
time when hostile Indians almost be-
! sieged both forts. 1t was on this ride,
and about forty miles above Sully, that
a strange incident occurred. From
Fort Union to Yankton, n distance of
600 miles, the Missouri runs along a
chain of mountains on the east, while
on thieves side there is scarcely hill
to be found. While the route down the
east. bank is naturally more difficult, it
is also more sheltered. and that was
the route took on the occasion refer
red to. While there were plenty OF
Indians in the mountlins and in the
mountain valleys, there were more oil
them on the plains, and my journey
was considered such forlorn hope
that wagers were made at Fort LincSln
that would never be heard of again.
had a mustang which had travelled
over more OF the country than any man
living, and in all matters pertaining to
frontier life he was as well posted as
four men cut of five. Armed with a
Winchester and revolver / left Fort
Lincoln one evening in July and pro-
D1 no fpp
crossing over. had scarcely forded the
river, when a mule, which had evident
ly been in hiding in q thicket near by,
came forward with low whinny and
appeared greatly pleased TO see us. A
brief inspection proved that he belonged
10 n scout named Abuer johnson, who
had been despatched from Fort Lincoln
to Fort Ransome, $50 miles to the east,
ten or twelve days before. The saddle
was in place. blanket, coffee pot, and
other articles secured as usual, and the
bride was intact. | was satisfied that
johnson had been shot from the saddle.
, ! did not intend to travel far that light,
the main object being to get be.
yond the hostile lines and take
an early start next morning. Up TO
the time Of crossing the river my
mustangs feet had been muffld
with oat sacks, so that he could
leave no trail. There had been no
rain for two or three weeks. and no
living Indian could have traced me.
Once across the stream, | removed the
bags. | should leave Il plain trail, but
must hereafter trust to luck and my
own sagacity. 1t was a starlight night,
and as l rode forward / routed up
deer or other wild game every fifty
rods. This satisfied me that no Indians
were near, and l continued my ride
until midnight. By this time was at
least twenty miles below the fort, and
l went into camp to wait for daylight.
l was asleep in five minutes, and when
l opened my eyes it was daylight.
The animals were close at hand, and
each had his nose in the air and was
scenting like . dog. l was hardly on
my feet before l smelled fire. There
was light breeze blowing up the val
ley, and the campfire was below me,
or in the direction 1 proposed to go. l
moved into the belt of timber and be-
gan to crawl forward for an observa-
tion, and after gong about IL quarter
of u mile, / saw the smoke. ! waited
five minutes before advancing nearer,
but seeing no movement, l crept for.
ward. l saw the body OF n
white man lying on the ground
under the trees. l knew it was, by
the dress, and now, thinking that had
| come upon government scout, or some
white hunter, / rose up and advanced
| into the camp. No man ever made Il
more appalling discovery. 1t was the
| body OF Abner johnson, dead and hor-
| ribly mutilated, and between him and
| the river, distance of twenty feet. lay
| the dead bodies OF nine Indian warriors.
| While n glance suificed to prove that
they were dead, it took me some time
to satisfy myself as to tho cause.
| finally found Il stone bottle, holding
about two quarts, which remembered
to have seen in Johnson's possession.
1t had contained whisky, but was now
empty. Tho posture of the bodies was
| proof that every warrior had died OF
poison, but l did not know until n
month that johnson had fixed up the
dose before leaving Fort Ransome on
his return. He seemed to have pre-
sentiment that he would be captured,
and he bought two quarts of whisky
and dosed it with strychnine, knowing
that it would surely revenge him.
johnson had evidently been driven
out OF his direct course. AS / saw by
scouting over the ground he was we'll
in the lead OF his nine pursuers when
chance shot from n rifle struck
him in tho right hip and tumbled him
from his saddle. His mule had gone
on and the Indians had gone into camp
TO torture the wounded man. They
had cut of his left car, gashed his
cheeks, severed three or four toes, and
inflicted other cruelties when the pois-
on which they had imbibcd in tho
whisky began to work. There must
have been n high old time among them
for half an hour, during which inter