Omaha daily bee., 1890-01-19
LIVED ON RAW SAGE RABBITS.
The Only Survivor of the Massacre
OF Alamo, Texas.
A SLAVE OF THE INDIANS.
Sold From Tribe ito Tribe Unclo
johnny Carson Finally Made
His Escape After n Ter
rihle Experience.
A Story of 80.

says the Laramie Boomerang, figured
extensively in Wyoming in the early
days and has seen far more danger aud
excitement than falls to the lot OF most
men,. He has seen forty-four years of
service and mas received
sixteen wounds in tho service of his
country.
Lately he has been an inmate OF the
soldiers home at Marshalltown, Ia, but
his longing to be once again Mt the
scene of his early adventures pressed
strong upon him, so one day he boarded
the train and started for Wyoming.
But it Is not only to review the scenes
of earlier days that he has come here.
He is n member OF a company whose
purpose is to locate and control mining
property IN the west and he is confident
that there are valuable TN dopus its
whiting less than 100 miles of Laramie.
This company has agreed that Cannon
is never to pay any assessme mt but that
the other members are to join in pro-
tecting his interest. Cannon is Conti-
dent that he will have some good news
to tell about tin before he returns to
Marshalltown.
In conversation with u Boomerang
representative "Uncle Jimmie'-whose
real name is William james Cannon
told an interesting story of his early
life. He was a mere child when, at
the close of the revolutionary troubles,
in 1886, his fathers entire family with
the exception OF himself, were massa-
cred by Indians at Fort Alamo, Texas.
He saw his mother and sisters %butchered
before his eyes IN that horrible holo-
cause of murder and rapine. He WAS
the only survivor of the massacre and
thereafter became known us THE Child
of the Alamo"
For many years thereafter Cannon
was an Indian captive. Finally he WAS
taken to Solomon Juno's trading post nt
Milwaukee and offered for sale by tho
Indians but Juno refused to make u
dicker. At length in 1913 he was sold
to the Shoshones, Washakie's tribc,
and while with them he made his
escape. In relating the circumstances
attending his escape from the Indians,
Mr.. Cannon said.
Il had been u captive since 1885,
and had been sold from one tribe to am
other. This was in 1874. | heard that
the whites were near and the Young
braves said that their wagon wheels
went round and round. l gathered the
two best horses | could and with an
Indian girl, who cried when l started
out saying that l intended to leave
them, took down toward the head of
Sage river. l took the girl with me so
that she could not GO back and tell
where 1 had gone. When at last we
parted I gave her some dried v~enison
and told her to go home.
81 rode my horse that day as far as I
could toward the setting sun, for I
wanted to go east to find my own people
the white people. AT noon | was
obliged to halt, but after that | kept on
with the sun at my back until sunset, for
| knew was going east.
''Thus l travelled for five days and
part of the intervening nights. At the
end of that time I had but three arrows,
flint pointed, and my dried meat had
given out. | dared not shoot at u deer
for fear he would run away with my ar
row. But starvation brought me to a
memory of God Himself. / remem-
bered that | could shoot at the little
sage rabbit and he couldn't run
away with my arrow. | had no flint
nor steel with which to make u fire aud
no knife with which to cut the meat,
and | ate raw the first rabbit that | shot
and thought it very sweet. But the
thought of getting back to my own pco-
pie was sufficient to fill my stomach.
Woo vivian NSSho VI oooihS Nv
mountains, living upon one and m
times two rabbits a day and eating
them raw. But | had been three days
without eating when one day | camped
in South park, where Hamilton City
now is. / tied my horse to a sappling
my rope was a strand an inch wide
out out of a buffalo skin and my Bride
was a buckskin string tied under the
horses jaw. l vent a short distance in
t1N@ I~-A ~ G-lt ,r 81 On ra .n htt n'hA.1
were plenty of deer but | was afraid
to shoot at them for fear they would
run away with my arrow-and l only
had three. But l found no rab-
bit and returning laid down by the
sapling. During the night II mountain
wolf howled and ] supposed the Indians
were upon me and that l would be re-
captured. But when | recognized it as
the howl of a wolf I laid down con-
tented again, thinking | was near the
white people.
THE next morning | awoke with the
sun shining in my face. l saddled my
horse and about three miles below
whore | had camped killed a sage rob-
bit, which ate ravenously. | followed
down the Arkansas river for over five
weeks, living on rabbits which | killed
and ate raw. Reaching u place
where Kane Hill, Ark, now stands
] saw a smoke across the river.
~Dismounting [ led the horse to the
trail crossing the river. / watched
through the willows for more than an
hour until | saw a man come down to
the other side and dip up n bucket Of
water. Indians never do that; squaws
do and carry the water in skins; SO I
knew that is was a white man. Dash
ing across the river | found myself be-
fore Colonel Mortimer's trading post.
He came to the door and greeted me-
with the first words of English | had
heard in nine years. l was dressed
like an Indian, but he knew from ny
blue eyes that I was q white man. I
was then twenty years of age. Mrs.
| Mortimer gave me some corn bread and
milk and dried meat, but / had
eaten very little when | suddenly be-
came sick Colonel Mortimer made mo
a couch upon which to lie down and for
live weeksI knew nothing, but raved
in a lever"
After his recovery MIR. Cannon went
into Texas with Colonel D%onahoe. ana
in starting out on tine expedition ho